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Kim (Everyman's Library (Cloth))
(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)
Introduction by John Bayley
Introduction by John Bayley
Hardcover, 0 pages
Published
March 21st 1995
by Everyman's Library
(first published 1901)
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Kim served as inspiration for my novel "The Game", the seventh entry in the Mary Russell series. Feel free to come and join in the discussion, even if you come across this after December has passed--the discussion will remain open indefinitely for new thoughts and comments. Click for more information about the Virtual Book Club
Oh, this is such a wonderful book. Coming-of-age tale and historical treatise; spy thriller and travel narrative; rousing adventure coupled with a s...more
Oh, this is such a wonderful book. Coming-of-age tale and historical treatise; spy thriller and travel narrative; rousing adventure coupled with a s...more
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One of the best books I've ever read, and one that I'm sure will stick with me for a long, long time. Not to say it's a perfect book. For one, it's pretty colonial-feeling, what with its fondness for dropping the n-word on anyone browner than an Englishman, its blithe references to sneaky, inconstant "orientals," and so forth - so much so that it's distracting and jarring in a few places. As a 21st century reader, it took me some mental effort to get past that easy matter-of-fact racis...more
As referenced in previous reviews, some of the best novels that I have read are about a particular place. While I would not necessarily place this one within the pantheon, it is clearly the seminal work concerning life in turn of the century India. I was amazed with the rich and vivid descriptions of the setting and found myself intrigued enough in the plot to want to keep picking it up over and over.
The story concerns the life of Kim(ball) O’Hara, the orphaned son of a Irish soldi...more
The story concerns the life of Kim(ball) O’Hara, the orphaned son of a Irish soldi...more
James
rated it
One of the most beautiful tales of friendship I have ever read, Kim is much more. Rudyard Kipling created in Kim a novel in the mold of the classic heroic journey that has a pedigree reaching back to Gilgamesh and the Odyssey. With Kim, a young white boy, sahib, at it's center and his friend and mentor the Lama, we see the world of India in the nineteenth century as it is ruled by Great Britain. Kipling raises questions of identity (Who is Kim?), culture, spirituality and the nature of fate. Mos...more
I decided that before reading Laurie R. King's The Game again, I should read Rudyard Kipling's Kim, as King calls The Game "a humble and profoundly felt homage" to Kim. Besides, I'd never read it, and it's one of those classics I felt I should get around to someday.
Kimball O'Hara is the orphaned son of an Irish soldier who was stationed in India; when his father died, Kim was raised by a half-caste woman and learned to live on the streets of Lahore. The story begins when K...more
Kimball O'Hara is the orphaned son of an Irish soldier who was stationed in India; when his father died, Kim was raised by a half-caste woman and learned to live on the streets of Lahore. The story begins when K...more
Kim, or Kimball O’ Hara, is a British boy who has grown up on the streets of Lahore at the height of British rule in India. He lives like a native Indian, speaks Hindi fluently and knows the city like the back of his hand. Immensely street-wise, he makes a living by carrying messages for all kinds of people including an Afghan horse-dealer called Mahbub Ali who is himself involved in espionage on behalf of the British government. Kim’s ability to be part of more than one community makes him a p...more
underneath kipling's unrepentant colonialism is a gifted storyteller and a great writer and a sympathetic observer. this is a much-better-than-you-think-it-would-be story of idiosyncratic characters who find themselves players in the Great Game, where the british empire battled the russian empire for control over central asia. it's also an interesting colonialist's-eye view of a part of the world that kipling clearly loved.
Yes, Kamili, I too will forever associate this book with you and Paris. In fact the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this book is the moment we decided that we were not going to read the book or write the paper. We were on a train to the South of France and the air smelled like lavender. Maybe it was something about France, but I have never been so calm about turning in a paper a week late since.
Kim and Jonny Quest cartoons formed my idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up.
"This is a great and terrible world. I never knew there were so many men alive in it."
