Return to Tibet by Heinrich Harrer

Return to Tibet Reviews

• 
  Lucia

  While this book somewhat lacks the writing style of Seven Years in Tibet, it manages to be heartbreaking.
  Harrer was no longer a young, bold, adventure seeking man when he returned to Tibet. Tibet was no longer a peaceful, profound place.
  Although not for the same reasons, I value this book as much as 7 years.
  To quote Harrer himself:
  Wherever I live, I shall feel homesick for Tibet. I often think I can still hear the cries of wild geese and cranes and the beating of their wings as they fly over Lhasa in the clear, cold moonlight. My heartfelt wish is that my story may create some understanding for a people whose will to live in peace and freedom has won so little sympathy from an indifferent world
• 
  Timon Böse

  "Es blieb menschlichen Händen vorbehalten, gelenkt durch politischen Haß und Fanatismus, neunundneunzig Prozent aller Sakralbauten Tibets zu vernichten." (S.236)
  
  Mit diesem Satz ist eigentlich alles gesagt. Die wage Hoffnung, die Harrer nach seiner Reise 1982 noch für Tibets Zukunft empfand, sie ist nach weiteren 35 Jahren auch zerronnen.
• 
  Roger

  About eighteen months ago I read Heinrich Harrer's Seven Years in Tibet and enjoyed it very much, so when I came across this book I thought I'd give it a go. While it was an interesting read, it is not nearly as good as the first book, and given the way it was written, it was never going to be so.
  
  In the early 1980s, when China's Tibet policy had thawed somewhat, Harrer was able to revisit the country he'd spent time in during the 1940s. It's unclear how long he was there, but it was as part of a guided tour at a time when tourism was just beginning in Tibet, and only limited numbers of foreigners were allowed in. Return to Tibet is a book formed around this visit - it is mostly a comparison of what he saw and experienced when he lived there, to what he's seeing and hearing now (in 1982) with his own eyes, and through the testimony of the Dalai Lama and his circle in Darjeeling.
  
  What Harrer sees and hears appalls him. In particular, the destruction of most of the religious buildings he views as a great tragedy. Those temples and palaces that remain are also a sad sight for him, as he remembers the vibrancy and life that used to thrum through these great buildings when the Dalai Lama ruled his country. He tries to pick his way through the curtain that the Chinese try to draw over the real state of Tibet and its people. He wanders markets replete with Yak meat and butter, but is told by his old friends that in the countryside people are starving. He sees workmen "repairing" temples when he walks past with his group, but when he returns unexpectedly later, they have gone. He is told that temples have many monks, but he sees no sign of permanent residency. Those monks he does see he is tempted to believe are actually just workers dressed in the appropriate gear.
  
  He tells of repression and unlawful executions, but Harrer also shows the reader how the religious life of Tibet has continued despite Chinese attempts to extinguish it. He is constantly pressed by Tibetans for pictures of the Dalai Lama, and does in fact see some on public display, which heartens him to think that perhaps the Chinese really were going down a new path and letting Tibetans express their culture more freely. His postscript, which reports on the 1983 crackdown on Tibet, validated the views of many Tibetans he spoke to that thought that the loosening of Chinese repression was only temporary.
  
  The value in this book is that it is a report on Tibet from someone who knew what it used to be like. While Harrer is not rosy-eyed about the past, what he shows us is how the soul of the Tibetan people and culture had been and was still being crushed by the Chinese. His hopes expressed in the book that Tibet could perhaps become like a Bhutan with India, or a Mongolia (as it then was) with the USSR, i.e. under Chinese rule but essentially free to chose their own path, was naive. Communist China would and could never allow that to happen.
  
  As we all know, since this book was written the degradation of Tibetan culture, society and even the country itself has continued. This book is an interesting historical snapshot of a stage in that process. It is not a sequel to Seven Years in Tibet.
  
  Check out my other reviews at
  http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
  
