Kim (1901) By Rudyard Kipling

 

Few novels have been reviewed as many times as Rudyard Kipling’s Kim. Most reviews relate the story as another British Raj story, which it is, but it is also a fascinating essay on comparative religion, an analysis managed by most as a “group of people” comparison, whereas Kipling’s characters bring this down to an individual level.

It is set in India when it was a colony, crown jewel of the British Empire (1858 – 1947). English-speaking countries normally refer to this as the British Raj. Phrased differently it was a British military occupation preceded by an oligarchy known to history as the East India Company (1600-1878). The book tells the story of an attempt by operatives of the Russian Empire to sew and advantage from unrest in the country, a strategy that remained in effect well into the twentieth century and included two wars in neighboring Afghanistan.

The novel centers on three main characters: 

Kim(ball) O’Hara, the son of a soldier from an Irish regiment known as the Mavericks that marches under the banner of a Red Bull. Kim is an orphan, his mother died at birth and his father was killed in battle. He is a runaway who has the kind of street smarts that would impress Tom Sawyer. He is known by everyone on the street. Kim has no religion, but his father was clearly Catholic.

The Holy Man, a.k.a. The Man in the Red Hat, an elderly Buddhist Lama from Tibet who has come to India in search of The River of the Arrow, a mythical “cleansing” waterway that washes away one’s sins. He is lost without a guide. Kim will assume that role becoming the Holy Man’s “chela” personal assistant/disciple.

Mahbub Ali, a Mohammedan, is a horse trader. While he deals with everyone, he is the eyes and ears of the Raj. Early on he will retain Kim to run messages for him. Eventually being a friend and mentor to the lad.

The overwhelming majority of the other people in the novel are Hindus with their hundreds of gods, a large contingent a Sikhs and many others from multiple religions including what we would today refer to as pagan. To overstate it, they co-exist with each other.

Because the novel borrows from each of these religions, nationalities, and cultures, it becomes overwhelmingly confusing at times. The value of Kim is that this multi-cultural state is natural to him. He judges none as a group. Throughout the novel Kim is referred to as “Friend of the World.”

And of course, in 1950 a movie was made based on the novel. It makes little attempt to develop the religious aspects of the book but otherwise does a decent job of covering it as an episode of the British Raj, though makes a minor change to the ending. The movie stars Dean Stockwell as Kim, and Errol Flynn as Mahbub Ali.

Recommendation:  Yes, including the movie.