This is one of those books at the center of the academic street fight known as postcolonial studies. On one hand, Rudyard Kipling was a great (and Nobel Prize-winning) writer; on the other hand, he was an unabashed cheerleader of British and American imperialism. I wanted to read Kim, in fact, because Edward Said had so much to say about it (both good and bad) in Culture and Imperialism. ...more
This is one of those books at the center of the academic street fight known as postcolonial studies. On one hand, Rudyard Kipling was a great (and Nobel Prize-winning) writer; on the other hand, he was an unabashed cheerleader of British and American imperialism. I wanted to read Kim, in fact, because Edward Said had so much to say about it (both good and bad) in Culture and Imperialism. ...more
I have tried to read this book in the past and failed. It is one of those. You know what I'm talking about.
I love the Jungle Books and some other Kipling short stories that I have read, so I am determined to get into this book. we shall see.
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I finished it. Finally. I have to admit, it was not well footnoted. It is all about very subtle interaction with all these different peoples of India, and if you don't know much about that( w...more
I love the Jungle Books and some other Kipling short stories that I have read, so I am determined to get into this book. we shall see.
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I finished it. Finally. I have to admit, it was not well footnoted. It is all about very subtle interaction with all these different peoples of India, and if you don't know much about that( w...more
What a journey of a novel, another one of my all time top books. It is an entry from one of my favorite periods: Imperialist England, specifically Imperialist English rule of India. Perhaps I owe it to Orwell's Shooting An Elephant for getting me involved in this topic, but I often imagine being an Imperial Officer in India, with the frightful adventures coupled with multiple misunderstandings. Searching for the right path.
The story of Kim encapsulates the time period, providing perspe...more
The story of Kim encapsulates the time period, providing perspe...more
Well- I'm glad I finally read this since I've heard about it so many years, but I frankly liked the Jungle Books much better.
One weakness is Kipling's extensive use of Indian place-names, Hindu terminology and phrases that require regular recourse to a footnoted appendix. Yes, these things add color but also require breaking out of the story to discover it- too often.
Secondly, while Kim is an interesting character, he is a liar on a colossal scale. This is dressed up in ...more
One weakness is Kipling's extensive use of Indian place-names, Hindu terminology and phrases that require regular recourse to a footnoted appendix. Yes, these things add color but also require breaking out of the story to discover it- too often.
Secondly, while Kim is an interesting character, he is a liar on a colossal scale. This is dressed up in ...more
The novel Kim by Rudyard Kipling take place in India, under the British Empire. Kim, the protagonist, is a boy of Irish descent who is orphaned and grows up independently in the streets of India, taken care of by a “half-caste” woman, a keeper of an opium den. He grows up as a native person. He acquires the ability to seamlessly blend into the many ethnic and religious groups of the Indian subcontinent. Kim is known to his acquaintances as Friend of All the World. Kim meets a Tibetan lama a Budd...more
This was a lot cooler than I had orginally thought it would be. It's kind of plotless, just a long slice of life kind of story, but a pretty fucking cool life to take a slice of. I've never been to India, and I'm sure it's nothing like this book anymore, but the setting here is so well-put and awesome. I'm not going to go into the racist, sexist, or imperialistic underpinnings of this book, because it's been done so many times before, and to no good end.
Strangely, the lama, when...more
Strangely, the lama, when...more
I understand that "Kim" is generally considered Kipling's greatest novel. I personally, however, found it less than great. There are some aspects of it that surpass any other works I can think of. Primarily, this would be in its description of India. The people, the places, the customs are all described in rich (which might also be unduly drawn out) detail. I think the story attempts to be a coming of age tale, although in this it fails to impress. One is much more likely to enjo...more
Tucker
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who have the Cliff Notes to read first
Recommended to Tucker by:
A woman cleaning out her basement of moldy paperbacks
Shelves:
finished
I have no idea what happened in this book. Seriously not a clue. It's like one continuous run-on poetic sentence.
