Red Poppies

This is a novel of Tibet, but not the idealized Western version. There are no mandalas, and what lamas appear are barely disguised shamans. The petty despots who run this land, still feudal in the twentieth century, own slaves and give them away, employ executioners and have maids whose bodies are t......more

Red Poppies by Alai, is an interesting piece not least because it is one of the few literary works that has passed the censors of China to make it’s way from Tibet to the western world. Because of this, I have suspicions that the writer, who is Chinese, though has Tibetan heritage, portrayed the Tib......more

I wanted to like this book. In fact the reason I gave it 2 stars instead of one is that I loved the setting and the feel of the book. And I liked the presentation of the main charachter (an "idiot"). But I felt the book was very negative (this is coming from someone who loves depressing books), and......more

This is a wonderfully written book. It is bold, extravagant and shocking in parts. It has the feel of authenticity although who knows what the world of chieftains in pre-revolutionary Tibet was really like. The author speaks frankly about slaves and the freedoms a chief exercises over the bodies of......more

One of the bests from Tibet.......more