Op grote hoogte: een reis door de Himalaya

by Erika Fatland, Maud Jenje (Translator), Michiel Vanhee (Translator)

Het hoogste gebergte ter wereld geeft zijn geheimen maar moeilijk prijs. Westerlingen proberen zijn flanken te bedwingen of zoeken er spirituele verlichting. Erika Fatland kijkt verder. De reisboekenschrijfster trok een jaar lang door alle vijf landen van de Pakistan, India, Nepal, China en Bhutan, een van de meest etnisch en religieus diverse regio’s ter wereld. Hier worden politieke conflicten uitgevochten en proberen grootmachten voet aan de grond te krijgen. Ondertussen doen gewone mensen hun best om hun levens vorm te geven onder barre klimatologische omstandigheden, op de grens van traditie en moderniteit. Fatland dringt als geen ander door tot het leven op grote hoogte.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Asia, India, History, Travelogue, China

811 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2020

About the author

Erika Fatland is a Norwegian anthropologist and writer who has written multiple critically-acclaimed books, including Sovietistan and The Border. Fatland was born in Haugesund, Norway, in 1983, and studied at the University of Oslo and the University of Copenhagen.

Fatland is best known for her travel writing and has written several books: Her first travel book Sovietistan, published in 2015, was an account of her travels through five post-Soviet Central Asian nations, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It has been translated into 12 languages. This was followed by The Border: A Journey Around Russia Through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, and the Northeast Passage, an account of her travels around Russia's border, from North Korea to Norway. Both books have been translated into English by Kari Dickson, and both received critical acclaim from reviewers in the US and UK.

She wrote two earlier books: The Village of Angels (2011) about the Beslan massacre and The Year Without a Summer about the Utoya massacre. She has also written the children’s book The Parent War.

She has received numerous awards, among them the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize for Nonfiction and the Wesselprisen (2016). She speaks eight languages including Norwegian, English, French, Russian, German, Italian, and Spanish. She lives in Oslo.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norwegian social anthropologist and addicted traveller Erika Fatland provides another enthralling read here (the other of her books I have read is The Border), this time focussing on the countries of the Himalaya.

We get the same mix as her previous book - principally travel, but heavy with interviews and delving into culture. While the Border had the common thread of the influence of Russia on the countries that Fatland visited, High is slightly different. She continues her theme on borders, and in this case the permeability of borders, or perhaps the lack of relevance of a border when culture crosses it. However it is a less tight theme than previously.

Published in 2020 (2022 in English) the travels Fatland describes the travels she undertook in two stages, July to September 2018 then April to July 2019

It was fitting that the telling or her journey began in China's Xinjiang province, and ended in Chinese Tibet. There was a full circle and returning to the start situation set up here, with many of the same issues in both - the human rights abuses, the importation of Han Chinese to swell the population and sway control over language and culture. The Chinese are rightly portrayed here as the oppressor and their attempts and limiting access to people and places through bureaucratic and political controls were exposed fairly easily.

Assisted by a guide/fixer in most locations, enabling her better ability with organisation of logistics and interviewing formal figures, China was one place where they were also a barrier to her freedom. Regularly Fatland was told she was unable to visit certain places and was actively steered away from certain people. This as much as people being unwilling to (openly) talk with her, knowing the consequences with the Chinese Communism Party seeing all. Clandestine meetings were plenty, and those she met would pass on names of other people to interview (names and details were disguised). In this way Fatland was able to deliver a narrative with depth across various aspects of society.

After Xinjiang, the author crosses into Pakistan and through those fascinating areas from the Khunjerab Pass through Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral. After Islamabad and Lahore where she was unable to cross at the Wagah Border with India. Her only option was a flight from Lahore to Delhi, then back to Amritsar just across the border!

India concentrated (obviously) on the Himalaya, so Fatland flew from Amritsar to Sringar, from where she made her way through Kashmir (Gulmarg) and Ladakh (Drass, Kargil, Leh, Turtuk) then to Himachal Pradesh (various places including Shimla and McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala)) with a side trip to Uttarakhand.