• 
  Mojca Rudolf

  Za vse, ki jim Tibet predstavlja, kar napiše avtor: Mistična dežela, država, ki jo je le malokdo poznal. Dežela samostanov, velika in skrivnostn, daljna in skrita za zaledenelimi vršaci. Dežela, po kateri lahko hrepeniš in sanjaš o njej.
  Prvo knjigo, Sedem let v Tibetu, sem prebrala kar precej let nazaj. Ta pa mi je v roke prišla šele zdaj. Vrnitev v Tibet se dogaja leta 1982, se avtor vrne po tridesetih letih odkar je moral Tibet zapustiti zaradi vdora Kitajcev. Če v prvi knjigi v Tibetu živi - tja je pribežal po begu iz ujetništva v Indiji leta 1944; pa se zdaj vrne zgolj kot turist, ko je Kitajska naposled odprla vrata Tibeta maloštevilnim turistom.
  Avtor se nostalgično in z melanhonijo spominja takratnih časov in spremlja spremembe, ki so se v teh letih zgodile. Kako se vera Tibetancev in njihovi običaji sicer počasi vračajo, toda vse, kar je bilo nekdaj je skorajda v 99 odstotkih uničeno. Razmišlja o običajih, šegah, in o ljudeh, s katerimi je takrat živel in z mnogimi od njih se zdaj tudi ponovno vidi. Govori seveda tudi o Dalajlami in o političnem režimu, a vse to opisuje na nek sicer trpek način, a z mnogo upanja za prihodnost.
  Obe knjigi sta res odličen prikaz mističnega Tibeta in priporočam branje obeh.
  Avtor pa mi je uspel, ponovno potrditi, da vse, kar pisatelji napišejo, ni nujno točno. Po Lancu Armstrongu in po knjigi Imenovali so jo dvoje src, dveh največjih razočaranj, ki so razbile moje iluzije in me spravile iz nedolžne zaupljivosti, mi v tej knjigi razjasni še enega pisatelja, čigar dve knjigi sem prebrala in v njih verjela. Gre za Lobsang Rampa, knjigi Tretje oko (to sem prebrala kar 2x) in Votlina prednikov - samo ti dvve knjigi sta prevedeni v slovenščino. O tem avtorju Heinrich Harrer zapiše da niti slučajno ni nekdo, ki je dolga leta kot študent in zdravnik živel v Lhasi, temveč je bil zgolj sin kleparja iz Walesa. Doživel je avtomobilsko nesrečo, bil potujoči trgovec, nato pa je postal vedeževalec.
  In, pozor na tale navedek:
  Ko je ugotovil, da ljudje verjamejo vse, če jim znaš le dovolj spretno prikazati, je pod imenom Lobsang Rampa začel pisati knjige o Tibetu, ki jih je obogatil z misticizmom iz drugih duhovnih področij.
  In tako ljudje nasedemo napisanemu... Tudi jaz.
• 
  Socrate

  Toate relatările despre Tibet pe care le-am citit în cărţi şi în ziare în anii mulţi care s-au scurs de la ocuparea ţării de către chinezi în 1951 mi se învârt mereu în minte. Dar aceste evenimente trăite, care, vrând-nevrând, se află la graniţa dintre realitatea istorică şi percepţia personală, nu mai sunt în măsură să-mi satisfacă nevoia de înţelegere, cu atât mai puţin sentimentele şi amintirile acumulate în cei şapte ani de şedere în Tibet. În sfârşit, după mai multe încercări zadarnice de a obţine de la chinezi o viză de intrare în Tibet, sunt în avionul spre Lhasa. După ce ani de zile am primit doar răspunsul „not yet”, în primăvara anului 1982 cea mai mare dorinţă a mea devine realitate, şi anume să mă întorc, după exact treizeci de ani, în ţara care a devenit o a doua patrie pentru mine şi al cărei destin am putut să-l trăiesc atât de intens şi nemijlocit. Se înţelege că spiritul meu este acum mult mai agitat decât în alte călătorii, iar sentimentele mele sunt mai sensibile. Am vrut ca în zilele ce vor urma să mă pot baza pe instinctul meu, să pot diferenţia şi recunoaşte, şi mi-am propus să am încredere doar în ochii mei şi să încerc să judec realitatea ce mi se va dezvălui pe baza cunoaşterii şi experienţei mele. Zborul de la Chengdu până la terenul de aterizare din valea fluviului Brahmaputra, în mijlocul Tibetului, a durat trei ore: am zburat peste vârfuri acoperite de gheaţă, înalte de 6.000-7.000 de metri, şi peste podişul tibetan, pe care ninsese uşor şi care, în paloarea şi imensitatea lui, era la fel de misterios cum l-am cunoscut împreună cu Peter Aufschnaiter când am fost timp de doi ani pe fugă. Pe vremea aceea nu existau încă hărţi sau relatări despre ruta pe care voiam noi să mergem. A trebuit să ne aventurăm în necunoscut şi să avem mereu grijă să păstrăm direcţia nord-est în care porniserăm; am sperat că vom întâlni nomazi de la care să putem afla cel mai sigur drum şi distanţa până la Lhasa. Planul nu ne era prea clar nici nouă, iar vânturile îngheţate de iarnă cu care ne-am confruntat încă de la graniţă ne-au arătat cam ce ne aştepta în continuare.
  
