So finally Kim is done. And general verdict? Meehhhh, it was ok. It wasn't that riveting for me, which is why it took me so long to get through it.
Background on the book: the character of Kim is a white young boy who is the son to a British soldier but whose parents have died, leaving him orphaned in India. At the beginning of the story, he meets a holy lama searching for a river that will give him enlightenment. Kim agrees to travel with the lama and be his chela (a sort of a disciple who travels with him and begs for him). But Kim isn't necessarily a good, virtuous disciple of a holy man. He uses the knowledge he acquires from others and manipulates situations to his gain. He is discovered to be a white boy and is sent to a high class school, and eventually divides his time between spying for the government and continuing to serve as the lama's disciple.
Honestly, the main reason I didn't love the book was because the character of Kim was kind of a little punk. I had a hard time really liking him or rooting for him. It was such a strange dichotomy to have this kid be so devout to the very holy, venerable lama, but then to do other less-than-respectable things at the same time. Don't get me wrong, Kipling did a wonderful job at pairing these 2 things in 1 character, and by the end of the book you definitely saw growth and transition of Kim, but I just didn't really connect with him. The one thing that I did love about the book though was the descriptions of India. There was so much detail that felt really authentic and true. I did however, have to look up the locations of the named cities in the book constantly - having a map nearby was helpful!
So from one single female titled book to another, on I move to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Hopefully this one will be a little more engaging! 246 books more to go!
