To a Mountain in Tibet
Colin Thubron
To a Mountain in Tibet
Mount Kailas is the most sacred of the world’s mountains – holy to one fifth of humanity. Isolated beyond the central Himalayas, it is claimed by myth to be the source of the universe created from cosmic waters and the mind of Brahma. Its summit has never been scaled, but for centuries the mountain has been ritually circled by Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims .Colin Thubron joins these pilgrims, after an arduous trek from Nepal, through the high passes of Tibet, to the magical lakes beneath the slopes of Kailas itself. He talks to secluded villagers and to monks in their decaying monasteries; he tells the stories of exiles and of eccentric explorers from the West. Yet there is another dimension in To A Mountain in Tibet. Colin Thubron recently witnessed the death of the last of his family. He is walking on a pilgrimage of his own.
5.0 out of 5 based on 3 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Travel |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
240 |
| RRP |
£16.99 |
| Date of Publication |
February 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-0701183790 |
| Publisher |
Chatto & Windus |
| |
Mount Kailas is the most sacred of the world’s mountains – holy to one fifth of humanity. Isolated beyond the central Himalayas, it is claimed by myth to be the source of the universe created from cosmic waters and the mind of Brahma. Its summit has never been scaled, but for centuries the mountain has been ritually circled by Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims .Colin Thubron joins these pilgrims, after an arduous trek from Nepal, through the high passes of Tibet, to the magical lakes beneath the slopes of Kailas itself. He talks to secluded villagers and to monks in their decaying monasteries; he tells the stories of exiles and of eccentric explorers from the West. Yet there is another dimension in To A Mountain in Tibet. Colin Thubron recently witnessed the death of the last of his family. He is walking on a pilgrimage of his own.
Reviews
The Evening Standard
Justin Marozzi
"As ever, his descriptive powers rise to the occasion … Who else could write page after compelling page on rock formations without losing his reader? … This is a bold and brave journey, an elegiac book by a master of prose at the height of his powers."
20/01/2011
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The Literary Review
Mick Brown
"We know that Thubron writes beautifully — but seldom more beautifully than here ... Much, much more than an account of a journey, this is a profound and deeply haunting meditation on the nature of self, memory and loss. Thubron has never written a finer book."
01/02/2011
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The Spectator
Charles Allen
"Colin Thubron’s new book will disappoint those of his readers who admire him for his reserve ... But they would be wrong to dismiss To a Mountain in Tibet as lightweight. Nothing Thubron writes cannot but be taken seriously, and this same book may come to be seen not only as the most revealing he has ever published but also the most profound."
29/01/2011
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