Shangri-La is a creation of British author, James Hilton, in his 1933 novel “Lost Horizon”It’s a valley hidden somewhere in the Tibetan mountains. The people who have accidently found their way there have learned how to stop the aging process so they live hundreds of years which gives them the greatest gift…time.
“And, most precious of all, you will have Time – that rare and lovely gift that your Western countries have lost the more they have pursued it. Think for a moment. You will have time to read – never again will you skim pages to save minutes, or avoid some study lest it prove too engrossing.”
So no excuses for not reading the book group selection…
The goal of the Shangri-La monks is to preserve culture; literature, music, history since they fear a time where man will create the weapon which will destroy civilization as we know it.
The atom bomb was used in 1945.
“Lost in Shangri-La"’s author, Mitchell Zuckoff, describes the earlier novel, “Lost Horizon”.
“Often read as an adventure tale, Hilton’s book is really a meditation on finding peace and preserving humanity in a world spiraling toward self-destruction. Hilton saw“civilization” trapped in a ruinous cycle, careening from one war to the next, each more deadly and destructive than the last.”
Our “Lost Horizon” hero, Conway, is a veteran from the WW I trenches. Once a brilliant, talented student, musician and athlete currently he is rather unstable and “passionless”about life.
Remarkably the High Lama of Shangri-La recognizes Conway as a kindred spirit and entices him to give up the outside world and stay to replace him once he finally dies. Conway must decide if he should take up the mission of the monastery. For good or bad, he chooses to leave.
I like the twist at the end of the book when we are reminded the whole tale about Shangri-La is just a travel story written by our unstablehero, Conway. So did he make the whole thing up? Does Shangri- La exist?
Zuckoff writes, “It’s no wonder, then a pair of veteran war correspondents looked wistfully on a fertile valley, sealed from the outside world, its natives ignorant of Nazis and kamikazes, and thought of the paradise Hilton had given his fictional paradise.”
“And, most precious of all, you will have Time – that rare and lovely gift that your Western countries have lost the more they have pursued it. Think for a moment. You will have time to read – never again will you skim pages to save minutes, or avoid some study lest it prove too engrossing.”
So no excuses for not reading the book group selection…
The goal of the Shangri-La monks is to preserve culture; literature, music, history since they fear a time where man will create the weapon which will destroy civilization as we know it.
The atom bomb was used in 1945.
“Lost in Shangri-La"’s author, Mitchell Zuckoff, describes the earlier novel, “Lost Horizon”.
“Often read as an adventure tale, Hilton’s book is really a meditation on finding peace and preserving humanity in a world spiraling toward self-destruction. Hilton saw“civilization” trapped in a ruinous cycle, careening from one war to the next, each more deadly and destructive than the last.”
Our “Lost Horizon” hero, Conway, is a veteran from the WW I trenches. Once a brilliant, talented student, musician and athlete currently he is rather unstable and “passionless”about life.
Remarkably the High Lama of Shangri-La recognizes Conway as a kindred spirit and entices him to give up the outside world and stay to replace him once he finally dies. Conway must decide if he should take up the mission of the monastery. For good or bad, he chooses to leave.
I like the twist at the end of the book when we are reminded the whole tale about Shangri-La is just a travel story written by our unstablehero, Conway. So did he make the whole thing up? Does Shangri- La exist?
Zuckoff writes, “It’s no wonder, then a pair of veteran war correspondents looked wistfully on a fertile valley, sealed from the outside world, its natives ignorant of Nazis and kamikazes, and thought of the paradise Hilton had given his fictional paradise.”
