The Light That Failed

Kiplings first novel - wasn't really a success, and I can see why. The writing flows - Kipling was a master wordsmith, but the plot and character development are a bit limited and limiting.
Kipling's blatant racism is front and centre - any mention of "inferior" races was sure to include adjectives suggesting members of the other race were "children" or "devils", often both!
He was a writer of his times. We should all be glad that such times are (mostly) past.
The ill-fated courtship that is central to the book raised for me the general question of relationships in Victorian England. If the relationships in literature share any resemblance to reality, one wonders what an anthropologist from today would make of it all?? And how did the show more Victorian middle and upper classes ever procreate with such shambolic interpersonal arrangements?? Just a side thought. show less

I spent some time this past summer listening to classic radio dramas retelling old stories. One of them was based on this story, and it interested me enough that I found the audiobook, determined to find out the "real" story for myself.

What an interesting premise! I can't say I really liked the book, but I can see why readers find it compelling. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the romantic element of the book--usually, I don't enjoy the way romances like this end up, but I did enjoy this one. I also enjoyed the discussions centered around art, and the age-old conflict of whether we should work to please others or do what we're actually good at, whether or not others like it.

On the other hand, there was some language and slightly off-color show more references. I didn't appreciate the character's mindset at the end of the book, so that was a bit of a disappointment.

Overall, this was an intriguing, very Kipling-esque story. I enjoyed the reading experience, even if I didn't fully enjoy the book. show less

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I had been looking forward to reaching this for some time, under the impression that it was an interesting step away from Kipling's usual writing. Not sure if that is really true - it was his first novel, so not sure if it can really be characterised as a step away. And it is interesting only in places; the hero's failure to get anywhere with the girl he loves is apparently painfully autobiographical, and the casual brutality is not very pleasant to read. However, I was really grabbed by Kipling's sympathetic portrayal of his hero as an artist, not a protagonist I had expected from this author (which shows how little I knew), and of course the central drama of his going blind is then very show more effective. (I guess that Florence Barclay's The Rosary may have been in part a response to The Light That Failed; well, Kipling's version is actually better and mercifully shorter.)

The other point of interest for me (and a few other people) is that quite a lot of the novel revolves around British attitudes to Sudan, and the final chapter is set there (indeed the references are specifically to "Southern Sudan", though a glance at the map indicates that they did not actually get very far south). It's interesting to read about a place which I know for quite different reasons through the rather shortsighted and blurred imperialist lens. show less

The first novel published by Kipling. There are some clues throughout that he was inspired by his own childhood to some extent, and his early career as a journalist. He must have used conversations with his uncles to fill in the art talk and experience.

Published in 1890, it reads like a novel on the cusp of the modern writing. It isn't flowery and wordy, as writers like Dickens and Wilkins; but curt and abbreviated writing, like Hemmingway and London. More like the writing of a journalist. It is clear that he had the experience of being near or on the battlefield. It is also obvious that this is a first novel. The characters try too hard to give their views on Art. It isn't quite navel-gazing, but pontificating would be a good show more description. I became impatient with it, yet didn't stop reading. Oh, it is also quite a downer. The Light that Failed is a good title. By the end, I was ready and eager for what happened to Dick. Maybe that's just me. show less

A touching and vivid story about independence and decadence: Kipling proves his expertise as an author in this vivid description of a young, cocky sketch artist moving up the social ladder and the introspection he is forced to face when he can't have his childhood love. His professionalism in retelling the themes of independence vs dependence, decadence and self-doubt makes up for his sometimes annoying racist undertones and romantic depicting of the colonialistic era, which is just about the only reason for the missing fifth star.

This book was hard for me to get into, at first. The story didn't roll off the pages as easily as other war-time novels. The Light that Failed follows the life of Richard Heldar, a soldier turned painter. The story begins with Dick as a child with his companion, Maisie, shooting a pistol by the ocean. This opening scene lays the foundation for the competitiveness they will share later in life. It also begins Dick's never ending love for Maisie despite the fact they will have gone their separate ways by adulthood. Dick spends some time as a soldier in Sudan and makes some lifelong friends, but it's after the war when he returns to London, England that the story really picks up. Dick comes home to be an artisit and to paint. His show more depictions of war become popular and his talent is exposed. Ironically, it is that same war that brought him fame that also brings his downfall. show less

There were aspects of this novel which will no doubt linger, such a work so preoccupied with light and color. I felt the characters genuine albeit incomplete.