Seven Years in Tibet (1953)

In many ways this is a fascinating insight to a closed and traditional feudal nation. The little stories around the religious rites and ways prove very entertaining, meaning that as a historical document, it has significant value. The author himself has clearly led an amazing life. An Olympic standard sportsman, who, not content with scaling the seemingly unassailable north face of the Eiger, sets out to climb in the Himalayan range. Due to timing, he manages to get stuck in an internment camp in India in 1939 when war breaks out, and spends most of the war there detailing his various escape attempts. When he finally gets past mountains and bandits, he manages to become a gardener, a graphologist and part-time teacher to the Dalai Lama amongst other things. It all sounds like the stuff of fantasy, and one cannot help but be slightly incredulous about the whole thing. Some editions have a foreword by the Lama himself which gives some gravity to the whole affair though.

However, it is not the fabulous tale that is told which proves to be the books biggest flaw. It is the writing style. Clearly not really an author, the book is often stilted, repetitive in style, and reads like a diary with the dates taken out (which I am presuming is exactly how it was written). Many times throughout the book, a glimmer of an interesting aside becomes visible, only to be glossed over for the next fact in line. Some of the weak style can probably be put down to a questionable translation, but the lack of follow up on the side stories clearly cannot be. The author’s attitude to all he sees around him could be viewed as offensive to the 21st Century reader, but to complain about this alone would be to see this work in an unfair context. It is hard to truly imagine how bizarre this must all have seemed to an Austrian visiting Shangri la.

All in all, well worth a read for the information alone (the old edition I have also contains some of his photos which added greatly to the experience), but slightly disappointing how it was all tied together. ( )

Instead of reviewing this book, I would like to point out that the 1997 movie of the same name bares little resemblance to this great novel. I found it very frustrating to watch. You have a love interest inserted into the story (pointlessly), large portions of the book that were left out (not a huge surprise, but the oracles seem important), major events have been changed (why?), and then, Brad Pitt's awful accent. I will point out that the movie does have some nice scenery. ( )

I have had this while after picking it up in a charity shop in Frinton. I saw the film years ago, beautifully shot but utterly dull. This book is Harrer's own story, of how he escaped a POW camp in India along with other Axis prisoners, making his way to Tibet. Despite not really being welcome in Tibet, they are, on the whole, given great hospitality, and on reaching the capital, manage to stay. The book ends with the Chinese invasion, but this edition includes an epilogue from the author.

Tibet, even now, is one of the most mysterious countries on Earth. When you hear the word Tibet, the Dalai Lama springs to mind, as well as mountains and monastries. Harrer was lucky enough to live, and become intergrated, into a country that was pretty much forbidden to foreigners. Through learning the language and his Tibetan friends, Harrer became an important man, even catching the eye of the young Dalai Lama, a child older than his years obviously hungry for knowledge and clearly very wise. Harrer's affection for his host country is clear, indeed if the Chinese hadn't invaded, he might have stayed on.

I recommend this to people wanting to know more about Tibet, even if, as the author notes in his epilogue, a lot of the country he knew has been destroyed by the Chinese. The only drawback of the book is the language, at times it feels stilted, though I was never quite sure if this was because of the time it was written or the translation. ( )

During World War II, the author, a German citizen, was a British prisoner of war, held in India. Although he was treated well at the POW camp, he longed to find his way to Tibet … a boyhood dream to penetrate the forbidding mountain area and making his way to The Forbidden City, the capital of Lhasa. He tried to escape once, but was found and taken back to the POW camp. The second time he was successful.

Seven Years in Tibet is the story of how Heinrich Harrer (1912-2006) trekked through some of the world’s most dangerous mountain “trails,” dodged Tibetan authorities, foiled gangs of armed robbers, made friends with Tibetan nomads, and eventually arrived (without proper authorization) to Lhasa. But the most interesting story, in my estimation, was his unlikely and intense friendship with the Dalai Lama.

I’ve seen the Dalai Lama interviewed on television, and was incredibly impressed with him, now an elderly man. But the Dalai Lama that Heinrich Harrer (played by Brad Pitt in the 1997 movie based on the book) met and eventually tutored, was just fourteen years old. The story of how he became Dalai Lama is fascinating.

Seven Years in Tibet is not a book I would have sought out, and I’m not certain I wouldn’t have rejected it if it had popped into my hands by magic. But since it was a selection of the non-fiction group at my public library, I felt obligated to give it a try. Although it started out a bit slowly, it eventually picked up steam, and soon I was unable to put it down. That’s pretty amazing for a book that was first published almost 60 years ago – in 1953. The author claimed not to be a great writer, but his writing is clear and lucid and without pretense.

The story of Tibet and what happened to it after the Communist Chinese claimed it as one of their provinces is quite interesting. Although I knew something of what happened to Tibet and the Dalai Lama, Seven Years in Tibet gave a first-hand account of the events in the 1950s and how tragic they really were. ( )