Monday, September 7, 2009

The Man Who Would Be King - Rudyard Kipling (4 of 5 Disguised Priests)

A newspaper journalist sits in his office on a muggy summer night in India counting down the minutes before he can close up the office and go home. There is a knock in the door. He debates whether or not to answer it. There is another knock and he struggles to get up from his table. When he arrives at the entrance he finds two wanders, Dravot and Peachy who immediately disclose to him their plans to become kings of a remote region of Afghanistan.

The book is a quick read. I've seen it in book form with large type as well as a short story of about 30-40 pages. It moves quickly, sports some memorable characters and brings up some interesting issues about exploration and colonization.

I've been told there was a movie made from the book, which stars Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Imdb says that it was nominated for 4 Academy awards - sounds like it did well. Has anyone seen it?

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