• 
  Rajiv Chopra

  This is an excellent book. While reading this book, I did feel rather sad that I have not yet read his earlier book, "Seven Years In Tibet". This is an omission that I must, and will, correct.
  
  In this book, Heinrich Harrer returns to Tibet after a long gap of thirty years. During this time, Tibet has changed. It has changed politically. It has changed culturally, with the advent of the Chinese Communist Party and its people taking charge. The landscape has changed, as many of the old temples and structures have been demolished.
  
  In this short book, he describes these changes in a style that is simple. While he does try to be dispassionate, his emotional turmoil is evident.
  
  It is a beautiful book, written by a man who did count Tibet as his second home.
• 
  Chiara Giacobelli

  Il libro che ha ispirato il celebre film "Sette anni in Tibet" è un interessante diario di viaggio e di vita che va preso nella sua natura di opera prodotta da un alpinista, quindi non un romanzo. Se ci si aspetta la narrativa e la storia avvincente - come nel film - si rimarrà delusi, perché lo stile è piuttosto asciutto, didascalico, tipico appunto del diario e del documento storico.
  Tuttavia, si tratta di una lettura molto valida e ricca di elementi da scoprire, a proposito di una cultura quasi dimenticata e di un eccidio che non viene sufficientemente ricordato.
  Credo sia un libro fondamentale anche per chi ama la letteratura di viaggio, la storia e la conoscenza dei popoli. Sicuramente consigliato.
• 
  Silviu Reuț

  30 de ani după "Șapte ani în Tibet", Harrer se întoarce în țara aflată sub ocupație chineză. Farmecul Tibetului e aproape dispărut, înlocuit cu fanatismul totalitar al lui Mao. "Întoarcerea în Tibet" nu conține aventurile incredibile din prima carte, ci este o comparație între Tibetul experimentat de Harrer înainte de invazia chineză și cel de după. Tibetul este și în ziua de astăzi sub ocupație chineză, iar Dalai Lama în exil în India.
• 
  Sue Dounim

  In 1982, Harrer returned to Tibet where he lived for 7 years in the 1950s. While certainly not a perfect country, it had a unique spiritual and cultural history dating back centuries that the Chinese invaders did all they could to erase and destroy. Harrer attempts to pick some positive things to say out of some of the change and modernization that occurred, but sadly on balance it is just one of the more recent examples of the age old story of a large and powerful country conquering and subjugating a peaceful, relatively defenseless people.
  Harrer published his book in Gemany in 1983. Throughout, he attempts to find some rays of hope for the future of the Tibetans, in spite of the mass murders and wholesale destruction of monasteries by the Chinese. He points out that the Tibetan culture is ancient and Tibetan Buddhism is part of the bones of the land and the people. However in his epilogue, he is dismayed by worldwide reports in 1983 of reversals of the tentative steps China had taken towards liberalization and restoration of destroyed temples and shrines.
  I think it is too much to expect, given world history, that invaded indigenous peoples ever return to any fraction of the strength and numbers they had before invasion by rapacious, relatively technologically advanced societies. The sad thing is that Tibet had no mineral wealth or large population of enslavable humans that could have attracted the Chinese; their interest was strictly and purely imperialistic. They could have left the Tibetans alone and treated them as a neutral neighbor and trading market, and maybe eventually a relative equilibrium condition could have occurred. (I know this is idealistic in the extreme.)
• 
  Mark Reynolds

  A very depressing portrait of the "thaw" in the early 1980s after the cultural revolution wreaked havoc in Tibet (and China) for two decades. Even though the Chinese loosened restrictions, it didn't last long. And today, 50 years on, it's even worse. Only one of many instances of man's inhumanity to man.
• 
  Kathleen

  Written in 1982, this book gives an historical glimpse of Tibet's subjugation. It is interesting, yet disheartening, to read his cautious optimism given what has transpired in that country in the past 50+ years.
• 
  Kelzang Wangmo

  I looked forward to reading this book after enjoying the 'Seven Years in Tibet' but I felt so many parts repetitive. It might be mainly because I was reading the books right after another while in reality, the two books have been written almost 30 years apart and some of the histories need to be recounted to understand the details he would be describing after his return to Tibet after several failures of re-entry into this 'Shangrila'. The Tibet and Tibetans he revisits/meets is much different from how he left/expected it to be. Although, I have never visited Tibet in real but after the vivid description with similar landscapes like Bhutan, I have felt connected with Tibet and fellow Tibetans. The new reality that Harrer observes and described in this book is therefore heart breaking to read.
• 
  Gulo

  Having been written in 1983 in German, perhaps this book is slightly out of date and has lost some of its original potency. Even with that taken into consideration, this book is filled with biases and predictions that, at least so far, have yet to even come near to fruition. The author is an absolute legend in his own right but, unless one is doing an in-depth research on the subject, another book would probably be a better choice.
  
