Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Kim - Lynn's Take

Kim, by Rudyard Kipling, is one of the most enjoyable reads so far of the 100 best modern novels. Set in colonial India, it is the coming-of-age tale of Kimball O'Hare, orphaned son of an Irish soldier and his wife.

Kim has been raised for most of his life by native Indians, and unless someone looks very closely, he himself appears to be a native.  When, at 13, he meets a holy man and becomes his disciple, his adventures across the whole, colorful, cacophonous, sometimes dangerous sub-continent of India begin.

Along the way, Kim is discovered by the English and, because of his expert knowledge of his country, his cleverness, and his ability to blend in, he is drafted to become an English spy.  His mentors, of all ethnicities and trades, shape him into one of the finest young spies that England has ever seen.  When we leave Kim, he has just past the brink of manhood and a future even more wondrous than his past awaits.

Despite some dated and unflattering stereotypes about native Indians, Rudyard Kipling's novel is worth reading for its vivid and detailed portrayal of life in India under British Rule in the late 1800's.