When I was in Jr. High my sister read Kim and loved it. I was determined to read everything she read, so I started reading Kim and didn't get very far. I was expecting something with a little more adventure. I put Kim away and read everything I could find by Lloyd Alexander instead.
What I liked about Kim:
I can't help it, I love history. I love finding out something about history that I didn't know before, and I love when two books I read randomly collide historically in an unexpected way. I had just finished reading the first Sherlock Holmes tale, "A Study in Scarlet," in which Holmes and Watson first meet. Watson was in the British military and had just gotten home from one of the three Afghan Wars. And wouldn't you know, Kim takes place during that same time in British history.
History can feel very distant and unimportant, but if you really take a look at what is going on you will realize that people are people and they act the same throughout history. I like this type of stuff because it gives me an idea of how old the world really is and why certain countries or cultures don't like each other. The Afghan wars were basically the beginning of a Cold War type power struggle between the British Empire and the Russian Empire and India and Western Asia were stuck in the middle fighting for their own personal freedom.
What I didn't like about Kim:
This wasn't my favorite book. Sorry gang. It's the same old story as back in Jr. High. I went in hoping for a really great adventure story. I got some good quotes and a touching enlightenment story, but not the great adventure I was hoping for.
Not sad I read it, though. Did you love it? Share your thoughts.
1 comment:
I think adventure is in the eyes of the reader. If you think through the eyes of a child traveling around the country on the wind of fate/destiny without means; it is an amazing story. True it didn't keep my attention away from my own life, but the history helped.
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