Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet

I had this slotted into March as a nonfiction read, only to discover after finishing it, that it's fiction. Weirdly, some sources on the internet still note it as NF, which is what it was originally published as, I think? Weirdness.

It's an interesting story, beautifully written in parts, about a Chinese woman who travels to Tibet in the 1950s to search for her husband, a doctor with the Chinese army. She ends up spending decades in Tibet, and the best part of the book, for me, was learning about the history and culture of the area. As a novel, it doesn't quite work because there are so many gaps in the narrative and Shu Wen is not fully developed as a character. But as a meditation on love, loyalty, and the essence of what makes us show more connected to others despite so many differences, it is a nice read.

3.5 stars show less

If you ever had any doubt about the physical and mental strength of women or wondered about the depths of their love, look no further than Sky Burial by Xinran. Dr. Shu Wen was married to her husband Kejun for only 3 weeks when he was called to serve as a medic in the Chinese army in 1958. Within a few weeks she was notified that her husband was dead, no other information was made available to her. Is Wen satisfied with that meager message? Absolutely not! Determined to find her husband alive or the reason for his death, she enlists in the army as well. She is placed in Kejun’s former unit and is shipped off to the hinterlands of Tibet. As she struggles to keep herself alive, she comes to the aid of Zhuoma, a Tibetan of noble birth, show more who has been separated from the man whom she loves. Together, they search for the men who will make them whole again and if it takes thirty years to do so, then so be it.
I found Sky Burial to be a captivating read although much of the story involves Wen’s life as a houseguest of a Tibetan family and less time searching for her husband. The story not only includes interesting information concerning the lives of Tibetan nomads, customs and traditions but also questions what is really worth life’s struggles, be it transitory or eternal. show less

En la China de 1958, Wen y Kajun, jóvenes estudiantes de medicina, deciden casarse. Pero en seguida Kajun se alista como médico en el Ejército Popular de Liberación de Mao y es destinado al Tibet. Antes de cumplirse los cien días de la boda, Wen recibe la notificación de la muerte de Kajun, sin especificar bajo qué circunstancias y sin haberse hallado el cuerpo. Incapaz de dar crédito a la noticia, Wen se alista como médico militar y parte al Tibet en busca de noticias sobre su marido. Allí se sumerge en un mundo para el que no estaba preparada, pero la determinación de encontrar a Kajun la impulsa a seguir adelante incluso cuando, al separarse de su regimiento, se pierde en la montañas del Tibet y es acogida por unos show more nómadas. Durante treinta apasionantes años de vida errante, Wen descubrirá las costumbres y rituales de una cultura extraña dedicada a la religión, una vida a menudo desconcertante en la que las mujeres pueden tener varios maridos, la costura es un oficio de hombres y los forasteros no pueden tocar objetos religiosos. Tras años de aprendizaje, de descubrimiento y de transformación personal, Wen dará con un eremita que solía contar la historia de un médico chino que, años atrás, puso fin a las hostilidades entre chinos y tibetanos, pagando por ello un precio muy alto. show less

Sky Burial by Xinran is a profoundly spiritual book, telling the story of one woman’s journey through the country of Tibet, searching for her missing husband and how she does eventually find some of the answers she was looking for as well as an inner peace and acceptance. .

Shortly after her doctor husband left with the Chinese Army for Tibet, Shu Wen received notice that he had been killed, although no details were given. Unable to come to terms with this and determined to find the truth behind her husband’s death, she, a doctor herself, joined a militia unit and travelled into Tibet. This was the beginning of a thirty year journey through that country ever searching for news of her lost love. During her sojourn she is befriended show more by some amazing and caring people who assist her in ways both spiritual and physical.

In this hauntingly beautiful story, Xinran describes the silence and emptiness that surrounds Shu Wen, as both she and during the same time period, the country of Tibet, embark on a journey to find peace, serenity and survival. This short book is beautifully written and for me, spoke directly to the soul. show less

From Amazon:
It was 1994 when Xinran, a journalist and the internationally acclaimed author of The Good Women of China, received a telephone call asking her to travel four hours to meet a woman who had just crossed the border from Tibet into China.

