The Lost Heart of Asia (P.S.)
by Colin Thubron
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Book Summary Information
Author: Colin ThubronEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-01
ISBN: 0061577677
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of The Lost Heart of Asia (P.S.)
Book Review: Beyond the Western World
Summary: 4 Stars
I had been wanting for a while to learn something about Central Asia. It is possibly the only large region of the world that I know nothing about, have never read anything about, never met anyone from, never visited. This book was not a disappointment - a very educational read that has its moments of drama and humor as well. I wish I could say I became a huge fan of Thubron's writing as well as his travelling, but that would not really be the truth.
The area is, of course, very large, and consists of the nations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirghizstan, and Tajikistan. The differences between the countries was not at all clear to me, altho there were some. For the most part, people in the area are descended from nomadic Turkic (not Turkish) tribes. Coming from a history of wandering tribes and city-states, most of them are not particularly impressed by nationalism. Throughout the book it has clearly been dominated by two major forces: the Soviet Union and Islam. The Russians have dominated the area militarily and thru the introduction of Communism, but their empire has been crumbling for a while, and at least when this book was written, it was not clear what the future of Central Asia would be. There Islam is a lot mellower than places like Iran. Often it is mixed with old pagan practices, and most of the men Thubron encounters seem to have no problem drinking large quantities of alcohol, regardless of what the prophet had to say about it.
Thubron is a brave man. He apparently traveled alone, altho he did hook up with some people along the way, and was armed only with his knowledge of Russian. He visits the major cities, and was not too favorably impressed with them, finding them dominated by Soviet architecture and full of Russians (and some Ukrainians too). He encounters some interesting people along the way. He chats with holy men and regular guys, tries to avoid getting into trouble with authorities and stays away from the mafias (of which there are supposedly many). He meets a group of men who cannot fathom the Western idea of romantic love for just a woman, independent of a love for children and family, especially sons. At one point a couple of men offer to share a steamed sheep's head with him, and they dig the yummy gray brains out with their fingers and munch them up. Much of what he sees is not especially attractive - poverty, dry lands, and desperation. When he goes into the Pamir Mountains and the other mountainous regions that border western China, things get more stimulating. I found myself searching the internet for photos of the places he describes.
This author takes the reader on a very interesting journey, there is no doubt about that. But his writing occasionally grated on my nerves - he has a weakness for the purple phrase and the obscure word. I did hope for some more visual description at times - I could not always get a good mental picture going of the places he discusses. But Thubron knows enough to lighten up from time to time, to let his subjects speak for themselves, and to allow some dry humor into the narrative. Despite a loquaiciousness that sometimes distracts the reader from the journey, I would travel with him again.
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