Fatland's writing was excellent, mixing it up well for a linear travel narrative. For me one of the impressive things was what she left out. She interviewed loads of people, and replicated only the parts of interest. She was able to edit out the repetition (but alluded to common themes) and stripped the interviews right back to the pertinent information. Some interviews consisted basically of one or two questions. Her execution of this was first rate.

Next the author made a thorough journey through Bhutan travelling the length of the country by vehicle before flying back to Thimphu. Bhutan, locked away from the world, but beginning to change with outside influences holds it own fascinations. Amongst interesting topics there was plenty of discussion about Yeti, but most of her guides and people she met focused on the need for her to visit the fertility temple in Punakha (given she is"so old" and doesn't have children)! The first leg of her journey ended with another visit to northern India - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

The second leg of Fatland's journey commences in Kathmandu (Nepal) where she travels all over, to many of the interesting locations after a through look at, and various interviews with former Kumari Devi or living goddesses. This chain of child goddesses (they retain their position until puberty) stretches far back (1922 in the case of Kathmandu), and the girls retain some of their fame after their time. As well as visiting Mustang, Simikot and less well known places like Surkhet, Tumarkhad and Lumbini, the author visits Pokhara and Lukla, from where she visits the Everest Base Camp and examines the climber culture of both westerners and Sherpa. Back in the capital she covers off the demise of the Nepalese Royal family, and the change from a Constitutional Monarchy to a Federal Democratic Republic. The Nepalese section is the longest, and most in depth - well deserved for this relatively small country which literally resides on the Himalaya and is such an interesting and welcoming country.

Finishing off back in China, as noted above, Fatland is immediately thrust back into a bureaucratic battle to secure the correct paperwork before being made to stick rigorously to the approved itinerary, ruling out any spur of the moment visits (except those beyond the eyes of her 'guides' (minders)). She visits Mt Kalilash, the Chinese side of Everest, and Tibet. After her time in Tibet, the very last visit the author makes is to Shangri-La, the town that China renamed to cash into the buzz around that name, formerly known by the less appealing Zhongdian, in northern Yunnan. She accessed Shangri-La via Tiger Leaping Gorge, which tied this book up nicely for me, as I visited there about 2006. When I was there a road was being formed which was opening up access to what was once a trekking-only destination, to a quaint little spot made popular in the late 1980s and 1990s. Although the road was operating when I was there is was fairly limited and subject to slips and delays and required 4WD. Just over 10 years later it was operating in force and the gorge is a confirmed tourist destination, complete with giant tiger statue for selfies!

Once again Fatland has really delivered on a fantastic book with a journey of epic proportions. I will be seeking out her first book translated into English (Sovietstan), and hoping she has another lined up soon. A shout-out also to Kari Dickson who fact-checked and translated all three of Fatland's books into English. Perhaps slightly less strong than The Border but still excellent.

5 stars

[Eskil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erika Fatland er en nasjonalskatt og helt.

1: hun drar til fjerne og eksotiske steder, men er kritisk til hyperkommersialisering av minoritetskulturer og marginaliserte grupper

2: hun drar helt alene, eller med én guide, til steder med veldig skadelige og farlige kvinnesyn, men bruker stemmen sin til å fremme livene til kvinnene som lider der, i stedet for å legge ut om hvor ekkelt det var å være kvinne der selv

3: hun er faktisk utdanna akademiker, og skriver utrolig nok lettleste OG lærerike bøker basert på historisk og empirisk data, og bidrar dermed til å utvide kildene lekfolk har å lære fra

4: hun anstrenger seg for å gi en stemme til alle som ikke har det i sitt eget samfunn, og stiller seg kritisk til makta

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Защо пътуваме? Отговорът винаги е много и дълбоко личен. Ерика Фатланд задава многократно този въпрос из страниците, винаги щом се сблъска с границата на нещо - природа, климат, култура, издържливост… Отговор няма, или всъщност има - и това е настоящата книга. След последната страница мисля, че Ерика пътува, защото търси истината. За света и за себе си.

