Lost Horizon

by James Hilton

Paperback, 1973

Status

Available

Call number

823.912

Publication

Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group (1973)

Description

Following a plane crash in the Himalayan mountains, a lost group of Englishmen and Americans stumble upon the dream-like, utopian world of Shangri-La, where life is eternal and civilization refined.

User reviews

LibraryThing member absurdeist
Freddie Mercury once operatically crooned, "Who wants to live forever?" as if the obvious answer to his existential lyrical inquiry -- featured in the film, "Highlander" -- was a resounding "No one". Yeah, maybe so, but I'll bet Freddie never read "Lost Horizon".
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
This novel is the original account of Shangri-La, a key instance of the trope of the secluded Asian mountain paradise. It sets up decently, with a great deal of mystery about the lamasery of Shangri-La itself, and a very gradual process of revelation to a well-drawn set of central characters.
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Surprisingly, the story turns out not to be particularly Orientalist. There is nothing putatively "Eastern" about the mysticism and advanced powers of the lamas. In fact, transplanted Westerners seem to be the rule rather than the exception among them. Hilton does succeed in describing a rather appetizing micro-society of adepts in symbiosis with a secluded culture. The utopian philosophy of Shangri-La even lauds the virtue of Slack. (Praise "Bob"!)

I was enjoying it all tremendously until the final chapter and epilogue, in which it seemed that everything that had been so carefully set out was hastily cast aside. Plot details were provided that seemed intended to vouchsafe the genuineness of the Shangri-La adepts; but at the same time, it seemed wrong that people having such powers and purposes could err so dramatically. Perhaps the central character Conway was subjected by the lamas to a more refined mindfuck than a simple misrepresentation of their general program. But I feel like I'm stretching in an effort to save a story that its author failed to fulfill, and my lingering appraisal is one of faint disappointment.
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LibraryThing member Clara53
Absolutely loved this book! My only regret is that I didn't get to read it sooner! (I do thank a friend for bringing it to my attention!). This is one of those books that you want to have on your bookshelves forever... The poetic, measured style of writing (somehow vaguely reminiscent to me of one
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of my favorite writers - W.S.Maugham) was of great appeal in itself, but combined with a marvelous plot, it was a true delight. The idea of moderation if life, though not unique or new but exquisitely presented in a shroud of utopia, is seen as so practical and possible and needed.

Author Warren Eyster said this in Afterword: "The remarkable achievement of "Lost Horizon"is that Hilton created a utopia so vague, yet so appealing, that it allows each of us to fill in the blanks to our own satisfaction". I fully agree.

To me, one of the signs of a good book is that you don't want it to end - and that's how it was with this one.
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LibraryThing member gbill
Fantastic concept, and a novel that put the word Shangri-La into our lexicon. An airplane carrying a four passengers is hijacked, and they are taken to a remote, unknown Himalayan valley, where they gradually come to know its secrets. I love the context of the novel, written after the
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disillusionment of the first world war, and at a time when tensions were already ratcheting up all over the globe. Hilton juxtaposes these events with the gentle philosophy of the spiritual leaders of Shangri-La, though I could have used more of this aspect in the novel. I think he was a little too wordy on more mundane bits, especially early on, and this is one of those rare books where I found the movie (Frank Capra, 1937) to be superior to the book, as sacrilegious as that may sound. There is something to be said for his restrained approach though, and it’s still a good read.
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LibraryThing member Cecrow
Dispensing first with the trivia, this 1933 novel was the first mass-market paperback ever published (1939) and coined the name "Shangri-la". It also happens to be a pretty good old-fashioned adventure story. Stories that begin with an unknown pilot taking a passenger plane hostage tend to play a
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little differently in today's era, but I noted it was curiously lacking a suspenseful edge. The same went for mystery and tension throughout the novel, which had me gearing up to rate this as a flaw until the novel's theme was revealed: all things in moderation. I love a novel that demonstrates what it conveys. It's a good message too, so I'm embarassed I didn't appreciate this more to begin with.

Shangri-la is presented as a utopia of sorts, and while we do get a general outline of its workings I think there's not enough details that it could be recreated. This was probably a wise move on the author's part, since when he does get close to defining any of its conventions their flaws stand out. How to resolve jealousy in Shangri-la over the same woman? "It would be good manners on the part of the other man to let him have her, and also on the part of the woman to be equally agreeable. You would be surprised, Conway, how the application of a little courtesy all round helps to smooth out these problems." I'm not as sure that the woman in that scenario would feel courtesy had been fully extended "all around" while she's being exchanged as an object.

