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secre 's review for:
The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling
It's difficult to rate a classic so many years on because everything has changed so much; attitudes, opinions and language itself. However, it can't be denied Kipling knows how to turn a phrase and his story telling is still effective even with the thy's, thee's and thou's.
I enjoyed reading The Jungle Book and was surprised to learn that only the first few chapters relate to the jungle book as we know it. Well over half the book has nothing to do with Mowgli and the jungle, instead taking us into animal based fables based around a white seal, a mongoose, elephants and war animals in India. There is dominance of the Indian background and the colonial slant is undeniable, as is the condescending attitude Kipling has almost unthinkingly towards the Indians themselves. It isn't racist in a cruel and deliberately offensive manner, but it is racist by assumptions insofar as it looks down on the natives.
That is an aspect of the time it was written in however, and Kipling was writing during Britains colonial era so this isn't overly surprising. Personally, I best enjoyed the stories with none or little of this condescension including the mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and the camp animals of Her Majesty's Servants, however that may be modern sentiment speaking.
I did enjoy reading it however and found these fables that I had no idea existed very interesting indeed. I'm glad I started on classics again for the first time since my degree with Kipling.
I enjoyed reading The Jungle Book and was surprised to learn that only the first few chapters relate to the jungle book as we know it. Well over half the book has nothing to do with Mowgli and the jungle, instead taking us into animal based fables based around a white seal, a mongoose, elephants and war animals in India. There is dominance of the Indian background and the colonial slant is undeniable, as is the condescending attitude Kipling has almost unthinkingly towards the Indians themselves. It isn't racist in a cruel and deliberately offensive manner, but it is racist by assumptions insofar as it looks down on the natives.
That is an aspect of the time it was written in however, and Kipling was writing during Britains colonial era so this isn't overly surprising. Personally, I best enjoyed the stories with none or little of this condescension including the mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and the camp animals of Her Majesty's Servants, however that may be modern sentiment speaking.
I did enjoy reading it however and found these fables that I had no idea existed very interesting indeed. I'm glad I started on classics again for the first time since my degree with Kipling.