Хималаите са побрали най-високите върхове на света, изворите на континентални реки като Инд и Яндзъ, запасите от стари ледници, които - уви - се топят все бързо с глобалното затопляне, и уникални стари и нови, изчезнали, смесени и новоизлюпващи се култури.

Днешните граници съвсем не са условност, дори в Хималаите. Защото те определят дали хората ще са част от дигиталната диктатура в съчетание с нови, модерни пътища и електрификация и вече изгубено минало в Тибет. Или ще са бедни непалци - вечните тъжни гастарбайтери към Индия, Персийския залив и Китай, или жертви на модерното робство, наречено “трафик на хора”, но и наследници на гурките, които все още са част от британската армия в сянката на някогашната си неумолимост и лоялност. Или нещастните и мизерстващи жители на единствената страна с брутен национален продукт на щастието - Бутан. Или пакистанци с най-нови модели мобилни телефони и най-архаични “традиции”, настояващи, че превантивният бой над жените е за тяхно и за общо добро. Или индийци - шизофренно разпнати между технологичните чудеса на новия свят, корупцията и печалната неефективност в страната си, многобройните религиозни храмове и мечтите си за независимост от Индия (част от индийските граждани съвсем не се смятат за индийци). Или пък непалски шерпи в базовия лагер на Еверест - когато постоянният риск за живота и полезните мутации на гените са източник на доходи.

Пътищата и хората са безброй. Всички си приличат и все пак са различни. Едни са доволни, други протестират. Едни са невежи, други се стремят към простор. Едни са вкопчени безгласно и безкритично в миналото (включително към оцелели вредни и отвращаващи ритуали), други - подобни на една 90 годишна тибетска старица, преживяла културната революция, мизерията и отмирането на уникалната малка култура на общността си - ведро му се надсмиват и с блеснали очи гледат напред. Едни се колебаят, други са свирепо убедени в едничката възможна и правилна истина.

Това е вечното пътешествие на човечеството. Дано само повече пътища водят до зелени долини, а не до опустошени и пресъхнали корита на някогашно изобилие. И дано никой не спира никого да пътешества, където го зове душата.

Ерика е мил, но доста безмилостен наблюдател, който никога не задоволява с официалната версия и не изпада в длълзлив захлас с “ау, колко сладки и екзотични за снимане са местните нрави.” Защото да се добереш до поне някакъв пласт минимална истина под шарената дегизировка на толкова слоеве общоприетост, страх, безразличие, пропаганда и фалшива туристическа митология изисква адски труд.



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🗻”Малкото бива погълнато от голямото; малките кралства изчезват. Изолирани долини стават достъпни и светът нахлува. Тук, както навсякьде другаде. В тези долини интересите на една глобална империя се сблъскват с интересите на друга. Какво се случва с хората, обитаващи долините? Бях видяла репресии и желание за свобода, песимизъм и оптимизъм, религиозно потисничество и дълбока отдаденост, нетърпимост и просветление, отчаяние и екстаз.
Малкото бива погълнато от голямото, ала малкото продължава да живее, доколкото може. Има толкова много начини да се живее!”
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[Ilaria_ws · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Per il viaggiatore attraversare un confine è un rito di passaggio: si lascia una realtà con la quale si è appena iniziato a prendere dimestichezza per ritrovarsi catapultati in un'altra, completamente sconosciuta."

Erika Fatland è un'antropologa e scrittrice norvegese che ha già pubblicato diversi reportage, tra cui Sovietistan, un bellissimo diario di viaggio negli stati post sovietici dell'Asia centrale. Il suo ultimo lavoro, La vita in alto, è un reportage tutto ambientato sulla catena dell'Himalaya. Divisa tra Cina, Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal e Tibet, la catena montuosa più alta del pianeta stupisce anche per la varietà di popoli, culture e tradizioni che la abitano.

In un viaggio lungo all'incirca 8 mesi Erika Fatland esplora le cime vertiginose dell'Himalaya, ma sopratutto ci fa conoscere i mille volti che la abitano. Tra storia, politica, religione e geografia, il racconto del suo viaggio assume tante sfumature diverse, raccontando di luoghi ammantati di fascino e di mistero. Non si limita a raccontare di quello che già sappiamo, ma si sofferma su aspetti poco conosciuti di questi luoghi.

