China Expat is a cultural and literary forum for expatriates interested in China and has been published by Asia Briefing Ltd since 2001. The sites resident China culture writers have included such expatriate luminaries as 
Book Review: Lost Horizon (James Hilton)
Written in 1933, this book single handedly brought the term “Shangri-La” to the international mainstream and its idyllic lifestyle. Set, with some ironic modern paradox, in a war torn, terrorist ridden Central Asia, it charts the story of four individuals, evacuated out of Baskul, and how they find themselves kidnapped at gunpoint and flown to a remote mountain region of Tibet. Unsure whether this is by accident or design, they are taken into the care of the Lamasery where all is not quite what it seems.
The book gives quite astonishing pictures of the interior of Tibetan monastic life and culture, but adds intrigue and drama as the characters bicker amongst themselves and when they’ll be allowed to leave. Eventually, as they wait for a team of porters for two months to lead them out of the valley, some start to appreciate the simple beauty and pace of life in this remote region, while others cannot wait to escape from what they regard as hell.
Hilton simply and sympathetically paints his Chinese and Tibetan cast in an enigmatic and cultured light, and for anyone who has visited Tibetan monasteries the ambience will convince. Then after months of waiting, Conway the leader of the group, has a much anticipated meeting with the Head Lama, who reveals something to him that will change his perspective of life forever, and give rise to the modern phenomenon that is bound up in Shangri-La fable mythology.
If you haven’t read this book then do so, it ages in its 1930’s setting somewhat to begin with, but once arrived in Shangri-La, where the world seems a long way away, you too will be drawn deeper into the tale, and its intrigues and mysteries.
Last word – is Shangri-La set in Tibet? The author himself answers that question, and states quite categorically that it is. But for what Shangri-La actually is-a prison, a vision, or a liberation – is left for you to decide. A classic novel, and a sublime piece of writing about Tibet with Chinese, Indian and Central Asian influences breathing life into a masterful yarn.
Related posts:
- Book review: Sky Burial
- Book Review: Searching For Shangri-La – An Alternative Philosophy Travelogue
- Book Review: The Importance of Living
- Book Review: Empire Made Me
- Just in case you get sent to: Zhongdian
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
