Customer Reviews

Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Now 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. Surely you too will cry as I did when nearing the end of this amazing must read!

My book club selected this book, and I was dreading the "love story" purported in the title. But this is actually a pretty neat story about Tibetan life, and since it's supposedly based on a true story, I'm assuming it's pretty accurate. I knew nothing about nomadic Tibetan culture and their environment (except what I've seen in movies), and I enjoyed being introduced to it in novel form. I also enjoyed reading the Tibetan take on the Dalai Lama conflict between China/Tibet. The book is simply written and plot slow at times, and since it is a translation, I suspect some things might have been lost. I didn't have too much of a problem with the writing, but I didn't care for all the coincidences that occur toward the end. I'm assuming this is where the book is very LOOSELY based on reality. Overall, I do recommend it.

I've always been interested in reading books about Tibet. And so I gladly embraced this 2004 novel by Chinese journalist Xinran. A mere 224 pages, it is a fast read and a romantic adventure. Supposedly based on a true interview the author had with an old Chinese woman who spent 30 years in Tibet, this is the story of Shu Wen, a newlywed in 1958, whose young doctor husband was reported dead in Tibet. The details of his death were not clear and Shu Wen wanted to find out the truth. And so she signed up for the Chinese Communist Army, one of the few females in the group who traveled to Tibet under spartan military conditions with the hope of finding out what happened to her husband.

It took her 30 years to find out the truth. But that was only after she spent most of those years living with a family of Yak herders and befriending a former wealthy Tibetan woman who taught her to survive in the harsh landscape. I loved the part of the book which introduced the family and the Tibetan lifestyle. It also gave humanity to the Chinese invaders who saw themselves as bringing a better life to the people who seemed backward to them and much too steeped in religion. This made interesting reading. The author's language is simple and its clarity had the perfect tone to describe Tibet through this Communist Chinese woman's eyes.

In this book, the Chinese are not the bad guys. And the theme made their conquest of Tibet inevitable. Less effective was the plot because it's hard to believe. There are just too many coincidences. And it's much too romantic. But then again, this is a novel.

Sky Burial's point of view was rather refreshing because it didn't demonize the Chinese. And for that reason think it will best be enjoyed for those who can view it in context.

A fasinating love story. Brings you into the Tibeten world & culture. A must read book!

I picked up Sky Burial in a book store and started to read it and couldn't put it down. I bought the book, brought it home and read it all in one sitting. I thought it was a wonderful book! It is well written, full of passion, love, feeling, harsh reality. It is a must read!

This book is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's the story of Shu Wen a Chinese Dr. who goes on the most incredible journey trying to find her husband in Tibet who has been declared dead.

What a love story! But not in the traditional sense. Shu Wen is separated from her Dr. husband of a short time when he is shipped off to Tibet while serving in the Chinese army during the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the late 50's. Shortly after, she gets word of his death and not believing that he is gone, she signs up with the army and gets shipped off to Tibet in hopes of finding him.

The rest of the book is about her life and journey in Tibet for the next 30 years and the metamorphosis that happens as she slowly looses her identity as a Chinese woman and adopts a Tibetan way of life. It's an amazingly human and touching story.

This book is such a tribute to the strength and courage of women and human beings in general, and it was beautifully written by author Xinran Xue, who brings this true story to life in a vivid, colorful, and real way.

What impressed me the most about this book was that Shu Wen's story reminds us that no matter who is caught up in war and world changing events, we are all human and feel the same things: love, hate, fear, compassion, pain..., and that these emotions cross all cultures, races, and boundaries. This story brings home that we can get past our fears, ideologies, and prejudices and treat each other with love and respect if we are willing to be open.

This epic story of love and endurance captured my heart, taking me into an alien world and culture of polyandry. Taking the reader through Chinese patriotism and domination in Tibet to the way of life of Tibetan monks and nomads, we learn of the odyssey of a woman who went through life sticking to her faith in her lost love, participating in history and testing her commitment against the trials of adversity.

SKY BURIAL puts adversity and commitment at the highest test. Endurance here is depicted in a way that brings to mind the story of Disciples of Fortune. They give us a unique perspective of amazing characters that defy adversity.

THREE QUICK POINTS
* Point 1: There is a 99% chance that you will need a box of tissues nearby.

* Point 2: You will almost certainly be left wondering whether or not such profound and enduring love can even exist in our generation.

* Point 3: The story of Shu Wen will likely haunt you long after you've read the final sentence.

SHORT SYNOPSIS:
Sky Burial is a sweeping memoir of mythical love and devotion. But it's not just a love story, it is a story about loss and life in general. It came about when Xinran overheard a brief discussion about a barbaric act called a Sky Burial. At the time (5 years old), she didn't know what it meant, but years later, she would when she met with a woman named Shu Wen. Sky Burial is Wen's story spanning her days as a medical student through meeting the love of her life through losing him and her search to find him again.

MY THOUGHTS:
I read this book on a plane--mistake. Passengers in nearby seats kept stealing furtive glances at my tear streaked face. Even now, when I revisit Shu Wen's story, I find myself beating back the tears. In a word, this book is powerful.

Shu Wen's story is incredibly moving and her strength (emotional and otherwise) is staggering. While following the story, I couldn't help feeling that there was some greater influences at work placing the right people where they needed to be in order for Wen to adapt, grow, and mature on her quest to find her beloved Kejun. We were also able to glimpse into the nomadic Tibetan way of life, some of their customs, and beliefs.

Although I read the translated UK version of the book (and since I cannot read Chinese, nor do I have the American translation, I am not able to compare them), the story was eloquently told. The language was poignant, the settings well-painted, and the subtle emotions haunting.

The only discourse I had with the book was the political discussion which came up between Wen and a small group of Chinese at a Dharmaraja festival. For those not well versed on the politics between Tibet and China of that time, it becomes confusing. Of course, the discussion is mainly just speculation and wild conjecture.

Also, occasionally Xinran injects a few pages of notes or asides between chapters to fill in gaps or explain a break in the interview or introduce some additional information about Shu Wen. This helps remind the reader that we're reading a memoir based on an interview. However, it can bring the reader tumbling back to earth after floating up into Shu Wen's story. It's a double-edged sword that some may dislike.

When I finished reading I, like Xinran, was still filled with questions for Shu Wen. My mind still has trouble wrapping around the love and strength she possessed and the lessons she was kind enough to share with anyone willing to listen. This is one of the few books I will likely re-read well into the future.

Avoid reading it with a critical historical eye. Instead, read it for what it is: one person's story of love and loss.

Shu Wen and her husband had been married for only a few months in the 1960s when he joined the Chinese army and was sent to Tibet to unify the two countries. Shortly after he left, she was notified that he had been killed. Determined to find the truth, Shu Wen joined a militia unit going to the Tibetan north, where she was soon separated from her regiment. Without supplies and knowledge of the language, she wandered, trying to find her way until, on the brink of death, she was rescued by a family of nomads under whose protection she moved from place to place with the seasons and eventually came to discover the details of her husband's death.

I read this book at the same time as the The Unknown Story of Mao. This book with its loving compassion between Chinese and Tibetans was a much needed antidote to the chillingly brutal terror inflicted by Mao.

This is the 3rd book by Xinran that I have read (on recommendation from one of my friends). She is a wonderful write and recounts the interviews of lives of Chinese women. This particular story is about enduring love of a Chinese woman who goes to Tibet to find her husband. Xinran tells the stories of the women with such empathy and with lovely detail of the area in which the story takes place.