  
  
  My one takeaway quote:
  “In Switzerland and India there are a few young hotheads who have written violence on their banners. These people, too, need to be understood; certainly their wish to reconquer Tibet is not lacking in courage or in idealism. But I prefer to side with those moderate and more realistic young Tibetans who hope to regain their homeland by patience and moral claims...No doubt they also realize that resignation has to be learned - it is a virtue which we in the Western world of materialism and affluence have often lost.
  
• 
  Renée

  I was interested to read about how Harrer experienced his return to Tibet after having built a life there and the Chinese having destroyed it all, interested to know the state of the country but it was less interesting than his first book: Seven years in Tibet.
  
  I think it is because there was no adventure involved anymore, less or pretty much no extraordinary things that happened, and sometimes it seemed more like a factual description of all things destroyed and changed to make sure his impressions were preserved for later writing, reference and explaining to the Dalai lama and Tibetian friends outside Tibet than him trying to make it more 'novelish'. On the one hand Harrer knew Tibet and Lhasa from inside out before so he could compare but on the other hand I think someone else who had not been in Tibet might had done a better job, someone with a fresh curious view. I would have also liked more conversation with the people, more life with the people and less like 'If I go left, I don't see the monastery any more'. But I suppose it could only really have been valuable if Heinrich again would have LIVED there for a while, now he was also obviously held back by Chinese control and he was only there for a short while.
  
  Oh and the Chinese are bastards, as for Tibet, unbelievably cruel people for the way they treated the Tibetans and their cultural and religious heritage. I am disgusted with it.
  Still it was interesting enough to keep my interest the whole time.
• 
  Nicole

  This is the most anticipated follow-up to the remarkable Seven Years in Tibet, written about 30 years prior.
  
  Harrer states right off the bat that “although the present book continues by personal experience of and in Tibet, the two books do not bear any comparison”. This is true of most sequels and sets that expectation up for the reader from the beginning.
  
  The book certainly does not have the same adventure feel to it as Seven Years in Tibet, but it was very nice to read about his reunions with old friends, although not in the most desirable circumstances. It was heartbreaking to read about the fate of Tibet and its people, religion, culture, and buildings after the Chinese started their occupation- especially after being so emotionally and mentally invested in the first book. Many people, as Harrer states throughout the book, are not aware of Tibet and its current situation, so one can certainly learn a lot from this book.
• 
  Bettie

  Of course this was a tragic read after meeting the young 14th Dalai Lama in situ at the Potala in the first book. It was shuddering to return to Lhasa under Chinese rule and the pointless destruction...
• 
  Leslie

  So sad i couldn't stand it.
• 
  Sally McRogerson

  Not the same enthusiasm in the author. The changes are all negative but he was one of the only guys able to draw comparisons. No-one else had previously been there.
  
• 
  DaViD´82

  Ani bez "jedničky" Sedm let v Tibetu by to nebylo zbytečné a natož s ní v zádech.
• 
  Terri Schneider

  Harrer's writing lacked the finesse of Seven Years in Tibet, but the information was impactful none the less. Very important read about a continuing tragic state in Tibet.
• 
  Maureen

  A book really about how life is change. Having just watched the movie Seven Years in Tibet, I was eager to know what came next. Fascinating!
• 
  Gracie

  "Ritorno al Tibet"
• 
  Camille Cusumano

  This book made me so sad that I never visited the Tibet of Harrer's Seven Years in Tibet (although I did see and enjoy the film with Brad Pitt). Though the author's eyes we see Tibet before the Chinese Occupation. Then we see all the destruction they wrought. Temples, monasteries, and other beautiful icons of the unique Tibetan culture have been destroyed by the Chinese who marched into Tibet in the late 1950s also slaughtering many Tibetans. I did not finish the last quarter of the book because it became a monotonous repeating scenario. Harrer visits a place in Tibet and recalls its past glory and beauty, then tells how the Chinese maliciously destroyed it. Yet, it is interesting to note that Harrer keeps asserting that Tibet had to change its aristocratic hierarchy and that even the Dalai Lama, who fled and still lives in exile, agreed. Yet the Tibetans should've been allowed to change from within, not in such a brutal way. The book makes me not want to visit the Tibet of today.