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The Writings in Prose and Verse of Rudyard Kipling ...: The Naulahka; A Story of West and East
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396 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2015
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About the author
Rudyard Kipling
6,980 books3,624 followersJoseph Rudyard Kipling was a journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.
Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.
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."
Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."
Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.
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."
Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 5, 2020
Naulakha is an Indian word for 900,000 rupees. There also was a necklace with the sam name. Kipling and Wolcott Balestier co-write this story but Wolcott died tragically before he finished his part. The story of Not climate Tarvin a american westerner going to India for the woman he loves Kate who is a nurse missionary. He also is after the necklace to save the town he loves Topaz.
The story is disjointed although a good adventure story. Nick lacks a moral compass. The story is sexist, racist and belittling of Indian people who are depicted as duplicitous, shifty, lazy and unwilling to change. Of course Westerners are perceived as go getters. I liked the story though just not the tone.
The story is disjointed although a good adventure story. Nick lacks a moral compass. The story is sexist, racist and belittling of Indian people who are depicted as duplicitous, shifty, lazy and unwilling to change. Of course Westerners are perceived as go getters. I liked the story though just not the tone.
August 17, 2019
As a long-time apologist of Rudyard Kipling's work and a fan of even longer standing (I was about six when I first read The Jungle Book, although the tales that really inspired me were those of the duel between the mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and the cobras Nag and Nagaina, and The White Seal's search for a birthing beach safe from the depredations of sealers), I was about two thirds of the way through The Naulahka and beginning to fear that I would not even be able to enjoy the story, let alone defend it, when the story flipped. What before I had read as the tale of Western disapproval of the East, as confirmation of all those lazy takes on Kipling as the apologist for Empire, I realised was something else entirely: The Naulahka is, in fact, a love letter to America and Americans. Kipling began writing the story in collaboration with Wolcott Balestier, the brother of his wife, Carrie Balestier, and its hero is as unabashedly American as Kipling could make him: the very personification of the men busy taming - and making money - from the expanding American frontier. The Naulahka puts such a man in India, not to illumine India, but to highlight America and Americans. Kipling makes no effort to present India or Indians from within - as he does in his other Indian stories - for the the protagonist is an outsider in India, and remains one for the entirety of the story. The Naulahka is Kipling's version of de Tocqueville's essay on America, an America exemplified by placing it in contrast to a stereotypical vision of India. Not Kipling's best, but for this fan and apologist, enjoyable and defensible.
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January 3, 2016"Naulahka" is the name Kipling gave to his home here in Brattleboro, Vermont, though the Naulahka of the book title refers to a most precious jeweled necklace. It is also a story he wrote with a co-author, Wolcott Balestier, a Brattleboro man, and Kipling's brother-in-law. Balestier died of typhoid shortly after they began the collaboration, so what remains is mostly Kipling.
I read a Modern Library 1950 edition of the book which wasn't one of the options in the goodreads collection, so I chose the edition there that featured a photo of Kipling standing before his library at his Vermont jewel of an estate.
The Naulahka is well-written in terms of the use of good, lyrical, descriptive English. The descriptions of palaces, and the deserts and jungles of India are vivid. The scene where the protagonist, Nick Tarvin, ventures to the sacred ruins in search of the Naulahka, is wonderfully cinematic, like an Indiana Jones sequence. Perhaps this passage is so compelling because Tarvin is using his wits against nature and battling the superstitions he's heard of the place. He is not summarily judging others and besting them in an either superhuman or "slight-of-narrative" way.
The Naulahka is racist and sexist. The natives of India are backward, lazy, and superstitious, even in the face of science. The few Western personalities are long-suffering as they attempt to "correct" eastern thinking with western medicines and religion. Though the book was written in 1898, it is even more frustrating to see and hear the same biases expressed in The Naulahka, repeated with the same confidence 118 years later.
Nick Tarvin, the typical do-it-all, never-quit, American Man, is clever, and talented but lacks empathy for humanity. He wants only what he wants and reasons with himself (for us, the readers) that his goals will benefit everyone.
He's an asshole, which makes it difficult for this reader to empathize with him, or to really care if he gains his desires.
