The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling

Henri Rousseau, Surprised, 1891

(July 13) I love him (more for Kim than for this, but this was good, too). I don’t know why I never read any Kipling before; I certainly heard enough about him. I guess I thought he might be a bit clichéd, a bit jingoistic, a bit hokey. He is all these things (plus racist and imperialist), but the guy can tell a story! And every page or two he is so surprising in his style, his insight, or his plot that he takes your breath away. Like, he is a true creative. Not for nothing is he so popular and enduring.