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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
This was a bookclub pick because we have recently read a couple of books that referenced the Jungle Book (The Tiger by John Vaillant and the Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht). I hadn't read this book as a child and to my recollection haven't even watched the whole movie rendition by Disney. So, I was going in thinking the whole book would be about Mowgli etc. To my surprise this story was a few chapters, but the Jungle book was actually a compilation of short stories about different animals you might find in India from Mowgli's story to a mongoose, elephants and the various animals involved in war. I am not usually a huge fan of short stories... I tend to prefer something longer I can sink my teeth into, but these were pretty good, and to my surprise did not shield you from the harsh reality of a natural life - kill or be killed.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Moderate: Racism, Violence
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For those that don’t know the history of how Kipling came up with and across the ideas for his fable stories, they are derived from the Sanskrit tales of the Panchatantra and the Jātaka Tales; also translated into Persian (first century C.E.), then Syriac, then Arabic (after the Islamic conquests); titled Kalila and Dimna. This is the source of using animals in an anthropomorphic manner to teach moral lessons, that then spread around the world, perhaps first in the West as Aesop’s Fables. There is a lovely fairly recent translation of Kalila and Dimna (or Kalileh va Dimneh) from Persian to English by Ramsay Wood available on Amazon kindle.
You can get a glimpse of the background on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle_Book
Kipling did admit this in a letter to a friend, American author Edward Everett Hale:
“The idea of beast-tales seems to me new in that it is a most ancient and long forgotten idea. The really fascinating tales are those that the Bodhisat tells of his previous incarnations ending always with the beautiful moral. Most of the native hunters in India today think pretty much along the lines of an animal's brain and I have "cribbed" freely from their tales.”
And as reported in The Guardian newspaper:
"In fact, it is extremely possible that I have helped myself promiscuously but at present cannot remember from whose stories I have stolen."
So his stories are not, in fact, a ‘reflection of colonialist thinking,’ as so many reviewers here seem to ascribe. The ideas actually predate Western colonialism by about 4000 years.
You can get a glimpse of the background on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle_Book
Kipling did admit this in a letter to a friend, American author Edward Everett Hale:
“The idea of beast-tales seems to me new in that it is a most ancient and long forgotten idea. The really fascinating tales are those that the Bodhisat tells of his previous incarnations ending always with the beautiful moral. Most of the native hunters in India today think pretty much along the lines of an animal's brain and I have "cribbed" freely from their tales.”
And as reported in The Guardian newspaper:
"In fact, it is extremely possible that I have helped myself promiscuously but at present cannot remember from whose stories I have stolen."
So his stories are not, in fact, a ‘reflection of colonialist thinking,’ as so many reviewers here seem to ascribe. The ideas actually predate Western colonialism by about 4000 years.
A lot more violent than I had anticipated. Way bloodier than the Disney movie made it out to be.
So here's the thing. I of course have seen the Disney version of The Jungle book cartoon. Also I have seen the cartoon about Rikki Tikki Tavi that used to play I think either on USA Network or Nickelodeon as a kid. I so wanted to live among wolves and buy a mongoose. My mom said nope to both things. So when I read this the other day, I had no idea this version had the Mowgli stories as well as a few others (I did not enjoy) and then Rikki Tikki Tavi. I am wondering If I blanked on the fact that Kipling was behind not only the Jungle Book but Rikki Tikki Tavi.
Per usual my rating is based on my ratings for the individual stories.
Mowgli's Brothers (4 stars)-So this story tells how a man-cub named Mowgli came to live with the wolves. How Shere Khan stalked him as a child and how his wolf-mother said one day Mowgli would see Shere Khan dead. We also get Bagheera and Baloo who first stood and ensured Mowgli's way in the pack. FYI, I read parts of The Jungle Book in English class and I don't recall the writing or the way that everyone sounds like a character out of the Bible. I used to hate that in English class all we got was excerpts of work and then at the end had to answer questions. So the last thing I remember reading was that Mowgli left the jungle behind and went into the village of men. Or maybe I am getting that messed up with the cartoon. Who knows.
Kaa's Hunting (4.5 stars)-This is a story that takes place before Mowgli's Brothers with Mowgli not listening to Baloo and getting himself kidnapped. Bagheera and Baloo request the services of a python, Kaa. FYI, I don't like snakes.
Tiger! Tiger! (5 stars)-The last tale of Mowgli and what becomes of Shere Khan.
The White Seal (1 stars)-I was just bored. I have no idea who any of these characters were and don't recall even hearing about them as a kid. Somehow this story felt all over the place.
Rikki Tikki Tavi (5 stars)-Kind of a jerk, but I loved our little mongoose who kept this family safe and him doing what he could to take out the cobras. I did feel bad though that Nagaina lost all of her young.
Toomai of the Elephants (2 stars)-I honestly had to re-look this one up since it totally faded from my head. Story about a young boy named Toomai who ends up seeing the elephants dance at night and is praised for it. I wish I had liked it more. Felt like Kipling was going for more of a Mowgli vibe.