Con lo stile tipico del reportage la Fatland riesce a tenere sulle spine il lettore che si trova a tutti gli effetti ad accompagnarla nei passaggi tra le mille frontiere che caratterizzano questa parte del mondo. Oltre 600 pagine sono letteralmente volate via e alla fine l'unica cosa che volevo fare era partire zaino in spalla alla scoperta di questi posti che sembrano spesso usciti da una fiaba.

Quello che apprezzo particolarmente in questa autrice è il taglio che dà ai suoi reportage. Non è mai noiosa nè eccessivamente didascalica. É vero, si sofferma su tanti aspetti, racconta tanti aneddoti, ma lo fa in modo scorrevole, interessante e onesto. Particolare attenzione in questo volume viene data alla storia dei paesi che visita. Credo sia una scelta vincente, poco conosciamo della storia di questi luoghi, ancor meno sappiamo dei popoli che li abitano. L'Himalaya infatti non si limita a prendersi il primato della catena montuosa più alta del pianeta, ma si distingue anche per l'estrema varietà di culture e religioni che la popolano.

La parte più interessante del racconto è proprio l'approccio di Erika con le persone. Che si tratti di guide, di agenti di frontiera, di re e principesse, di monaci, la Fatland riporta le loro storie, permettendoci di gettare uno sguardo su tradizioni che per noi che viviamo dall'altra parte del mondo sono quasi fantascienza. Torna anche un altro tema caro all'autrice, quello dei confini, delle frontiere. Ne La vita in alto i confini sono protagonisti tanto quanto le cime dell'Himalaya. Confini, frontiere e sopratutto persone, minuscole se paragonate alle vette che li nascondono, ma con infinite storie da raccontare.

[Kyrre Hannestad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dette er så deilig lesning!!! Fatland møter utrolig mange interessante mennesker og forteller like mange spennende historier. Hvis du ikke liker denne er du tjukk i hue, eller så har du muligens andre interesser enn meg.

[Andy Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed both of Erika Fatland’s travel books so far, and this was even better.

She begins her circumnavigation in the Xinjiang province, crosses the border into Pakistan and travels down the Karakorum highway onto Gilgit, Chitral and the Swat Valley.

I have actually done this journey myself, though quite a few years ago, in 1987. I took the train across China from east to west, to Ürümqi, then various buses to Kashgar, onto the border, and beyond, into Swat. I foreshadowed her to Lahore, but snuck into Faisalabad to watch a Test Match against New Zealand on the way.
From Lahore her journey takes her across the Punjab and into Indian Kashmir, then Leh, Manali, Dharmsala, Darjeeling and Sikkim before venturing onto Bhutan and Arunachal and Assam. After a break, on a second trip to Nepal, she treks to Everest base camp and onto Upper Mustang then crossing into Tibet, and a tightly controlled Lhasa, finishing in the legendary Shangri La in Yunnan province.

She soon discovers that “the story is the same throughout the Himalayas: the borders are closing as nation states pull back to protect themselves and plug any holes with military posts.”,

Borders are like sausages. It is sometimes best not to know how they are made.

China, she slyly notes, “has spent more money on domestic security than on the military, and China’s defense budget is the second largest in the world.”
Everywhere, she is confronted by pompous officials and unnecessary red tape, but despite these obstacles, she perseveres, and even manages and appropriate dose of humour.

During some of the descriptions of her exchanges with locals her own personality comes through, and it does veer into political territory at times. She does not seem sympathetic to all the people she meets, though whether this is just a function of the translation we are left to ponder.
Regardless, this is a detailed and well-written account which confirms her as a travel writer of considerable talent.
She hears of many atrocities committed in the name of religion, to which she comments..

I cannot count the number of kitchen tables where I have sat and listened to these same words and accusations, spoken with the same endless grief and pain, only in another language, in another country.

.


Here’s a couple of other highlights for me..