It's an old-fashioned notion now to suggest any valley on Earth can remain hidden and undiscovered, etc., but it's romantic enough to indulge in as you might read Jules Verne or H.G. Wells. It also serves as an artifact of that dark time between wars during the Great Depression, when there seemed so little to look forward to in the world's future that Shangri-la would have been everyone's ideal escape. Perhaps for many of us it still is.
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LibraryThing member RachelfromSarasota
Somehow I never got around to reading this book before, although I'd seen the black and white film version; which doesn't quite do the book justice.

James Hilton's tale of a secluded utopia, locked deep in the trackless mountains of Tibet, is deservedly a classic. The 1920s prose may take some
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getting used to, but it aptly sets the stage for the story of "Glory" Conway, the pride of his public school generation. Conway lost both his youth and his idealism during the Great War, and this hard won wisdom has left him adrift in a world where the Great Depression and nationalist revolutions have turned the world upside down. A capable and decisive man, he is often forced to take charge of tricky situations when his own inclination is for solitude and the solace of study.

Kidnapped and taken to Shangri-La, the hidden Valley of the Blue Moon, Conway discovers that a select group of studious monastics are working to preserve the cultural and philosophical treasures of the world against the coming night of barbarism and horror. Conway himself has been hand-picked as the successor to the incredibly aged monk who planned and built the secret city.

Reading the book was a bit like traveling back in time -- a refreshing change from today's world of ceaseless action. Dwelling, even for a brief time, with Conway and the monks in Shangri-La, I experienced the sense of timeless peace that is the hallmark of the secluded sanctuary.

The story, though dated in style and purpose is still gripping. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member maggie1944
A very pleasant read. The author does a good job of creating an atmospheric environment. Characters are perhaps a bit flat save the protagonist. Book is written from a narrator POV however the reader feels like its the protagonists POV. Generally, I found it to be an easy read although when I
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wanted to think about what was the author's intention in regards to philosophy of life there was ample meat to consider.

Since I have seen and enjoyed the movie more than once I did "see" the scenery from that cinematic experience which is perhaps unfortunate. The author did provide some lovely descriptions of the setting and should be appreciated on their own.

I end up recognizing the book is perhaps a bit "old fashioned" but many readers will find that to be charming. I recommend someone read a few paragraphs in a bookstore or library before deciding to read the book, for real.
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LibraryThing member snat
For the life of me, I have no idea why anyone dearly loves this book. The narrative is plodding, the characters boring and unsympathetic, and the ending--don't get me started on the ending. This was a book club selection that I was actually excited about since its setting is the mystical
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Shangri-La. I thought it would be an Indiana Jones-esque action and adventure in an exotic Asian setting. What I got instead was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Boring Tibetans. There's no action; all they do is prattle on about how perfect existence at Shangri-La is (so perfect, in fact, it's painfully boring to read about). The discussions are predictably didactic ("duh, duh, double duh" I thought as each new mystery of life was revealed). I am so glad that I checked this out from the library. Now I can't wait to go check it back in.
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LibraryThing member craso
A British diplomat, his young co-worker, an American, and a missionary are taken by airplane to a mysterious valley in Tibet. When they arrive they are greeted by a retinue from Shangri-La; the local lamasery. They are invited to stay until porters from outside the valley arrive with goods. While
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they wait to be rescued they learn about the inhabitants idealic way of life.

Each character views Shangi-La differently: Conway, the British diplomat, feels very much at home; Mallinson, the youngman, views it as a prison; Miss Brinklow, the missionary, sees only heathen ways; and Barnard, the American, makes jokes about the situation. I couldn't stand the Mallinson character. He argued and fussed because he thought he was a prisoner. Being young, he wanted to get back to the outside world where he could fulfill his wants and passions instead of staying in the utopic world where he could just live.

The theme of this novel is that we should live out our lives with moderation and balance. The people in the valley don't ever go to extremes. They live their lives quietly and pleasantly and don't try to have more, or do more, than is necessary. This is a very Buddhist view of the world.; that all things are created in perfection and gratitude and serenity are the true signs of self-actualized living.

This book was one of the most well written books I have read in a while. It was a fast read. The author got his point across simply, yet the story is full of deep philosphical meaning.
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LibraryThing member book-aficionado
When I picked up this book, I knew that it was first published in the 1930s, therefore, I was bracing myself for a verbose, glacially paced story which would have little to offer in terms of a story, and much less of a narrative drive. I must happily admit that I was completely wrong on both
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counts.

