Kim

Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Advanced Readers, Fiction, Review
Tags: Long Read, Rudyard Kipling

Our rating:

Kimball O’Hara, an English boy brought up as a native of India, meets a lama (holy man) from Tibet, and, partly because he has nothing better to do, and partly out of interest, becomes the lama’s chela (disciple). The lama is searching for the River of the Arrow, but there is much more to the story. Kim is practically catapulted into a web of intrigue and government activities. Told only as Rudyard Kipling could tell it, Kim’s story is definitely an interesting read.

Quick warning: there are a few things that I wish Kipling would have left out, but it gives you a good idea of what it was like back then. It is so neat how the story is told. On the surface it just seems like a ho-hum story about different religions, but there’s so much more! Spies, escapes, planning, diplomacy, and (unfortunately) a large sprinkling of lying and some (ouch) swearing. It almost irritates me how calmly Kipling is able to write the adventure parts! You would think that you couldn’t have adventure without excitement, but it’s in here. This is quite the book to read all at once, so take it slowly, (maybe two spoonfuls after each meal), and immerse yourself in the world within a world of India.