The woman, Kate, on a medical mission to India, who Tarvin pursues there, is a strong woman. It is difficult at times to comprehend what attracts her to her suitor. Kate is stolid in her desire to begin nursing the underattended in India, the descriptions of her perseverance in the face of setbacks is admirable, but in the end, again, by storyteller's machinations, she leaves India to marry Nick.
(Interestingly, Nick, who called Kate only "little girl", "my darling", and "dear girl" throughout the novel, addresses her as "little woman" after their marriage.
There is a scene with Kate and the queen mother, after all of Kate's patients grow superstitious and quit the hospital, where Her Highness avers that only one who has given birth can truly be respected when curing the sick and tending to illnesses.
I couldn't wait to finish this. I kept hoping Kate would tell Nick off resolutely or that he might have some sort of enlightenment toward the lives, emotions and desires outside of his own. It doesn't happen.
I thought about abandoning the book; it's that bad. I considered that I could only read to the end because white, male privilege keeps the offense of the writing toward women and toward other cultures at a tolerable distance.
I read a Modern Library 1950 edition of the book which wasn't one of the options in the goodreads collection, so I chose the edition there that featured a photo of Kipling standing before his library at his Vermont jewel of an estate.
The Naulahka is well-written in terms of the use of good, lyrical, descriptive English. The descriptions of palaces, and the deserts and jungles of India are vivid. The scene where the protagonist, Nick Tarvin, ventures to the sacred ruins in search of the Naulahka, is wonderfully cinematic, like an Indiana Jones sequence. Perhaps this passage is so compelling because Tarvin is using his wits against nature and battling the superstitions he's heard of the place. He is not summarily judging others and besting them in an either superhuman or "slight-of-narrative" way.
The Naulahka is racist and sexist. The natives of India are backward, lazy, and superstitious, even in the face of science. The few Western personalities are long-suffering as they attempt to "correct" eastern thinking with western medicines and religion. Though the book was written in 1898, it is even more frustrating to see and hear the same biases expressed in The Naulahka, repeated with the same confidence 118 years later.
Nick Tarvin, the typical do-it-all, never-quit, American Man, is clever, and talented but lacks empathy for humanity. He wants only what he wants and reasons with himself (for us, the readers) that his goals will benefit everyone.
He's an asshole, which makes it difficult for this reader to empathize with him, or to really care if he gains his desires.
The woman, Kate, on a medical mission to India, who Tarvin pursues there, is a strong woman. It is difficult at times to comprehend what attracts her to her suitor. Kate is stolid in her desire to begin nursing the underattended in India, the descriptions of her perseverance in the face of setbacks is admirable, but in the end, again, by storyteller's machinations, she leaves India to marry Nick.
(Interestingly, Nick, who called Kate only "little girl", "my darling", and "dear girl" throughout the novel, addresses her as "little woman" after their marriage.
There is a scene with Kate and the queen mother, after all of Kate's patients grow superstitious and quit the hospital, where Her Highness avers that only one who has given birth can truly be respected when curing the sick and tending to illnesses.
I couldn't wait to finish this. I kept hoping Kate would tell Nick off resolutely or that he might have some sort of enlightenment toward the lives, emotions and desires outside of his own. It doesn't happen.
I thought about abandoning the book; it's that bad. I considered that I could only read to the end because white, male privilege keeps the offense of the writing toward women and toward other cultures at a tolerable distance.
October 1, 2015
"The Naulahka-A Story of East and West" is one of Rudyard Kipling's earliest works and precedes his more famous "Kim", "The Jungle Book", and "Just So Stories". It was originally co-written with his friend, Wolcott Balestier, and serialized in 1892. Just two installments into the serial, Balestier died, and Kipling was to edit the English and American book editions, himself. While, of itself, it is not one of Kipling's masterpieces, it is still an excellent read and incorporates many of Kipling's stylings of his later books. The very superlative descriptions of India and its people will transport you to Colonial India in the 19th century. One interesting facet of this book is the use of Americans as protagonists. Perhaps, Kipling uses the Americans as a means to commercial success in the American edition of his book, but it does add a cowboy like flavor to the story. Another facet of this book is the use of Kipling's poems as chapter heads, and this does add a wonderful element to the novel.