'Lost Horizon' is about a group of four Westerners who find themselves in the middle of a civil war in colonial India. A plane which is meant to airlift them out of the war zone, instead ends up skyjacking them into Tibetan mountains. Upon landing , the pilot suffers a heart attack and dies, leaving his motives for the kidnapping unanswered. But before dying, he points them towards a monastery among the snow-peaked mountains that would offer them food and shelter. The group, finding themselves without any supplies and completely exposed to the elements, have no choice but to seek the monastery.

The monastery offers them delicious food, comfortable lodging, a well-stocked book and music library, all set against the breath-taking backdrop of the valley of the Blue Moon called Shangri-la. They discover that the monastery has its own life-philosophy of moderation. But, more than a tranquil and leisurely lifestyle, the Lamas of the monastery offer them a life spanning hundreds of years.

And when the world would end up in ruins after what seems an inevitable and imminent global war, the monastery at Shangri-la, secluded and hidden from the world among the high Tibetan mountains, safe from the ravages of any war, would serve as a time-capsule, preserving human wisdom and knowledge, and would help rebuild a better, safer, and saner world.

The group that finds itself at the monastery comprises of four people: a world-weary, mild-mannered bureaucrat with muted ambition and no ties to the external world who embraces what the monastery has to offer with the eagerness of a man who has finally found his Eden; his younger colleague, impatient and belligerently frustrated with finding himself away from the urban life that he loves, is desperate to get away - he would rather live for a short time but with all the excesses of entertainment his city-slicker's lifestyle has to offer; a middle-aged Christian missionary lady who believes firmly in her fundamentalist outlook and holds in contempt all other life-philosophies; and a rich businessman who lost millions of dollars of his shareholders through some bad decisions and is on the run from the police of several different countries - he is happy to be anywhere but in a prison, and the gold deposits of Shangri-la are a mouth-watering concept for him and his own ticket to finding fortune lost and reclaiming his respect in the eyes of the world.

Shangri-la becomes a perfect mirror, in which, when people from very different lifestylses and holding very different world views gaze, rather than their faces we see their true natures reflected, revealing much about our own. The protagonist's (Conway) mild disposition (to the point of being almost cold-blooded, some might argue), his willingness to make the best of whatever situation life throws at him, his innate sense of diplomacy which restrains him from being judgemental towards people holding views very different from his own, and his deep yearning for escaping the rat race of a professional life, made me see glimpses of my own self in these characteristics of his. And I thought that the qualities of his nature described above are much more timely in the present day and age when we live in a world where different and diverse cultures and religions are becoming increasingly intolerant of each other.

The novel, breath-taking in its scope, highly engaging through its artful suspense which makes us eager to find out the mysteries of the plot, is full of wisdom, thought-provoking ideas, and keen insights into human nature. An enchantingly fantastical yarn told in prose which sometimes elevates itself to an almost poetic quality, James Hilton's tale of Shangri-la has come to define a utopian lifestyle, and the term 'Shangri-la' itself is a part of English language now and stands for a remote place of timeless beauty on earth where life achieves perfection.

'Lost Horizon' raises many questions about the meaning of life, the pursuit of happiness, and all that we value in life and devote our lifetimes to obtaining them. Many might not agree with Hilton's idea of utopia, but all would agree that his novel makes us pause for a while and compels us to contemplate the purpose and usefulness of our very own existence.
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LibraryThing member edgeworth
Lost Horizon is mostly famous for inventing the mythical Shangri-La, a fictional Tibetan monastery that has entered popular parlance as a term for paradise. Around 2000, the Chinese town of Zhongdian saw the towns to the south (Lijiang and Dali) raking in the tourist dollars, and in an effort to
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gain a slice of the pie, Zhongdian renamed itself Shangri-La. The tourism authorities then began reprinting and churning out paperback copies of Lost Horizon to support the marketing campaign, and I must have come across dozens of them while perusing bookstores, hostel shelves and cafes across Yunnan. I never got around to reading it until recently, however.

It's nothing particularly amazing. The story begins with a group of Westerners - a British consul, his young assistant, a female missionary, and an American fugitive - having their plane hijacked in India and flown north into Tibet. Crashing far from any Western influence, they find themselves near the isolated lamasery of Shangri-La, where they are greeted warmly and told they may have to wait for a few months before porters arrive to take them back to the outside world.

There are many secrets about the monastery, and the Westerners find themselves frustrated by the monks' lack of openness and forthrightness. It eventually transpires that Shangri-La greatly extends the lifespan of its inhabitants, and that the Westerners were deliberately kidnapped and brought there. More than a few elements of the book strongly reminded me of the TV series "Lost."

