Book

Author:	Rudyard Kipling
Title:	The Jungle Books
Publisher:	Airmont
Country:	USA
Date:	1966
Format:	Paperback
Genre:	Fiction
Cat#:	CL109
Total Editions:	2
Rating:	Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	1 Owns
Price Guide:	Valuation Page
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Notes

Introduction by Francis R. Gemme.
318 numbered pages.
320 total pages.

Images

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Description: Table of Contents

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Comments and Reviews


Magic Marmalade 14th Dec 2022		Rated 8/10 Finally read this... (And discovered the idea behind all that mysterious nonsense they had us rehearse in cub-scouts) ...Having found a copy in the charity shop (not this edition), and straight off the bat it has to be said: This isn't for kids! ...Well, not very young ones anyway, as Disney it ain't! It is, through the prism of Rudyard Kipling's own upbringing in colonial India, and extended metaphor of various social structures (of the time), and ones place in it through the parallels of Jungle life, ultimately encapsulated in the background / sometimes referenced Law of the Jungle, ...An extended fable, or parable to create a myth loosely placing itself alongside Aesop and such, the effect of which is greatly enhanced through the use of semi-biblical / old testament style language: Lot's of Thou and Thus, and Thine-ing, but deftly, and poetically handled by a man who understands how to use it to great effect. Of course, it has the essential tale of Mowgli... (Pronounced like: Cow- gli ("Ow", not "Oh") "we are actually informed by the author himself... so you've proabably been saying it wrong all these years, as I have! :) ...At it's centre that we all are familiar with, at least from the Disney film, but it's more primal and quite grim, even brutal at times, as Mowgli goes to war with the tiger Shere Khan, who's out to eat him, and with the help of Baloo, Baghera, and of course, Akela learns the tricks of survival and the ways of the jungle in order to bring the tiger to a rather sticky end. (He ends up skinning Shere Khan and dumping his hide on the Wolf-pack centre stone (like the town square for wolves).. so happy nightmares kids! :D But rather than just leave off here, the main narrative follows Mowgli through many adventurous perils as he faces new adversaries, and other adversities on his way to becoming a man, when he ultimately seeks to return to his human societal origins. These narrative chapters in his life are, however, interspersed with other "Jungle books", or stories, from other kinds of Jungles, form the tale of a Household mongoose named (er...) Riki-Tiki-Tavi, as he fights to protect a human family from a couple of poisonous cobras, the story of a white Seal in arctic wastelands, another tale of a human Elephant herder, and even an Inuit tribe looking for seal meat (Yup, healthy dose of seal clubbing here too folks!). You can see just how sanitised the Disney animated version is (And altered - Kaa, the giant python, is indeed deadly and disturbing, but also an ally to Mowgli, not a villain), and I can well imagine that many a parent has found this book, and thought: "Oh how sweet, my kid loves this film, I'll take this home and read this to my little cherub!" - only to draw breath at the more mature horrors lie within, and abruptly throw this in the cupboard. Just know what you're getting into, is the thing, with this. As a fabulous, proto-mythological tale read by a more adult reader though, I found it all the more brilliant because of it, rather than the sweet kiddies book I had been expecting, and for this audience, I highly recommend it. (this review is from another edition of this book) ✔︎ Helpful Review?

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Other Editions

Book

Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Books - Hamlyn - Paperback - UK - 0600553094 (1987)