Heinrich Harrer (1) (1912–2006)

The story jumps right in with Harrer being arrested and detained as a POW and his efforts at escape. Once the escapees make it to Tibet, there are beautiful descriptions of the Tibetan people with their prayer flags, monasteries, and prayer wheels. In the midst of this interesting culture, the escapees encounter life threatening dangers and must be vigilant about their provisions. Harrer and his friends finally establish themselves in Tibet where they meet the Dali Lama’s parents and siblings, establish homes, and purposeful work. Gradually, Harrer developed a very close friendship with the Dali Lama. I loved reading how their relationship progressed from performing rather complicated tasks, such as taking videos of community events to building a movie theater. While teaching His Holiness English, their friendship blossomed. In 1951, the Chinese bestowed tragedy upon Tibet and its peaceful people and forced Harrer and the Dali Lama to flee the city. So heartbreaking! Harrer’s book definitely educates readers about Tibet and their Buddhist traditions. The book closes nicely with a biographical piece of Harrer.… (more)

Mr. Harrer did a good deed by writing this memoir as it raised the awareness of Tibet and its oppression under the Chinese far and wide.

However, I must admit to being surprised that he accomplished his mission. The makings of a riveting tale were there, but the manner in which Harrer tells his story could not have been more dull. I'm not sure how he managed to make two years of mountainous travel and seven years in a completely foreign land so boring, but he did.

The first moments of suspense came in the last 40 or so pages where the Chinese invade Tibet and it is unclear what might happen to the Dalai Lama. These last pages also detailed the teacher/student relationship between the author and the Dalai Lama, and I did find it interesting to hear how someone so young was so intellectually curious.

Other than that last portion, the book is no more than a diary. This happened and then that happened. A recitation of facts, dates, places . . .no "characters" were brought to life. Even his travel companion was rendered flat. Somehow with all the hardships they endured together, there wasn't one instance of an argument or tension or an example of how they worked together to solve problems.

It's the difference between writing like this:

She typed her book review on the computer. It was negative.

and

She agonized about what to write in her review. She couldn't fathom that they actually made a movie of this book. Starring Brad Pitt! How? She was dying to write something scathing, but a big part of her felt alone. How could no one else think this book was so boring? How could she have been the only one? The author clearly was a great man even if he couldn't write well. Maybe she should give the book 3 stars just to reward him for his greatness. She tried to add that last star, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

You get what I mean. It's ten times worse because this man went on a HUGE ADVENTURE. It should have been absolutely scintillating. A missed opportunity by any measure. Curious what the movie makers did to bring this book to life . . .I'm sure in the hands of professional writers it probably came out great.

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