Sometimes the language is beautiful:
"There is no city--except Bombay, the queen of all--more beautiful in her garish style than Lucknow, whether you see her from the bridge over the river, or from the top of the Imambara looking down on the gilt umbrellas of the Chutter Munzil, and the trees in which the town is bedded. Kings have adorned her with fantastic...more
Sometimes the language is beautiful:
"There is no city--except Bombay, the queen of all--more beautiful in her garish style than Lucknow, whether you see her from the bridge over the river, or from the top of the Imambara looking down on the gilt umbrellas of the Chutter Munzil, and the trees in which the town is bedded. Kings have adorned her with fantastic...more
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called "classics," then write reports on whether or not they deserve the label
Essay #51: Kim (1901), by Rudyard Kipling
The story in a nutshell:
Rudyard Kipling has taken a big hit in reputation since ...more
The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called "classics," then write reports on whether or not they deserve the label
Essay #51: Kim (1901), by Rudyard Kipling
The story in a nutshell:
Rudyard Kipling has taken a big hit in reputation since ...more
So let's just put on the back burner the fact that Kipling was a real a-hole in real life. He was, but I'm here to discuss his writing so that's what I'll do.
The title character, Kim, is not indeed Indian. That was the biggest preconceived notion I had. He was not Indian. He was the orphan son of an Irish soldier who had been stationed outside of India, and a poor woman. Kim lives a life similar to one as seen in the Disney version of Aladdin (now I'm really mixing things up) - ...more
The title character, Kim, is not indeed Indian. That was the biggest preconceived notion I had. He was not Indian. He was the orphan son of an Irish soldier who had been stationed outside of India, and a poor woman. Kim lives a life similar to one as seen in the Disney version of Aladdin (now I'm really mixing things up) - ...more
Laurie King's book The Game introduced me to this over-looked novel by Kipling. Many of us know Kipling by only his Jungle Books: the story of the boy Mowgli torn between two worlds: raised by wolves, yet fascinated by the world of men. This conflict is explored on a much deeper level in the well-written and realistic story of the youth Kim.
Kim, "Friend of all the world", moves fluidly between many worlds, yet is not completely a part of any. He is by birth an Irish boy (hi...more
Kim, "Friend of all the world", moves fluidly between many worlds, yet is not completely a part of any. He is by birth an Irish boy (hi...more
Kim (Kipling’s masterpiece) came as a very pleasant surprise to those who came new to Kipling. It was a subtle, engaging, comic and moving tale of a young man’s development, set against a gorgeous backdrop of the teeming subcontinent. The novel showed great insight into India and its people, and contrary to reputation displayed no unpleasant imperialism.
We all agreed that Kim, with its characteristic image of the roads streaming with humanity, provided a gloriously colourful picture ...more
We all agreed that Kim, with its characteristic image of the roads streaming with humanity, provided a gloriously colourful picture ...more
Putting issues of imperialism and race aside, Kim is a wonderfully told story about a rascally boy searching for his own racial and cultural identity. Kipling has a storyteller's way with words and a deep affection for all of his characters and the country in which they roam.
I had a history teacher in high school whose parents named him after the protagonist in this book, and I guess it turned out to be a fitting name, for he too is a rascal. I had him for history twice, once when I w...more
I had a history teacher in high school whose parents named him after the protagonist in this book, and I guess it turned out to be a fitting name, for he too is a rascal. I had him for history twice, once when I w...more
Eloquent, but disappointing. I bought this expecting it to be an enticing adventure story that delves deeply into Indian culture, but the book ultimately failed me on both counts. There is very little depiction of India here. The country is seldom described in detail, and there is no cultural context given for anything that is happening. Kipling simply throws a bunch of half-formed notions about India at you, and it is left for the reader to piece it together as best he or she can. You do g...more
I'm glad that I can say I've read something by Rudyard Kipling because I see why his books classify as "classics." The language he uses to conjure up scenes of colonial India is both beautiful and clear, making this an easy and interesting read. Even though I had no prior knowledge of India's culture, Kipling managed to convey the subtle nuances of conversation in multiple languages while stile making the text accessible to today's reader.
