During the chaos of a 1930s rebellion in British India, veteran diplomat Hugh Conway and three companions are kidnapped when their plane is diverted deep into the Kunlun Mountains of Tibet. Following a crash, they are guided to the secret valley of Shangri-La, a lamasery governed by an aging High Lama who has discovered the secret to extreme longevity through emotional moderation and mountain seclusion. Conway discovers that the community seeks to preserve the world’s artistic and intellectual heritage from a pending global conflict. He eventually faces a choice between the peaceful, slow-aging life of the hidden monastery and the duties of the external world.
This book serves readers interested in early twentieth-century escapism and the architectural design of fictional utopias. It attracts those who study the psychological impacts of war exhaustion and the philosophical contrast between Eastern mysticism and Western industry. Readers finish the story with a clear mental map of the legendary valley and a specific perspective on how the pace of modern life dictates human physical decline. It provides a blueprint for an intentional society built on the principle of doing nothing in excess.
Contemplative; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1933
- Language
- EN
