Soldier Stories

Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 140K words
Chapters: 15

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Sotilaskertomuksia by Rudyard KiplingAuthor: Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936,Language: Finnish, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 19, 2016

Editor's review

This is the Finnish translation of Kipling's collection of short military stories, Sotilaskertomuksia, a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg classified under English literature. Kipling is known for writing about soldiers, the colonies, and everyday imperial life; these stories draw largely on army life and the circumstances of ordinary soldiers, with direct language and vivid dialogue that convey the tone and mentality of late nineteenth-century British imperial soldiers. The Finnish translation offers Chinese readers another linguistic perspective and is also suited to learners of Finnish or readers doing translation comparison. Note that this is a public-domain electronic text without detailed annotations, so historical background and military terminology must be supplied by the reader; Kipling's imperial narrative stance is also clearly limited by today's standards and is best read with a critical eye. Suitable as an introductory short-story selection to Kipling's work and for literature courses discussing imperial writing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers new to Kipling's short stories
Students and scholars studying imperial and military writing in English literature
Language learners of Finnish needing bilingual comparison material
Casual readers who enjoy short stories and segmented reading

Not a good fit for

General readers with no Finnish and no translation for comparison
Readers seeking a systematic critical biography or a detailed annotated edition
Readers sensitive to imperial narrative stances who prefer not to engage with such texts

Reading tips

Read one or two stories at a time, then reflect on the distance between the soldier's perspective and the narrator.
Mark military terminology first, then look up the background after finishing a whole story.
Finnish learners can compare paragraph by paragraph with an English translation to notice differences in word choice.
After reading, note questions about the imperial narrative and discuss them alongside critical essays.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language is this book written in?

This is the Finnish translation; the original is Kipling's English collection of short military stories. Project Gutenberg provides a public-domain electronic text with a Finnish main text and no accompanying Chinese translation. Chinese readers without Finnish reading ability are advised to read it alongside an English or other translation.

Can I read this without having read Kipling before?

Yes. It is a short-story collection with relatively independent pieces, so no prior reading is required. However, the stories are set in late nineteenth-century British imperial barracks life; some background knowledge will make it easier to understand the characters' situations and the subtext of dialogue. Starting with shorter, more tightly plotted pieces is recommended.

Are there notes and background introductions in the book?

As a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg, the book has essentially no detailed annotation or introduction; military terminology and historical background must be looked up by the reader. It is advisable to have basic reference material on British colonial history and military organization at hand, or to consult an annotated print edition as a supplement.

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About the author

Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936 Author

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was a British writer, and this library holds sixty-five of his works. Publicly available material on his life is limited, so the following introduction focuses on his writings. He is known chiefly for fiction and fairy tales, often dealing with animals, the jungle, exotic adventure and youthful growth. His language is vivid, his narrative pace brisk, and his stories combine imagination with moral meaning. The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book, set in the Indian jungle, tell of the boy Mowgli among the animals and have been widely read; Just So Stories explains in a light manner how animals came by their features; Kim portrays growth and the search for identity in an Indian setting; Puck of Pook's Hill draws on history and legend to tell of England's past; and The Man Who Would Be King displays adventure and ambition. His works are often classed as inspirational coming-of-age reading and have had a lasting influence on children's literature and English-language readers.