Books of Literature by Nobel Prize Winning Authors: 2020 Challenge discussion
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Kim
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
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Reading schedule and background info
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I have finally got my copy of the book. I will start reading it tomorrow. Today was my grandson( five and a half) was here all day. I look after him on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but next week and the week after my daughter and her husband are on vacation, so I will have lots of time to read.
Rosemarie wrote: "I have finally got my copy of the book. I will start reading it tomorrow. Today was my grandson( five and a half) was here all day. I look after him on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but next week and the..."Mine hasn't arrived yet but I am hoping it will be here Thursday.
I have read the introduction by Angus Wilson, and it sounds like I am going to enjoy this book.
Rosemarie wrote: "I have read the introduction by Angus Wilson, and it sounds like I am going to enjoy this book."My copy has arrived and it has only 15 chapters and 1 afterword so making 4 chapters/week for reading. How many does your copy have Rosemarie?
My copy has fifteen chapters and a forward, with good sized print. The pace you suggested sounds good.
I am enjoying the novel so much that I am going to read it much faster than 4 chapters a week. I just finished chapter 5 and I'm hooked!
Kim has now found The Red Bull on a Green Field and has been discovered to be a sahib. This has curtailed his freedom, but he still thinks of the lama.
I have finished the book, and after reading the whole book what stands out is the vastness and variety of India itself. There are few British characters, who play supporting roles. Kim and the lama are the most important characters, with Hurree and the horse trader having very important roles as well. There is also one important female character-the talkative widow who provides nourishment and accomodation to Kim and the lama.Most adventure stories written at that time have only weak female roles, so this book is different in that way.
To me, it is a coming-of-age story set in India. We see Kim's spiritual growth as he realizes just how much the lama means to me. His partaking in the Game is his road to freedom. If he were not so talented, he would have been cooped up school and he would have been miserable.
I'm listening to an audiobook on my mp3 player. I'm on the sixth part of twelve parts. Kim is a very bright boy, who seems to be able to adjust to many situations. He can put on the clothes and languages of many different groups of people. He is a survivor.
Kim is a marvellous character, and very good at adapting to new situations and has a remarkable power for observing details.
Nancy wrote: "I'm listening to an audiobook on my mp3 player. I'm on the sixth part of twelve parts. Kim is a very bright boy, who seems to be able to adjust to many situations. He can put on the clothes and lan..."Kim is very blessed with many gifts and intelligence. I feel that one of the main themes of the book is the recognition that 'to whom much is given, much is required' That Kim has come to know that he must use his gifts not merely for advancement of self but in service of others.
https://librivox.org/kim-by-rudyard-k...
http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/kip_f...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_(no...
A reader's guide from Penguin books:
READERS GUIDE
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. For decades many critics have shown great disdain for Kipling, equating his work with the idea that British imperialism was a righteous and justified act. Is this assessment fair? Was Kipling simply writing what he knew or structuring his literature on his political beliefs?
2. As Kim moves from the intellectual world of school to the spiritual world he finds with the lama later in the story, he continually questions who he is. Is this questioning simply that of a young orphan or does it hint at larger political unease?
3. What is the purpose of the prophecy Kim brings to the soldiers?
4. Is it surprising, given Kim’s spirituality, that he joins the Secret Service? How does he reconcile his two separate lives?
5. In a 1943 essay, critic Edmund Wilson referred to the ending of Kim as a “betrayal” of the relationship of the old man and the young Kim, which made the book more literary than a mere adventure story. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
6. In her article “Adolescence, Imperialism, and Identity in Kim and Pegasus in Flight,” Nicole Didicher says, “Adults writing for adolescents inevitably use imperialist discourse to influence their readers’ maturation. Kipling . . . uses an existing imperialist society to present the protagonist’s establishment of his psychosocial identity.” Do you agree that all adult writers “inevitably” use imperialist discourse to reach their adolescent audiences? Did Kipling use imperialist India because that is what he knew, or was he simply entertaining a young audience?