Sometimes a story just haunts you and won’t let go. This is not always surprising. If you really enjoyed a story, it makes sense that you will often remember it fondly. I know many people whose life seems to be one long pleasant reminiscence of Jane Austen novels. But it isn’t these pleasant reminiscences I am discussing here. There is another category of story which stays in the mind not because it aroused any particular strong emotion. The story lingers because it presented a puzzle, and … [Read more...] about Escaping The Pit of Despair
Rudyard Kipling
The Way or The Great Game?
At one level, Kim, by Rudyard Kipling, is a rollicking adventure story of an Irish orphan growing up on the streets of India during the British Raj. At another level, it is a deep refection on choosing the purpose of your life. It is this second level that makes this book worth reading (and rereading). One of those Big Questions which I have spent innumerable pleasurable hours talking about with students is: "What should I do with my life?" College is the first time most students have ever … [Read more...] about The Way or The Great Game?
Kipling the American Author
Is Rudyard Kipling an American? Let’s start with the obvious fact about Kipling: he is out of fashion these days.About the only thing most people know about him is the title of one of his poems. Yeah, you know which poem. Nobody actually even bothers to read the poem any more. Everyone just knows: Kipling is bad, very bad. I have spent years trying to convince people that Kipling is well worth reading. I have spent years trying to convince people that Kipling is not at all what they … [Read more...] about Kipling the American Author