The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 10 April 1998
by James Hilton
This is the original story (first published in 1933) of Shangri-La, the wondrous mythic land beyond the Himalayas. Western preconceptions of Tibet have been long been distorted to a great extent by this fantastic story of a magical Utopia in the mountains. Four travelers, three British and one American, find themselves spirited away to the stark and freezing landscape of the Tibetan plateau, only to be guided to a glittering monastery overlooking a verdant and warm green valley. This is Tibetan Buddhist monastery as Swiss spa resort. There are all the modern and particularly Western conveniences, along with a vast library of Western books and demure Chinese women playing Mozart on harpsichords. When all is explained, the Western influence becomes clear, but this Euro-centric viewpoint may leave the reader disappointed. There is no Tibetan character in the book who isn't a servant, and Buddhism and genuine Tibetan culture are dismissed in somewhat disparaging asides. In context, however, at a time when Ghandi was considered an enemy of the British Empire, the book comes into focus as a fantasy of adventure and mystery. The author touches on the extreme sufferings of war and the technical advance of civilization, as opposed to this remote Shangri-La of peace and meditative preservation of culture. Rather than great literature, the book is more a document of Western ideals of adventure and mystery in the 1930s.
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