One of the most beautiful tales of friendship I have ever read, Kim is often described as Kipling’s love letter to India. At its centre is Kim, a young white boy, an orphan, and his friend and mentor the Tibetan Lama who takes Kim from the streets of Lahore to be educated at a public school in England and on to adventures. Set in an imperialistic world; a world strikingly masculine, dominated by travel, trade and adventure, a world in which there is no question of the division between white and non-white. The book is a celebration of their friendship in a beautiful but often hostile environment and Kim captures the opulence of India's exotic landscape, overlaid by the uneasy presence of the British Raj. This book is just unforgettable.
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| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
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'"I am Kim. I am Kim. And what is Kim?" His soul repeated it again and again.'
Set against the backdrop of Britain and Russia's political struggle in central Asia, Kim, the son of a drunken Irish soldier grows up as a street-wise orphan in the city of Lahore. Upon befriending an aged Tibetan Lama, the playful and spirited Kim journeys with him across India, experiencing the exotic culture, religion and people of the subcontinent.
On their travels they come across Kim's father's old army regiment. The Colonel quickly spots Kim's ability to blend into his surroundings and trains him to become a spy for the British Army. As his adventures take him further into the world of secret agents and political intrigue, Kim is torn between his spiritual self and the expectations of his British compatriots. In this exotic tale of mystery, friendship and struggle, Kipling gives a fascinating insight into the British Raj and the volatile age of Imperialism in India.
Kim features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Classic fiction: general and literary, General Fiction, Fiction
Kim is available in Hardback, Paperback, Ebook
Kim was written by Rudyard Kipling and published by William Collins an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Kim has 324 pages
Yes it is part of Collins Classics series
