Books

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

Memoir of growing up and then picking up a solid opium addiction.

The first part of this is an account of his youth and homelessness. The second part is largely a love letter to opium, though he balances the eulogizing with candid discussion of its various costs and pains.

The language is old fashioned, but manageable. The writing is good enough to compensate for it and then some. The stories are great. 

For its age, it delves unusually deep into the experience of the author. It feels weirdly prophetic of modern addiction memoirs. 

Great read. Recommended

Kim

Orphan boy comes of age, studies under a spiritual mentor, and becomes a spy, all simultaneously. 

It works as adventure story and as a snapshot of India around the start of the 20th century. It kind of works as a coming of age story. Its spiritual facet doesn’t shine like the others. 

I went in with high expectations based on descriptions and reviews, but it didn’t deliver quite like I hoped. Some parts felt cheesy and shallow. And the espionage intrigue never developed as fully as I was hoping. 

But it’s undeniably fun just to take a tour through India in the late 1800s. 

I wouldn’t warn someone off if they wanted to read it. But I can’t think of an audience I’d actively recommend it to.

hey, i totally get what you're saying! even if it didn’t hit all the marks, exploring the setting and culture must have been a unique experience. sometimes a book can be fun just for the journey it takes you on, right?