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The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling
I can't say that this book lived up to my expectations. I mean where the cuss did Also, this is a bloody violent collection of shorts, to be largely toted as "children's stories". I guess you could put this book in the same genre as The Last Unicorn, or The Little Prince, or Johnathan Livingston Seagull, or Toy Story 3... or something else that seems to transcend age. Kipling was certainly great at crafting short tales that are simple enough for the young, and deeply true enough for the old. There's some great commentary in here about the nature of "the jungle" and man's relationship to that which is unfamiliar. Honestly though, my favorite story here wasn't even a part of what most people think of as "The Jungle Book" - it was the story of The White Seal. The final story was great too, about the different animals that served in India's military... okay, they were all pretty frickin' good. But I still expected more, for some reason.
Much of this book was wonderful and whimsical, other bits were harsh and violent, and then some pieces were heartrendingly sad and fleeting... like I'd only just discovered magic, in time to watch it leave the world. I wish I still believed in stories like these. I wish I knew, with childlike certainty, that animals had thoughts and voices, and plans to make their futures brighter. But I've fallen for one of the world's classic blunders: valuing "knowledge" over imagination. Perhaps, here, Kipling has taught me something of true value.
Ever feel like a book is just "good", but the experience you had of reading it and thinking about it was much better? How do I fairly rate books like this?! 3 stars, because I liked the stories, and 4 because I've really enjoyed the thoughts in the meantime.
Spoiler
Disney's King Louie come from if he's expressly NOT in the book?! And Shere Khan was such a lame nemesis :P literally...I wasn't expecting that. I thought he'd be debonair and intimidating, like in the movies! Like when I was a kid!Much of this book was wonderful and whimsical, other bits were harsh and violent, and then some pieces were heartrendingly sad and fleeting... like I'd only just discovered magic, in time to watch it leave the world. I wish I still believed in stories like these. I wish I knew, with childlike certainty, that animals had thoughts and voices, and plans to make their futures brighter. But I've fallen for one of the world's classic blunders: valuing "knowledge" over imagination. Perhaps, here, Kipling has taught me something of true value.
Ever feel like a book is just "good", but the experience you had of reading it and thinking about it was much better? How do I fairly rate books like this?! 3 stars, because I liked the stories, and 4 because I've really enjoyed the thoughts in the meantime.