December 18, 2015
A classic Kipling book that takes the reader straight to the colonial days of British Raj in Indian subcontinent with details that lock you in. The book is both drama as well as a great account of the eternal questions surrounding feminism. As always, the author punctuates the story with Urdu and Hindi words that give the genre it's unique classical taste.
August 17, 2019
As a long-time apologist of Rudyard Kipling's work and a fan of even longer standing (I was about six when I first read The Jungle Book, although the tales that really inspired me were those of the duel between the mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and the cobras Nag and Nagaina, and The White Seal's search for a birthing beach safe from the depredations of sealers), I was about two thirds of the way through The Naulahka and beginning to fear that I would not even be able to enjoy the story, let alone defend it, when the story flipped. What before I had read as the tale of Western disapproval of the East, as confirmation of all those lazy takes on Kipling as the apologist for Empire, I realised was something else entirely: The Naulahka is, in fact, a love letter to America and Americans. Kipling began writing the story in collaboration with Wolcott Balestier, the brother of his wife, Carrie Balestier, and its hero is as unabashedly American as Kipling could make him: the very personification of the men busy taming - and making money - from the expanding American frontier. The Naulahka puts such a man in India, not to illumine India, but to highlight America and Americans. Kipling makes no effort to present India or Indians from within - as he does in his other Indian stories - for the the protagonist is an outsider in India, and remains one for the entirety of the story. The Naulahka is Kipling's version of de Tocqueville's essay on America, an America exemplified by placing it in contrast to a stereotypical vision of India. Not Kipling's best, but for this fan and apologist, enjoyable and defensible.
May 29, 2023
There are only occasionally bits of
what’s objectionable about Kipling in this tale, it seems to me (though they are unfortunate), and the story taken as a whole is a fun romance and adventure. He thought well enough of it to name a home of his Naulahka, I’ve read.
what’s objectionable about Kipling in this tale, it seems to me (though they are unfortunate), and the story taken as a whole is a fun romance and adventure. He thought well enough of it to name a home of his Naulahka, I’ve read.
December 26, 2020
A story about the Naulakha necklace and about West and East. An American entrepreneur Tarwin travels to India to find funds for his home town Topaz and in search for his love for Kate.
April 22, 2024
I was completely bored while reading this book.
I didn't find the interest at all .
Forgettable.
I didn't find the interest at all .
Forgettable.
September 7, 2023
A fun read and in many ways a remarkable novel. Kipling is so buried these days under politics that the poetry and pace of his fiction - both of which are outstanding - are forgotten. "The Naulahaka" reads like a great Western movie script. The characters are larger than life, and there are some wonderful descriptions of India, such as moonlit ruins in the jungle (Angkor Wat-like) and a kaleidoscope of color.
Kipling captures the Western mindset toward this foreign wonderland - at least the one that existed at the end of the 19th century. So while the whole is definitely dated - the way characters talk; the importance of the railroad - there is a ring of authenticity to much of what he describes. Like all great stories "The Naulahka" is one in which a man loves a woman and will do whatever is required to win her, and on that bedrock Kipling provides a memorable tale.
Kipling captures the Western mindset toward this foreign wonderland - at least the one that existed at the end of the 19th century. So while the whole is definitely dated - the way characters talk; the importance of the railroad - there is a ring of authenticity to much of what he describes. Like all great stories "The Naulahka" is one in which a man loves a woman and will do whatever is required to win her, and on that bedrock Kipling provides a memorable tale.
October 14, 2013
The Naulahka - A Story of East and West is more of a story of East and less of West. The book is well written, though calling the well-crafted plot gripping will be a slight overstatement. What I liked most about the book was how India is shown from the eyes of a foreigner, giving an idea of what went in the courts of the Kings of the lost past India. Also when read now, it shows how the now India is more like the West and nowhere near the East.
June 20, 2011
An intriguing story of ambition, love and royal court trappings with a stellar grey anti-hero who redeems himself in the end.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews