Siniset unikot

by Jonathan Falla

Other authorsEinari Aaltonen (Translator)
Hardcover, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

823.92

Collections

Publication

Helsinki : Like, 2005

Description

Jonathan Falla weaves a powerful tale of love and war, exile and homecoming...and of one man’s desire to lose himself in a foreign land, only to find himself caught in a time of chaos and change. Blue Poppies The year is 1950 and, as the world recovers from the ravages of World War II, the Chinese army is perched on the border of a fragile land awaiting its destiny. Jamie Wilson, a young Scottish wireless operator and veteran of the war, has just arrived in the remote Tibetan village of Jyeko. He has come on business--to establish a radio outpost--but his journey will resonate much more deeply. Like those who have traveled to this place before him, Jamie, the Ying-gi-li, is mesmerized by the majestic mountain ranges and enigmatic people, but he will also find an uncommon refuge in its unyielding beauty and in the arms of the willful Puton, a young widow cast out by the people of Jyeko. Inexorably drawn together by a shared loneliness, Jamie and Puton discover a rare passion and the promise of reconnection and belonging--until the voice of Radio Peking crackles over the airwaves, announcing the imminent advance of the Chinese army. Amid the ensuing violence and tumult, Jamie and Puton must embrace their fate and that of the remarkable land that has brought them together. What lies before them and the people of Jyeko is a harrowing journey across a breathtaking landscape...and an extraordinary tale of pride and loyalty, survival and awakening.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member punxsygal
In 1950 young Jamie Wilson, a Scottish wireless operator, is hired to establish a radio outpost in the village of Jyeko, Tibet. It is a remote outpost and Jamie has few friends, a few monks from the local lamasery. A young, disabled widow, Puton, and her daughter are brought in to keep house for
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him. Puton came to Jyeko from Lhasa with her tax collector husband and is considered “bad luck” to the villagers because of her eyebrows (which meet in the middle) and her “big city” ways. Across the river is a small outpost of the Nationalist Chinese Army. Soon the familiar routines are tossed about with the arrival of the Communists who overthrow the Nationalists. And an act of violence by an unknown perpetrator puts the whole village into jeopardy.

I found the book to be interesting and informative. It presented a slightly different picture of Tibet than others I have read, particularly as it took place in eastern Tibet away from the influence of Lhasa. But I never felt much warmth towards any of the characters. I read it and will release it from my library.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

261 p.; 20.5 cm

ISBN

9524715856 / 9789524715850
Page: 0.4012 seconds