Xinran made the trip and met the woman, called Shu Wen, who recounted the story of her thirty-year odyssey in the vast landscape of Tibet. In Sky Burial, Xinran has re-created Shu Wen’s journey, painting an extraordinary portrait of a woman and a land, each at the mercy of fate and politics. It is an unforgettable, ultimately uplifting tale of love, loss, loyalty, and survival.

My Thoughts: I read this book for two reasons...the author's name began with an "x"...do you know how rare those show more are?...and the story took place in a country other that England. Love England all you Brits but I think I've read 6 books in a row that was set there. It filled several challenges that i didn't believe I would ever complete. To my utter amazement I really liked the book.

Here is an epic story of love, friendship, courage and sacrifice. Set in Chinese-occupied Tibet and based on a true story, Xinran's extraordinary second book takes the reader right to the hidden heart of one of the world's most mysterious and inaccessible countries. In March 1958, Shu Wen, a young woman and doctor learns that her beloved husband, an idealistic army doctor, has died while serving in Tibet not even a hundred days after their marriage. Unwilling to accept this as fact, she sets out to find out what happened to him by joining his regiment in Tibet. For over twenty years she walked, searching for her husband on a life-changing journey through the Tibetan countryside that leads her to a deep appreciation of Tibet in all its beauty and brutality. Sadly, when she finally discovers the truth about her husband, she must carry her knowledge back to a China that, in her absence, has experienced the Cultural Revolution and changed beyond her ken. Xinran has done an amazing job in depicting the vast Tibetan landscape to us. Be warned the end will bring a tear or two. show less

Received this book for being one of the winners of oppem's 'Turning 3'-RABCK. Wow!

This book turned out te be a real page turner. Honestly, I didn't expect that, I was pleasantly surprised. I put it on my wishlist out of curiosity. I had heared about Tibet, of course, the things that were thought in grammar school and that were brought to my attention while watching the news, but not more than that. This book I thought might give me a small window to life and customs of the people of Tibet. Or China, for that matter, because I didn't really know what I would find once I started reading.
Usually I'm not fond of books about longing, never forgetting, eternal love etc. In this book, that was the part I liked the least. But, since it was show more the reason for the Wen to undertake her journey, I'm glad she experienced a love like that. It made it possible for me to read this book and learn about life in Tibet outside Lhasa, in the country where silence is all around. Where life is about survival, being patient, polite, but also very strong both mentally and phisically.
When picturing what a sky burial is, along with the story that was told about the ritual, I wondered how it must have felt for an outsider to watch that, having no ties to the local religion or way of thinking. I'm sorry Wen disappeared. But I'm happy for the other, more or less happy endings in this book. I loved it. Apologies for the rather confusing review: in my mind I have a very clear LIKE, but I have a very hard time to put the feeling into words this time. Hope that whoever reads this, still will be able to read something in it, though.

I'm very sorry that the person who shared this book with me has passed away and won't know what I think of this book. show less

Xinran wrote a poignantly compelling story of the love and commitment of a young Chinese bride, Wen Shu whose husband, Kejun, a surgeon, volunteers to join the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army in Tibet in the late 1950's. Shortly after he leaves, the Military informs her that her husband died in Tibet, but did not offer any details.

Wen Shu doesn't really know what to believe about her husband, and goes to Tibet to search for him.. What was meant to be a relatively short trip spans into 30 years, most of them living and traveling with a nomadic Tibetan family which had befriended her. Through a series of serendipitous encounters she eventually finds out what happened to her husband. By this time she is in her 50's and decides to return show more to China to seek out her family.

When she arrives in China, the entire landscape has been changed as a result of industrialization and commercialism, and she has difficulty finding her family's home. She realizes that where her family had once lived was now developed into high rises.

The ending is heart-rending as she realizes that her home is no longer in the China that she left, and the 30 years in Tibet as a nomad did not necessarily make that a "new" home either. She is, unexpectedly, confronted with an imponderable situation. show less