By my personal star rating system a
five star book represents a book I will read again. Rudyard Kipling's
Kim is ☆
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ by
that measurement.
Continuing with my Project Gutenberg - Rudyard Kipling
binge I just finished Kim. A lot of things have happened since
I last read Kim: the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the CIA support
of Pakistan's ISI cat's paw the Taliban, successful attacks on the
World Trade Center, the invasion of Afghanistan, the invasion of
Iraq, and you get the picture. A lot of things have happened. And
these things have given me a better idea of the forces Kipling writes
about in Kim. It's all there: the Afghans, the Russians, the
British (in place of the US), the spies, the machinations, and the
religions. I'll have to re-read Kim just to review the
teachings of Teshoo Lama, the Tibetan lama.
Kim
is another coming of age story (Looks like Kipling enjoyed that type
story.) This time it is Kimball
"Kim" O'Hara, the orphan son of an Irish soldier raised in
the native streets of Lahore. Kim is the Roy Hobbs of British India
spies, a master of disinformation, stealth, and self preservation at
an early age. We follow his recruitment and training into the
profession. But for me the real story in Kim
is the relationship between Teshoo Lama and Kim. They are like a
Crosby and Hope road picture, laughs, gaffes, misadventures and
ultimately enlightenment. (Don't ask in which film Crosby and Hope
were enlightened, but I always was.)
Let me quote myself here , “So why might I read (Kim)
again? Kipling is a good story teller. That point can not be
undersold. The people in the story are full of life. The scenery (the
Indian plains, the mountains, the Grand Trunk, the trains ) is
majestic and powerful. The dialects are fun. And the histories of the
men are appealing.” And I will repeat myself, I want to re-read the
teachings of Teshoo Lama. I think there is much to learn there.
George W. Parker