Her Majesty's Servants (2 stars)- The Viceroy of India is set to receive a visit from the Amir of Afghanistan. Various animals end up getting spooked and then talk amongst each other. I read this last before falling asleep and just scratched my head a bit. It also is kind of messed up because the animals talk about being afraid of war and death, but they are forced to be there due to man. But somehow they all march and do what is expected of them and everyone is impressed. Eh. Maybe I missed something.
Interspersed throughout are songs that Mogwli sang and one of the birds singing of Rikki Tikki Tavi's victory, etc.
Per usual my rating is based on my ratings for the individual stories.
Mowgli's Brothers (4 stars)-So this story tells how a man-cub named Mowgli came to live with the wolves. How Shere Khan stalked him as a child and how his wolf-mother said one day Mowgli would see Shere Khan dead. We also get Bagheera and Baloo who first stood and ensured Mowgli's way in the pack. FYI, I read parts of The Jungle Book in English class and I don't recall the writing or the way that everyone sounds like a character out of the Bible. I used to hate that in English class all we got was excerpts of work and then at the end had to answer questions. So the last thing I remember reading was that Mowgli left the jungle behind and went into the village of men. Or maybe I am getting that messed up with the cartoon. Who knows.
Kaa's Hunting (4.5 stars)-This is a story that takes place before Mowgli's Brothers with Mowgli not listening to Baloo and getting himself kidnapped. Bagheera and Baloo request the services of a python, Kaa. FYI, I don't like snakes.
Tiger! Tiger! (5 stars)-The last tale of Mowgli and what becomes of Shere Khan.
The White Seal (1 stars)-I was just bored. I have no idea who any of these characters were and don't recall even hearing about them as a kid. Somehow this story felt all over the place.
Rikki Tikki Tavi (5 stars)-Kind of a jerk, but I loved our little mongoose who kept this family safe and him doing what he could to take out the cobras. I did feel bad though that Nagaina lost all of her young.
Toomai of the Elephants (2 stars)-I honestly had to re-look this one up since it totally faded from my head. Story about a young boy named Toomai who ends up seeing the elephants dance at night and is praised for it. I wish I had liked it more. Felt like Kipling was going for more of a Mowgli vibe.
Her Majesty's Servants (2 stars)- The Viceroy of India is set to receive a visit from the Amir of Afghanistan. Various animals end up getting spooked and then talk amongst each other. I read this last before falling asleep and just scratched my head a bit. It also is kind of messed up because the animals talk about being afraid of war and death, but they are forced to be there due to man. But somehow they all march and do what is expected of them and everyone is impressed. Eh. Maybe I missed something.
Interspersed throughout are songs that Mogwli sang and one of the birds singing of Rikki Tikki Tavi's victory, etc.
Hhhhhhmmmmm, this was not what I was expected it to be. Not that I expected the original version of the Disney film, but I am not too sure that I expected this. I certainly thought there would be more stories about Mowgli in here, but they were very few on the ground over the two “Jungle Books”.
Seriously, over 15 stories I think maybe 6 or 7 contained Mowgli’s name, even if he wasn’t in the entire story (see for example ‘The King’s Ankus’ which is Kaa telling Mowgli a story.)
Of the non-Mowgli related stories the best by far was ‘Rikki-tikki-tavi’ which seems to be the consensus over the reviews I have read of this book. I’m not too sure why there were so many seemingly random stories about other animals in here, but it doesn’t half throw you off your stride.
Seriously, over 15 stories I think maybe 6 or 7 contained Mowgli’s name, even if he wasn’t in the entire story (see for example ‘The King’s Ankus’ which is Kaa telling Mowgli a story.)
Of the non-Mowgli related stories the best by far was ‘Rikki-tikki-tavi’ which seems to be the consensus over the reviews I have read of this book. I’m not too sure why there were so many seemingly random stories about other animals in here, but it doesn’t half throw you off your stride.
Oh dear. I did not enjoy it, and I am rather uncertain if this will even count as a read. I actually read the first half of The Jungle Book and really liked it. I liked the different stories about the animals in the jungle and especially the story about Mowgli. Somehow, it became so boring. I didn't want to read it, but I always want to read all of my books. I have skim-read (even excluded some chapters) to just be finished with this book.
I am really sad that it turned out this way, because I was so excited for it! Unfortunately, this book was nothing for me. :(
I am really sad that it turned out this way, because I was so excited for it! Unfortunately, this book was nothing for me. :(
Far removed from the classic Disney version with nice cuddly talking animals and hardly an ounce of bloodshed and only the occasional hint of danger this collection of stories depicts the true savagery of the Jungle and the neccessity of this way within the natural world and how pointless and selfish such savagery is in the world of man. The writing is descriptive and captivating and guarantees Kipling's place as one of the master storytellers of all time