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318 reviews for:
Kim By Rudyard Kipling "Classic Annotated Edition" Adventure Fiction Novel
Rudyard Kipling
3.33 AVERAGE
318 reviews for:
Kim By Rudyard Kipling "Classic Annotated Edition" Adventure Fiction Novel
Rudyard Kipling
3.33 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read 2017, 1000 Books to Read, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Nonwhite/Non-European
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really wanted to care about this book because of the importance of the author in world literature, but I couldn’t.
After 70+ pages, I couldn’t care about Kim, or his lama, or the search of the river, so I am going to let this one go.
After 70+ pages, I couldn’t care about Kim, or his lama, or the search of the river, so I am going to let this one go.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was my 211th book finished in 2025.
This was a pretty random book for me to pick up. The only reference I know to Kim is in Michael Palin's Himalaya TV series, where he visits the cannon featured at the beginning of the book. When I then saw the book Kim in a book swap, I took it home with me. I decided to give this one a go because I had a free audiobook of it on Audible.
What a slog this book was. It's definitely not the kind of thing I would normally pick up, but it was admittedly helped by the British-Indian narrator in the audiobook.
The whole backbone to this story is bathed in colonialism and classism, and you simply can't look past that. Sure, I absolutely appreciated the colourful and descriptive atmosphere of India and its varied people, but at the end of the day it was written by a white British man who used to live in India during the British Raj.
There are a few examples throughout the story of sexism, racism, and quite shocking racial slurs. This obviously makes it very uncomfortable to read, especially given that we remember it was written by a white man.
It's slow-paced, introspective, religious, and philosophical. These are not themes I enjoy in a book. However, it's not the very worst thing I've ever read. And in fact, some scenes I sort of enjoyed (when I understood what was actually happening).
But that being said, those things can't save the book overall. I wouldn't recommend it, and I certainly will think twice before reading anything else by Rudyard Kipling.
This was a pretty random book for me to pick up. The only reference I know to Kim is in Michael Palin's Himalaya TV series, where he visits the cannon featured at the beginning of the book. When I then saw the book Kim in a book swap, I took it home with me. I decided to give this one a go because I had a free audiobook of it on Audible.
What a slog this book was. It's definitely not the kind of thing I would normally pick up, but it was admittedly helped by the British-Indian narrator in the audiobook.
The whole backbone to this story is bathed in colonialism and classism, and you simply can't look past that. Sure, I absolutely appreciated the colourful and descriptive atmosphere of India and its varied people, but at the end of the day it was written by a white British man who used to live in India during the British Raj.
There are a few examples throughout the story of sexism, racism, and quite shocking racial slurs. This obviously makes it very uncomfortable to read, especially given that we remember it was written by a white man.
It's slow-paced, introspective, religious, and philosophical. These are not themes I enjoy in a book. However, it's not the very worst thing I've ever read. And in fact, some scenes I sort of enjoyed (when I understood what was actually happening).
But that being said, those things can't save the book overall. I wouldn't recommend it, and I certainly will think twice before reading anything else by Rudyard Kipling.
Enjoyed this buzzing book of youthful spy adventures in a vividly portrayed India. The minds of the protagonists often reflect no longer palatable racial views which jarred at times, yet it also regularly displays a surprisingly fluid approach to religion and identity.
I thought it a wonderful, immersive read, truly something else.
I thought it a wonderful, immersive read, truly something else.
Although there are troubling aspects to this novel for a modern reader it is still a gripping and fascinating read. Kipling writes beautifully about India, his hero's love of life and sense of adventure are very endearing and the subsidiary characters are intriguing. At the heart of the novel is the unlikely friendship between Kim and his lama, a Tibetan abbot, which is delightfully portrayed as the lama searches for enlightenment and Kim searches for a place in life.
I had such a deeper appreciation for this novel on this second read-through. Although (and I will continue to chalk it up to semester fatigue) many of the details of the Great Game intrigue were lost on me, honing in on this story as a story of childhood, and as a story of Kim and the lama, made me love it far more, and appreciate some of the really beautiful literary moves Kipling is making here. (Still: !imperialism! !so much imperialism!)
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No