This is book number two in my challenge to read the complete works of Rudyard Kipling, in the order in which they were published.

I have fond memories of Kipling's Just So Stories from when I was a child, and I was later exposed to several of his short stories during my undergraduate years. After having read Plain Tales from the Hills I feel like I can say that if you want to understand the genre of the short story or learn how to write it, read Rudyard Kipling. He mixes character with the right amount of plot, keeps it short yet creates an arc, and always ends with some sort of revelation, twist, or dialogue that changes your perception while closing the story.

I could write a 20 page term paper on this book, but alas I'm not going to. I am going to mention a few of my thoughts though:

1. Recurring characters: across some of the stories we see consistent characters, characters who you can appreciate with just one tale but that really expand when read across multiple tales. I'm captivated by the character of Mrs. Hauksbee and hope that she appears in some of Kiplings later short stories, and I also really like the character of Strickland. It's as if Kipling is trying to paint an entire world, dipping into different aspects of society for the reader's benefit and pleasure.

2. Narrator as a consistent character: there is a consistent narrative voice throughout the stories, a narrator that refers to other stories and even to himself. What intrigues me is that while the narrator participates in many stories (tying skeletons to horses and the like) he is illusive and mysterious, un-characterized compared to the detailed descriptions we see of the other characters throughout the story. The narrator often speaks directly to the reader and even comments on his storytelling.

3. Race: like Mark Twain, Kipling is a product of his time, and any post-colonial reading could easily rip him to shreds. At the same time, he has a lot of respect for "the native" and often mocks the white European viewpoint and traditions, including the sense of colonial superiority. For example, in the very first story "Lispeth," the main character, and Indian, is raised by the Chaplain's wife but after having her heart broken returns to her original home and religion. We read:
" 'There is no law whereby you can account for the vagaries of the heathen,' said the Chaplain's wife, 'and I believe that Lispeth was always at heart an infidel.' Seeing she had been taken into the Church of England at the mature age of five weeks, this statement does not do credit to the Chaplain's wife."

A few of my favorite stories from the collection:
-Three and an Extra
-Miss Youghal's Sais
-The Rescue of Pluffles
-His Wedded Wife
-Venus Annodomini

I would definitely reread this collection, and recommend it to those who would like to become familiar with Kipling's adult-focused stories.