Kim

"Kim is the story of a young boy who falls in with a Tibetan lama and joins in with the lama’s search for his spiritual goal. I have always loved the book because of Kipling’s wonderful writing. I think it is Kipling’s greatest book. I also love it because the descriptions of India at that time are so vivid. Bear in mind what I said earlier about the way that the British were, on the whole, encouraged not to get too closely involved with India – encouraged to live separate lives. One of the great features of Kipling’s genius is the way that he did learn so much, and did get so involved in the life of India and Indians. It is very much reflected in Kim, and in all the other characters as well. I think perhaps my favourite bit is that wonderful description of them going down the Grand Trunk road . Yes, the Great Game is a theme of the book as well. Although I love the theme of the Tibetan lama searching for his spiritual goal."

"This is the fictionalised account of the Great Game, telling the story of an Anglo-Indian boy who is recruited by British spy masters in India during the latter part of the 19th century. But the book adds up to far more than that. Kim’s nickname is ‘little friend of all the world’, because he straddles Western and Indian cultures. The book is a sympathetic and sensitive attempt, by an Englishman who knew India very well, to portray this extraordinary land and its complex society. Perhaps the most impressive and moving character is a Tibetan lama who takes Kim on a mystical pilgrimage. Interestingly, although Kipling is seen by many now as an arch-imperialist (and he was, in some ways), his sympathies for India and Indian people are very real. A lot of Indians, long after independence, still regard Kim as a truly great book about their country."