Customer Reviews

The Man Who Would Be King

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a story about two con men in British Imperial India who cook up a scheme to make themselves kings in Afghanistan. One of Kipling's better short stories, it was admired by writers as disparate as J.M. Barrie and H.G. Wells. It suffers a little from having had a zillion imitators in the intervening century or so, and like a lot of Kipling's works, there's an undertone of paternalistic imperialism that modern readers may find grating, but it isn't like he's showing the British in a positive light either -- this is Kipling at his best, and at his best he was too good a writer to let anyone, including the British, off the hook.

Read this if you're trying to figure out whether or not you like Kipling's works that are aimed for adults -- it's very different in tone from, say, The Jungle Book or _Just So Stories_, which were written for children. If you like this, I recommend you grab Plain Tales from the Hills, his first collection of stories set in British India; it should also be available online for free.

If you're interested in the historical background for this story, it was at least partially inspired by a real individual, an American named Josiah Harlan.

What a great short story. Greed, guts and struggles for glory. If you haven't read this story but have only seen the movie, you are missing out. True, you can't see Sean Connery but you easily get the flavor of the period. And it is free! This is a great short story to read on your Kindle Iphone app.

The story of the man who would be king describes the journey of two half-mad yet determined Englishmen from obscurity in India to divine rule in far-off Kafiristan. The two men smuggle themselves into Afghanistan posing as a mad priest and his servant, steal some mules when their camels can go no further, trek over the vast mountains, and set themselves up as kings by demonstrating the power of the rifle to spear-brandishing natives (in the most murderous way, one might add). They later establish their status as gods by introducing Masonic mystery and orders to the mountain villages. Eventually, however, their humanity is exposed, thus wrecking the dream of empire.

The story itself is witty and exciting, driven by the raw prose and longing for exotic adventure characteristic of Kipling. At the same time, this short tale is remarkable as a summary of imperialism and its problems. The questionable motives and courses of actions of the imperialists are exposed, yet at the same time they are shown to reflect human nature more than ideology or political purpose. The ease with which a small number of people with superior technology can subjugate much larger numbers is also demonstrated in a non-sentimental fashion (it is certainly not a politically correct story by present standards). Finally, the ending emphasizes the impossibility of maintaining authority in the long run under such circumstances - technological knowledge must be revealed to maintain order, responsibility must be shared with intermediaries, and propaganda will eventually be appropriated for subversive purposes. If only historians could be as brief and straightforward as Kipling in recognizing these simple facts about how imperialism came about and how it was doomed to failure.

This is one of those stories that one must read to lead a full life. It is one of the most poignant and sorrowful stories about friendship ever written, and the words flow like poetry. This short story is emotionally draining because it is such a tragic tale. I highly recommend it.

Nota Bene: Once purchased, my Kindle download page contained this note near the download button: "This title has complex layouts and has been optimized for reading on Kindle DX's larger screen, but can still be viewed on other Kindle devices." This message disappeared after a few minutes.

Regardless, the formatting on my Kindle 2 looks a tad better than usual. I use the smallest font available. There is no Table of Contents and no jogability.

This book was required reading in my college lit course. I've always enjoyed books about far away places. It should have been required reading in some people's poli-sci grad courses but let's not go there.

This tale comes with my highest recommendations. Kipling weaves a tale of grand adventure between two friends of the Masonic order who journey across India to become Kings in a little known corner of the world. They follow in Alexander The Great's footsteps and realize he was a Freemason, just like them. Both of the protagonists face many trials and reveal an unbreakable friendship between the two.

If you have the gift of being able to engulf yourself in a story then you are in for an adventure. In this beautiful work by Kipling you are a soldier of fortune headed back into territory with your brother in arms where you both fought bravely for Queen and country. But now its just the two of you with a different victory in mind. This book will put you in the heart of the battle with the characters so that you can go through the trials and experience the victory.

While they are quite enjoyable, most of the stories in this collection pale when compared to the author's later works, such as the Jungle Books and Just So Stories. There are definite traces of his trademark wit, but only "The Man Who Would Be King" stands comparison to his more well known pieces. It's an excellent story, and as I was reading it, I couldn't help but think it was the spiritual cousin to Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. If you enjoyed one, you'll enjoy the other, as both share the theme of regular men reaping the consequences of forcing civilization on people. A good black comedy.

I love a great story and this is one of my favorites. It conveys the circumstances of an underappreciated newspaper man in the British Colonial era at a minor outpost in what is probably a reasonably accurate way (politically correct by current standards or not).

The characters the writer encounters were likely somewhat common after finishing military duty in a far-off land and being at somewhat loose ends once mustered out. Going a bit "native" was probably not uncommon for those stationed throughout the reaches of the British Empire at its height (and decline). Ideas by those staying behind which appear hare-brained were possibly fairly familiar given the tenuous situation some of the ex-pats may have found themselves in. Heck, it might have even worked if they'd stuck to the original plan! It gives you a lot to think about as far as power vs. ego is concerned.

Read the story first if you haven't already seen the movie. You'll appreciate the writing's compactness and choice of style and flow that way. However, my feeling is that although this is an excellent read and definitely a classic, many readers may find watching the movie (which is absolutely in my top ten favorites of all time) helpful in understanding some of the more subtle aspects of the story. For example, the fairly obscure references to the Masons' rituals (perhaps by necessity at the time of writing) - which are in effect the central underlying theme in regard to the various characters' undertakings - are made much clearer in the film.

Enjoy!

This was my first prose by Kipling, and it was a pleasant surprise. His descriptions of the people and the country were excellent. The developing story and surprising conclusion made for a page turner. The Kindle version is satisfactory.