I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. I read it because the next Mary Russell book on my side table uses Kim as a jumping off point and I wanted to understand the allusions. It was definitely hard to get into at first but once I got a feel for the language and rhythm I didn't want to put it down. The story follows Kim, the orphaned son of an Irish officer in India who grows up in the bazaar with little supervision. He is a delightful mix of scoundrel and saint who becomes the chela, or disciple, for a traveling lhama. He is also seen as a prodigy in the Great Game of espionage in India and is trained up to become the best. It's a great adventure story with a cast of wonderful characters.