Return to Tibet

I came at this book from an unusual direction, having owned Harrer´s ´Seven Years in Tibet´ for decades, but never having got around to reading it. In the sense that it has inspired me to go back to the original, ´Return..´ has served some good purpose. And as a postscript to the original (for those reading the two books in their proper order), it will be essential, but depressing reading.

But as a book in it´s own right it doesn´t stand up well. Harrer writes with passion and color, but the real impact of the decay in the life and fabric of Tibet can possibly only be appreciated when it is held up to the original depicted in his earlier book (where he describes his life in the inner circles of Tibet in the 1940´s with the young Dalai Lama). In ´Return..´ Harrer´s descriptions of what is no longer there, what is no longer celebrated, and what is no longer felt has a kind of numbing effect on the reader.

Harrer´s thesis, is that Tibet will ultimately survive whatever the Chinese throw at it. He suggests that it might perhaps prosper and re-embrace its spirituality (though noting the danger the former poses to the chances of the latter). And that is an uplifting thought - except that ´Return..´ was written in 1983, and as Harrer noted in a postscript the Chinese repression of Tibetan religion and society has gone up several notches since then. This contradicts Harrer´s observations (in 1983) that things seemed to be getting better, and that there seemed to be some prospect (then) for a reconciliation between the Chinese and the Dalai Lama. So in the end ´Return..´ points to a failure of hope. But as the Tibetan´s point out (and Harrer relates it but seems not to quite believe it), it may take hundreds of years to re-establish Tibet, but that is a small amount of time in their history and they can endure in the meantime.

Essentially this is an powerful extended postscript to Harrer´s ´Seven Years in Tibet´ and is a must-read in that context. ( )

Harrer's earlier book, 'Seven Years in Tibet', told of an idyllic life on the 'rooftop of the world', before Harrer was forced to flee from the invading Chinese armies. Thirty years later, he returns to describe how the Chinese have attempted to destroy this ancient civilisation. Meeting old Tibetan acquaintances, including the Dalai Lama now living in exile in northern India, Harrer examines the current thaw in Peking's relations with this isolated and mysterious country. In its vivid evocation of Tibet, past and present, ' Return to Tibet' provides a fascinating insight into the durability of this profoundly spiritual culture.

Harrer's earlier book, 'Seven Years in Tibet', told of an idyllic life on the 'rooftop of the world', before Harrer was forced to flee from the invading Chinese armies. Thirty years later, he returns to describe how the Chinese have attempted to destroy this ancient civilisation. Meeting old Tibetan acquaintances, including the Dalai Lama now living in exile in northern India, Harrer examines the current thaw in Peking's relations with this isolated and mysterious country. In its vivid evocation of Tibet, past and present, ' Return to Tibet' provides a fascinating insight into the durability of this profoundly spiritual culture.