China captured Tibet and Dalai Lama of Tibet ran away to India and took asylum here.But I did not know that even Chinese people have fled China because their writings are not acceptable to Government of China.Gao XingJian is one such Chinese writer and ink painter whose writings were not acceptable to Government of China and he fled China taking mountaineous and dangerous path and he fled to Paris and then settled in Paris.Its kind of strange why China doesn’t give literary or religious freedom to people of China and for that case Tibet.
SOUL MOUNTAIN is kind of autobiography of Gao written in Chinese and translated in English by Mabel Lee.Mostly its kind of diary written by him when he was undertaking the journey in mountaineous region of China.He mostly talks about religious beliefs and wild life of country side of China.Also he gets involved with women on the way.He talks about his middle age, childhood and personal life too.He was misdiagnosed with lung cancer and then gets to know that he was misdiagnosed.
Two things I didn’t like were, he gets a child on the way and he tries to comfort him for some time and then leaves that child crying on the road alone.How can someone be so insensitive?Second thing, he is almost interested in every young female he meets and describes her in detail and the intimate relationship he shares with her.This was kind of disgusting the way he describes women as if they were objects.Certain words I didn’t like he used in connection with women.
This book has been awarded Nobel prize and I am not sure if there were other better contestants or he was the best that year.May be they gave him that prize because he was kind of honest in telling even his shortcomings.
Sometimes the book becomes boring.But for sure this book brings out unexplored facts about China.
Thanks for reading my review.