Kipling in writing KIM drew on the whole of his long years in British Colonial India to teach us something of Buddhist mysticism and the inscrutable ways of Eastern religions while cleverly setting the stage for this first-class espionage thriller. Kim is an abandoned half-Irish kid - the son of a dead British soldier - whose heart-rending efforts to scrounge for food and to survive on the harsh streets of India take us on a hair-raising odyssey across many areas of the Indian sub-continent and deep into the heart of the geopolitical intrigues challenging British dominance of its huge colony by Russian agents and infiltrators.
As Kim grows up and comes to terms with both his British and Indian roots, he also unwittingly becomes one of the top intelligence agents operating under deep cover inside the dangerous depths of India. The way Kipling accomplishes this coup of the pen easily rivals what John LeCarre achieved in his masterpiece work, THE PERFECT SPY. Kim's tradecraft could offer much to our current generation of CIA officer sent to the field without proper training who all too quickly find themselves in Iranian jails.
Rudyard Kipling writes every bit as lyrically as LeCarre with a similar or greater gift for the dramatic senses. While his many wonderful works such as THE JUNGLE BOOK have suffered as political fashions have changed and colonialism has become a very dirty word, the fact remains that his works still offer much to entertain us, to teach us, to thrill us, and to enchant us.
For those who can appreciate a premier storyteller without entangling themselves in political correctness, Kipling remains one of the best writers in modern English.
If you're open to a great espionage yarn that can stand on its own two feet without resort to the technological gimmickry of a Clancy and the other formulaic practitioners of what purport to be spy thrillers, KIM provides a great place to broaden your horizons and to quicken your pulse.
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