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Rudyard Kipling: Something of Myself and Other Autobiographical Writings
Rudyard Kipling's autobiography, Something of Myself, was the author's last work, but it has not received the serious attention it deserves. Thomas Pinney's edition of the work, supplemented by other autobiographical pieces, aims to change that. Professor Pinney, a leading textual editor currently engaged on Kipling's letters, has consulted the available source material re...more
Paperback, 332 pages
Published
June 28th 2003
by Cambridge University Press
(first published 1937)
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Kipling had a popularity with other writers (Joyce put his talent next to Tolstoy's; William and Henry James loved him) that seems mysterious until you actually read him. His sentences are dense and tactile - whole pages drip with details made resonant and powerful through economy, architecture, and one of the most eclectic vocabularies I've ever read. "Something of Myself" is his very self-protective memoir, interesting especially for the parts about India and writing. The last chapte...more
Despite RK being one of my all-time favorite authors and poets, until a few weeks ago, I never knew he wrote an autobiography! What a thrill to get real background information from the horse's mouth, and to learn that he had a much more varied life than I knew. Full of little pearls of wisdom, background on some of the more famous stories and poems, not to mention some relatively unknown ones. Short but sweet.
Kipling's style was a bit too dry for me. Perhaps his modesty dictated the format, but I found it difficult to easily recognize important milestones in his life; much of the narrative was episodic and unfocused. I believe this has a lot to do with the fact that this work wasn't completed at the time of his death. In any event, I would not recommend this book.
I have a bit more sympathy for Kipling with this autobiography.
I'll admit it. Watching My Boy Jack on Masterpiece Theater tonight has piqued my interest in Kipling.
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