Aside from being a generally mediocre book, it was also one of those where I strongly disagreed with the philosophy being put forth. Shangri-La is a peaceful, pleasant, quiet place, where the monks live Buddhist lives free of excess. The lama predicts a terrible coming war, one which might potentially engulf the whole world and leave Shangri-La as the last bastion of civilisation, and he is gathering people here for the purpose of preserving humanity.

All well and good, except that the protagonists were not given a choice about whether or not they wanted to spend their lives in Shangri-La, and the lama has no intention of letting them leave. Conway, the main character whom the reader is positioned to like, is a disillusioned war veteran who finds himself quite happy there. Mallinson, his young protege and foil, considers them to have been kidnapped and is quite angry. I found my sentiments to be 100% behind Mallinson, yet the reader is positioned to find him disagreeable and unlikeable.

Personally, I would quite gladly accept an offer to live for hundreds of years in a life of quiet contemplation, reading, discussion and education - if it was genuinely an offer. Not if I was fucking abducted. If that happened I would shout and struggle and fight and maybe even kill to get out of there. Nobody has a right to determine anybody else's decisions, no matter how beneficial they think they might be for the person in question.

As I mentioned earlier, it's thematically very similar to "Lost." The difference is that "Lost" was entertaining.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
I found Lost Horizon quite different from what I expected, less of a fantasy and much more of a philosophical look at the world in the early 1930’s, and most especially the generation that fought, but never quite recovered from World War I. I won’t get into plot details as most people have a
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general idea of the storyline and have heard of Shangri-La.

What I found fascinating about this book was the internal workings of his main character, Conway. His contemplative acceptance of what is happening, his unspoken wish for a life of simplicity, the general acceptance of this interruption in his life, and then, his sudden decision to aid his young friend in his bid to escape Shangri-La, all kept me glued to the page. I remember the first movie made from this book, and I pictured Ronald Coleman in this part totally.

What was lacking in this book was action, the story unfolds in a gentle, meandering way and I never once felt I was reading an adventure story. So, not what I expected, but a read that I enjoyed nevertheless. My only complaint was that I found the ending rather abrupt and felt it left me hanging, wanting more resolution than it offered.
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LibraryThing member kakadoo202
My cup of tea. Makes we want to travel and explore that part of the world.
LibraryThing member jillmwo
A favorite read, Lost Horizon focuses on recognition and preservation of what really matters in human society. A small band of British and American citizens are kidnapped and flown into the Himalayas where the plane crashes. Fortunately, they are rescued by inhabitants of a near-by lamasery. A
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world untouched by the stresses of modern life, the question is whether the kidnapped band of citizens adequately share the values of Shangri-La. (Note: there are occasional attitudes presented in this book that date the text. Some readers may find themselves disturbed by gender and racial stereotypes.)
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LibraryThing member martinhughharvey
I am quite discriminating with my selection of books - I follow book reviews, sites, Amazon reviews, and the NY Times book reviews so I often the books I read I rate highly. Every so often though a book comes along that I find simply outstanding. This is one of that short list. Based on the reviews
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and the feeling that this book is a lot more than expressed I had been promising for quite some time to myself to read it. So recently I dutifully downloaded it from Ontario's (excellent) download centre to my Kindle.

First the prose is exquisite - perhaps, for me, the most appealing since Willa Cather's "Death Comes to the Archbishop". Many times I read a sentence and had to read it again and even posted a few "clippings" on my Kindle. Most of you may have an idea of the story line from the movie of the same name. The plot sounds perhaps childish (undiscovered valley in the mystical mountains, happiness abounding, folk live forever and so on) - but not one ounce of corniness. Clearly the horror of the Great War has a real impact especially as the novel moves on. The predictions of the future are eerily prescient. And one imagines you are there crossing those forbidding mountains to arrive in the magic place of Shangri-La.

Exceptional. How can I start my next book? :)
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LibraryThing member mamzel
This book was originally published in 1933 and was the first mass produced paperback novel. Shangri-La has become a name synonymous with utopia or paradise because of it.

Four people escape violence in Afghanistan aboard a plane which is hijacked. It takes them to a remote location in an unexplored
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region of the Himalayas where they are met by a mysterious monk riding in a chair and speaking English. One of the passengers is an American, one is a British missionary woman, one is an assistant to the fourth who worked for the British Consulate. The story of these people is given to us by way of a neurologist who heard their story from an ill man in China and is giving his manuscript to a writer to publish it.