Kim was clever and interesting to re...more
Kim was clever and interesting to re...more
Espléndida novela que me recomendó mi amigo Luis Combarro. En la edición que he leído (Grandes Clásicos de Mondadori) hay una interesante introducción escrita por Edward W. Said, que recomiendo leer una ver degustado el libro, ya que centra la historia en la realidad de la India del momento, así como la visión que tenía Kipling de la misma, y la relación de esta historia y su protagonista con otras contemporáneas al autor.
La novela encierra preciosas historias, contadas con la erudic...more
La novela encierra preciosas historias, contadas con la erudic...more
A classic tale of friendship, spiritual search, and human experience by one of the best authors of all time (in many people's opinion, including my own). Please read other reviews to find out more about the actual story. Kim is a uniquely captivating character likely inspired by the author's own childhood growing up in India.
Rudyard Kipling is best known for his poem "If" and "The Jungle Book" I actually didn't know he had written "If" but always found it very ...more
Rudyard Kipling is best known for his poem "If" and "The Jungle Book" I actually didn't know he had written "If" but always found it very ...more
Kim isn't the Rudyard Kipling most people recall from their schooldays: the imperialist behind The White Man's Burden. Not having read anything other than The Jungle Book as a child (and of course seeing the Disney movie version many times, not to mention regularly watching the film version of another of Kipling's classics--one of my favorites--John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King with Sean Connery and Michael Caine), I was pleasantly surprised by his embrace of the many cultures and religio...more
In the book Kim , Rudyard Kipling describes the adventures of a young Indian "spy." The spy (Kim) is an Irish child who was abandoned at the age of three. Growing up in India, he learns all the customs of Indian children, and becomes one himself. However, all that he knows gets quickly altered by the appearance of a "holy man" from China. This man (a lama) is in search of a magical river of healing. Kim is fascinated by this old man, and the two of them take off on a j...more
A young orphan of Irish parentage fends for himself in the British ruled India in the late 1800′s. So immersed into Indian society, the young Kim whose skin is darkened, passes as a native to most he encounters. He travels the road of life with influential men who may lead him either astray or into enlightenment.
Young Kim is a tough and savvy survivor. His mother dies of cholera shortly after his birth and his alcoholic father dies when Kim is still a young boy, but leaves with him ...more
Young Kim is a tough and savvy survivor. His mother dies of cholera shortly after his birth and his alcoholic father dies when Kim is still a young boy, but leaves with him ...more
True fact: Kipling won the Nobel Prize! In 1907, six years after the serial publication of Kim ended.
Also true: Kipling was a raging racist and sexist. He is remembered for these characteristics almost as much as for the publication of The Jungle Book and Just So Stories.
Now that I have read Kim, I will try to remember him as a great novelist as well.
Kim is the story of a white orphan (Irish soldier father, British maid mother) raised by an Indian woman as...more
Also true: Kipling was a raging racist and sexist. He is remembered for these characteristics almost as much as for the publication of The Jungle Book and Just So Stories.
Now that I have read Kim, I will try to remember him as a great novelist as well.
Kim is the story of a white orphan (Irish soldier father, British maid mother) raised by an Indian woman as...more
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Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kip...
More about Rudyard Kipling...
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“Something I owe to the soil that grew—
More to the life that fed—
But most to Allah who gave me two
Separate sides to my head.”
—
7 people liked it
More to the life that fed—
But most to Allah who gave me two
Separate sides to my head.”
“This is a brief life, but in its brevity it offers us some splendid moments, some meaningful adventures.”
—
5 people liked it
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