Kipling & Trix

Oh the crushing weight of Kipling's losses in life! Reading about the lushly exotic childhood made me understand so much more about him as an author. I have to confess I didn't know his sister was an author, in fact I didn't really know much about Kipling-the man. From reading this, I go between thinking 'Lord but he has an ego' to 'poor man'. As was done, children were sent away at such a young age, in their case to the horrid 'Auntie Sara' who favored (if one such as she can favor) his sister and hated him. To go from a free, idealic loving place to a nightmare altered the siblings in different ways. Kipling was about escape while his sister seemed to lose herself, with breakdowns. That she was a writer, I didn't know that either. I think of other authors eclipsed by better known, more beloved writers of their relation- some spouses as well as siblings. Such a shame!
It is interesting to see his sister embrace the cruelty of their 'Auntie Sara', better the devil you know- I suppose. Like many families, the reader witnesses how chidhood affects people differently. We see Kipling as a young man, tortured by love and all it's betrayals and later with a family of his own. I didn't much care for their mother. This is such a tragic telling of the siblings life, and sometimes I forget how tragic earlier times were for many- losing children to illness and war, so many not having much say in their fate, social standing cripling true love. This isn't a happy light read, but real life rarely is.