Conway, the Consul, had long conversations with the English-speaking monk and learned that people who embraced life in this remote valley lived to be a remarkable old age. Mallinson, the Vice-Consul, had no patience, and wanted to return to 'civilization' as soon as possible. Miss Brinklow set herself to learning Tibet so she could begin her work with the natives. The American, Mr. Barnard, turned out to be a con man who finds himself in a place rich with untapped sources of gold.

This was a short book, just the right length to tell the story.
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LibraryThing member HedgePig
When the author offers two possible endings, both must be plausible in order to leave the reader wondering what really happened. But when neither ending is reasonable, then one is left rather disastisfied. To be fair this is not a bad book but I felt myself losing interest as my credulity was
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strained.
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LibraryThing member bdickie
This is another of my all time favorite books. After reading this I went about collecting all of Hilton's books I could find, and have loved them all.
LibraryThing member HiddenLibrary
Not well written, but the idea behind it is ravishing.
LibraryThing member LeslitGS
A missionary, a thief, an intern and a soldier are kidnapped and taken to Shangri-la...sounds kind of like a bad joke, no? Well, it Lost Horizon, it isn't a joke. It's the plot, or at least a base for all that follows therein. Conway is a charismatic man that most everyone recalls after having met
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hium, but when an old friend stumbles across him in a Chinese hospital, he learns that there is much more to the man's easy nature than meets the eye. He is kidnapped along with the other three and carried high into the Tibetan mountains. After being picked up by a Chinese Llama [no ducks, no llamas, note the capital L], the four find themselves at the llamasery and in a very different world. The choice must be made--stay and grow accustomed to the high altitude and ethereal world of Shangri-la, or leave to reclaim the threads of the old life at the risk of exposre and almost certain death?

I am honestly not sure what to do with this book. It is odd on many levels, including the protagonist himself, and the lack of a villain or antagonist. The story is set as a recount of the journey by Conway to a friend [though thankfully in 3rd person] and thusly focuses on internal and eternal experiences and growths. he likes Shangri-la, but is torn in his position because of Mallison [I called him an intern because I'm not entirely sure what he is] practically hero worships the man and is appalled by the place, not trusting its laid back, spiritual ways. Conway likes the slower paced contemplative life as well as the boy, introducing the central conflict as the debate between staying for better or worse and letting Mallison deal in his own way or playing the role in which Mallison has cast him. When I say central, I should really say only, because it isn't the focus of the text. That seems more to be the journey...like a book entirely composed of exposition.
But that brings me to another point--the oddity in style and pacing. As the Llama Chang informs the guests, 'Everything in moderation.' It was largely a very plain body of text with brief episodes of description waxing poetic or exposition waxing philosophical. the pace maintained itself to a comfortably thoughtful stroll with only a few laggin gmoments. These two factors are perfect for the book's set up because they suit Conway in his initial reveal. He is a comfortable man who prefers to take his time and think while maintaining the base line of efficiency.
One brief and small spoiler--the llamasery grew from a mission founded by a Christian from the west.
All in all, though I was not overly wowed, the book put forth some interesting concepts and was well assembled [physically and otherwise, touting the claim of being the first paperback ever published].
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LibraryThing member HankIII
Well, I remember reading it about 15 years ago, and liking it. This time my general impression is "eh, it was okay."I don't know; it just seemed the plot dragged on until I was glad it ended.
LibraryThing member andyray
Written and published in the midst of the Great Depression (1933), this and the movie that followed gave people a chance to relax and enter a world of heavenly delight separated from the reality and hardness of outside problems. Interestingly enough, Hilton has his High Llama predict a world-wide
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war that would end in destruction of all mankind and the Lamestery called Shangra-la would be the only thing standing (a kind of a Charles Manson thingf, only without the murders and great sex).
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LibraryThing member GTTexas
It's been a long time since I last read Lost Horizon, and it's at least as good as I remembered it.
LibraryThing member Mromano
The work is famous in part because it is the first paperback ever published. It was made also into a popular movie. The name of the retreat, Shangri-la, has become famous as well, synonymous with Utopia. Having said that, the tale is in the adventure genre with a group of people aboard a
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high-jacked plane, landing in the Himalayas and discovering Shangri-La and its secret. The conflicts that its main character must face make for interesting, but ultimately not entirely memorable reading.
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LibraryThing member Mendoza
THis timely tale of Shangri-La is a metaphor for our lost innocence and the end of paradise. I found this novel to be simply written and possessed tremendous atmosphere. It was thought provoking without being in my face.

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1933

Physical description

6.9 inches

ISBN

0671783076 / 9780671783075
Page: 1.243 seconds