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 How convenient that Shangri-la has so much gold that it can afford bringing in extravagant outside goods like the bathtubs from Ohio. Apart from that obvious weakness in the plot, though, this is still a pleasant book, and the reason Hilton gives us for Shangri-la's existence -- a refuge for civilization during the next war -- is a haunting one considering the book's being written so close to World War II, and then doubly haunting considering its eventual nullification by the atom bomb (whose effects could reach Shangri-la and destroy it along with the rest of the world). The novel is somewhat long on talk and short on action, and all but the main character are too one-dimensional (hence I must downgrade to a "6"), but you're still better off reading it than not. Certainly beats the heck out of "The Celestine Prophecy" and its like, both in content and delivery.
Despite the splendidly written text, the storyline itself was not developed very extensively. Most of the text describes the story of Hugh Conway, who was trapped by the fascination of eternal life. The sudden and abrupt ending of the novel was somehow disappointing to me.
This is one of the books that I thought to be "just an average book." But when I received, read it and understood it; it had much more meaning. It is about 3 men and 1 women who were kidnapped at Baskul and flown into a place in the distant reaches of Tibet known as Shangri-La. This is a book that gets you frozen in time so order it today and start reading it. I promise, you will not be disappointed! |
This book will take you to the Himalayas. It is surreal and yet very real. No matter if you have never been to the Himalayas before, you see them, feel them and live them through this book. In the end, you don't want to come back to this world.
"Lost Horizon" is definitely not the best book I have ever read. It starts out with four men talking about different things when they come to the conclusion that they all know Hugh Conway, who was kidnapped along with three others. Their plane crashes in the mountains, and they are rescued and taken to a place called Shangri-La. Here they experience a lot of peace because Shangri-La is away from the ongoing war. Many things happen, and Conway along with one of the others decides to leave. This is the way the book ends, except for the Epilouge where Rutherford again talks about Conway and tries to figure out where he is. This book is definitely for those who like weird things. It was not the best book for my tastes.
