Lama

by Frederick Hyde-Chambers

In 1956, five years after the Chinese People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet, Tsun Riposhay, abbot of Dorje Rigon and secret worker for the Tibetan underground, is chosen to inform the outside world of the fierce oppression facing the Tibetans

Paperback

First published September 20, 1984

Reviews

[Babooka · Rating 3 out of 5]

392 pages long*

Its about a tibetan monk named Tsun.
He needs to contact other countries because the Han are destroying Tibet because of Mau that said that all spirituality in the form of the tibetan people and their beliefs where death sentences and should therefore be erased within the communistic revolution (Maoism).
Tsun fled his village with a big group as people where getting killed and attacked for no reason at random moments meditating monks in the temples where killed by revolutionists.
Tsun meets his sister in a camp and later on meets old aquantances in a compounded village that is overlooked by the Han.
He meets the Khamba warriors that are wild and adventurous and not afraid to fight for tibet but they dont see how much of a problem the Han are becoming with their iron birds (Airplanes)
In other regions of Tibet.
Everywhere the Han are looking for Tsun because he is one of the high priests after the Daila Lama and has a scripture that he wants to send to the united nations and India about Maos opressive regime. Tsun also meets the queen of tibet that has become a hostage of the Han in her own palace. He gets this secret letter from her that she kept inside a jewellry piece she got as a gift, Tsun needs to give it to the tribes of tibet so that they can all become one against the extremist revolutionaries.
There are different parts of the book that tell stories of war in which Tsun and his comrades and travelling members are ambushed by han troops and they fight back while trying to escape the fire and bombing.
In my opinion the action parts where done pretty well I also liked some of the parts where Tsun has some poetic lines, the emotional parts. I disliked that the book did not have so much comedy it could have been more fun if there where more refreshing parts in which the characters made jokes but maybe it works differently in Tibet, not that their where no funny parts in the book at all but their where not many.
There happens allot in the short time frame of the book I red the Dutch version. If you like books with allot of drama but also historical siginificance (eventho I dont know how biased the book is on the topic of Tibet vs Chin a because there is not allot of depth into the Han)
And an in depth journey through a drastically changing country of a priest than this book is perfect for you to try out it took me through different fields of emotion. I give it 3 stars because it could have been more experimental/unique wise and funnier and more in depth in to the cultures of the Tibetans and Han this was great as an introduction.
I liked/disliked the fighting part with iron nose that was really interesting because you get great text that gives you beautiful visualization he talked about an explosion and how the dust went in the air and I saw the whole scene after this it activated something that made visualization very clear on the snowy mountain top they where fighting on just like at the end of the book *Spoiler alert when the Han attack the main temple with grenades and howitzers or in the cities when chaos broke out I liked these parts in that your attention became more intense.