Reading "Kim" is difficult ... listening to the tale read by Adrian Praetzellis at Librivox.com is delightful! ( )

I’m sorry that I can’t pass judgment on whether or not Kim deserves a place on Newsweek’s Fifty Books for Our Times, I stopped reading at the end of Chapter VI, almost 100 pages into the copy I had. Why didn’t it grab me? It may be that I was put off by what I considered racist and stereotypical characterizations (although, I understand that a writer’s work is a product of the time he lives in, and I usually can put that in context). This scene takes place on a train (p 24):

‘And wither goest thou?’ said the woman, handing him the half of a cake from a greasy package.

‘Even to Benares.’

‘Jugglers belike?’ the young soldier suggested. Have ye any tricks to pass the time? Why does not that yellow man answer?’

‘Because,’ said Kim stoutly, ‘he is holy, and thinks upon matters hidden from thee.’

‘That may be well. We of the Loodhiana Sikhs,’ he rolled it out sonorously, ‘do not trouble our heads with doctrine. We fight.’

‘My sister’s brother’s son in naik (corporal) in the regiment,’ said the Sikh craftsman quietly. ‘There are also some Dogra companies there.’ The soldier glared, for a Dogra is of other caste than a Sikh, and the banker tittered.

‘They are all one to me,’ said the Amritzar girl.

‘That we believe,’ snorted the cultivator’s wife malignantly.
Or, it may be that I found myself trudging through stilted language (see “wither goest thou” and various “ye”s and “thee“s in the passage above), when I simply wanted to read for the story.

Kim is said to be a coming-of-age story coupled with an adventure story, complete with spies and intrigue. Here’s the publisher’s synopsis:

Kim is an orphan, living from hand to mouth in the teeming streets of Lahore. One day he meets a man quite unlike anything in his wide experience, a Tibetan lama on a quest. Kim’s life suddenly acquires meaning and purpose as he becomes the lama’s guide and protector–his chela. Other forces are at work as Kim is sucked into the intrigue of the Great Game and travels the Grand Trunk Road with his lama. How Kim and the lama meet their respective destinies on the road and in the mountains of India forms one of the most compelling adventure tales of all time.
I read to a turning point, when Kim was faced with a previously unknown truth about his past which might greatly impact his future. I just didn’t have it in me to read the remaining 60% of the book. Perhaps one day I’ll listen on audio (or even see a movie adaptation), and find out what I was missing.

Beth Fish said that she especially enjoyed the setting in India. I have to agree that Kipling did put us on a path of excitement. Reading his descriptions of the Grand Trunk Road, as Kim saw it for the first time, had me revisiting old history lessons to refresh my memory of this bustling major route.

Full review at: http://www.sheistoofondofbooks.com/20...
She is Too Fond of Books ( )

This is my dad's favorite book and he has been telling me to read this one for years. I loved the relationship aspect of this story. Kim's attachment to the Lama and vice-versa is truly inspiring. I also loved Kim's resourcefulness, he takes any situation and comes out on top. I understand now why my dad has to go back every few years to read it. ( )

I hoped the longer I read this, the easier it would become. You know once I got a feel for the writing style, well that never happened for me. Half the time I wasn’t sure who was talking to whom or even what they were talking about. I think I should have just watched Errol Flynn in the movie ( )

925 Kim, by Rudyard Kipling (read 2 Nov 1967) I don't much remember what I thought of this book, but I think I found it of some interest. See Kim (novel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for more on the book. ( )