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An engaging story of humour, character and Indian adventure
Kim is a magnificent novel, populated by a rich cast of characters - from jewellers and spies, to horse dealers, mystics and military leaders.The action takes place in British India in the 1880s and 1890s against the backdrop of ‘The Great Game’, the political conflict between Russia and Britain which was played out in central Asia. In the character of Limball O’Hara - an Irish orphan who ‘burned black as any native’ - Kipling juxtaposes East and West, embodied by a boy who can blend seamlessly into both worlds. At once both a gripping adventure story and a spiritual journey, Kim must navigate the swarming roads of India - that ‘broad smiling river of life’ - as a disciple to the Buddhist Lama Teshoo. Yet, all the while, he is being drawn into the secret life of a spy. As he comes of age, how long can Kim continue to manipulate his own fate?
Read by Sanjeev Bhaskar, one of Britain’s best loved comedians and actors, famous for his roles in Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No.42.
“Sanjeev Bhaskar’s multi-voiced reading brings the heat and noise and sadness of India to wonderful life.”
daily Express
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“The choice of reader for Kim is crucial. Sanjeev Bhaskar, is a good one.”
the Oldie
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936) was an English author and poet born in Bombay, India. Educated in Britain, he later returned to Lahore, India, to work as a journalist. Kipling travelled widely and also lived in Vermont, having married Carrie Balestier, an American.
Throughout his life, Kipling never stopped writing. He was greatly revered during his lifetime and received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Essential Kipling celebrates a truly prolific and varied career; with his poetry and stories interpreted vividly by wonderful actors.