Kim (original 1901; edition 1922)

Kim is an orphaned Irish boy, who has grown up under the care of an Indian woman. He's lived in the streets all his life, running amok just as the other Indian boys do, with little knowledge or care that he is white. When he meets a holy man, a lama on a quest to achieve enlightenment by bathing in a certain river, he is fascinated and decides to become the lama's apprentice. Together, as they walk the roads of India and meet many people, Kim also gets himself wrapped up in British espionage.

This was a fun little romp that very much reminded me of the many adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, except on the roads of India instead of the riverside of the South.

I don't know nearly enough about the intricate nature of India's many cultures to know where Kipling got it right and where he screwed it. Since Kipling grew up in India himself, it makes sense that he drew on his own experiences while writing. I'm sure there's a certain amount of Orientalizing and stereotyping going on, but not how much.

In his favor though, Kipling seems to present most of the characters in multiple layers and to treat much of the events as entirely normal, while most Westerners would consider them strange. In some cases, he also flips to show how Indians and the lama are perceived through the white man's lens. For example, the lama, who is seen as a holy man to all the native peoples around him, is seen as just another dirty beggar to the white men.

However, the fact remains that the British are clearly the good guys and colonialism is presented as, if not a good thing, then at least not a problem. Also, whenever "magic" came into play within the story, I kind of cringed a bit as it seemed to be the greatest indication of stereotyping the "mysterious and magical East".

There are also some spiritual aspects to the book, as presented through the lama and his peaceful quest. He teaches Kim about the wheel of life and how everyone is tied to the wheel, how the body is illusion and he wishes to escape from illusion. This is mixed with the assemblage of Hindu and Muslim people and customs they meet along the road, all of which is very interesting (though again, I can't properly judge how much is accurate).

On the whole, I enjoyed it quite a bit from an adventure standpoint with some reservations in regards to other aspects. ( )

Classic Kipling, with India and espionage. You ought to read it if only to understand what other spy story writers refer to as "The Great Game" but also because it's a ripping yarn. ( )

One of my very favorite books, hands down. It never fails to leave me choked up when I reach the end. ( )

To be paired up with [b:The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia|903335|The Great Game On Secret Service in High Asia|Peter Hopkirk|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179323314s/903335.jpg|133307].

This book is pure fun. And not racist! I was pretty worried it was gonna be racist, but Kipling shows pretty much equal disdain to every ethnic group, referring to whites contemptuously as "the creed that lumps nine-tenths of the world under the title of 'heathen'" (88).

I'm giving it four stars for now because, I dunno, I guess it doesn't feel quite as Important as some of the other books I've been reading recently. But that might change. It's a perfectly crafted adventure novel, and that ain't nothing to sneeze at.

If you can find an edition with a map, go for that. I would have liked one. ( )