If you are unlucky, or lucky, enough to meet a yeti, you first have to establish what sex it is. If it is a male, you have to run uphill, because male yetis have long hair and will trip on it. If it is a female, you have to run downhill, because female yetis have such big breasts that it is hard for them to run downhill without falling.

and,

No person has ever climbed Mount Kailash (Ngari, Province in Tibet). Not because it is particularly high, it reaches 6638 metres above sea level, but because it would be sacrilege to disturb the gods who live there. Instead pilgrims go round the mountain, a distance of fifty four kilometres.

[Ellinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erika Fatland ist eine norwegische Autorin. Hoch oben ist nach Sowjetistan und Die Grenze ihr dritter Reisebericht. Sie beschreibt daran ihre Erlebnisse während zwei Reisen durch den Himalaya. Sie startet in China und fährt von dort nach Pakistan und im Anschluss nach Indien. Weiter geht es über Bhutan und Nepal, bis sie schließlich wieder China besucht.
Hoch oben ist ein unglaublich interessantes und spannendes Buch. Ich bin immer beeindruckt davon, wenn Frauen alleine reisen, vor allem wenn es durch Länder ist, in denen dies tendenziell mit Risiken behaftet ist. Erika Fatland hatte zwar meist einen Fahrer und eine*n Übersetzer*in bei sich, doch auch diese Personen waren ihr vorher völlig fremd.
Neben kürzeren geschichtlichen, politischen oder geographischen Beschreibungen, sind es vor allem die Gespräche mit den Einheimischen, die dieses Buch zu etwas Besonderem machen. Wo auch immer die Autorin gerade ist, unterhält sie sich mit den Menschen und beschreibt deren alltägliches Leben. Die kulturelle Vielfalt im Himalaya ist unheimlich groß. Dort treffen die unterschiedlichsten Ethnien und Religionen aufeinander und vermischen sich nicht selten. So ist beispielsweise der Norden Pakistans sehr liberal, in Nepal gibt es Regionen, in denen eine Frau mit zwei Brüdern verheiratet ist, in manchen Regionen Chinas gibt es Walking Marriages, bei denen die Männer nur nachts ins Haus dürfen (und wenn sie sich nicht benehmen, wird die Tür zugesperrt) etc. Die Vielfalt der politischen Strukturen, die historischen Bezüge zwischen den Ländern sind viel zu groß, um sie hier aufzulisten.
Ein sehr wichtiges Thema sind auch Umweltschutz und Klimawandel. Ein häufig wenig beachtetes Nebenprodukt der Gletscherschmelze, die natürlich auch den Himalaya betrifft, sind versiegende oder deutlicher kleinere Flüsse, da sie oft durch Schmelzwasser von Gletschern und Schnee gespeist werden. Sind diese nicht mehr vorhanden, sind irgendwann auch die Flüsse wie Ganges oder Brahmaputra, von deren Wasser Millionen von Menschen abhängig sind, nicht mehr in ihrer jetzigen Form vorhanden.
Ich kann Hoch oben nur allerwärmstens empfehlen. Ich hätte ewig weiterlesen können. Zum Glück stehen Sowjetistan und Die Grenze schon bereit.

[Terje · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atter en gang får vi en strålende reiseskildring fra Erika Fatland. Denne gangen drar hun på rundreise i Himalaya. Vi møter mennesker og historier i Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Kina, Tibet og tidligere kongedømmer jeg aldri har hørt om før, som for eksempel Sikkim. Detaljrikdommen og kunnskapen som formidles er overveldende. Her er geografi, geologi, historien, politikk, samfunn og litt medisin når forfatteren beskriver høydesyken som oppstår i ferden opp mot Everest Base Camp. Erika Fatland er nysgjerrig og pågående i menneskemøtene. Det er tankevekkende å lese om hvilken makt det kinesiske samfunnet har over innbyggerne gjennom den omfattende overvåkningen. Det gjør også denne boken til sterk litteratur.

[Tanja Berg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeg pleier ikke å lese reiseskildringer i noen særlig grad, men jeg er glad for å ha gjort et unntak her. Spesielt i disse tider, når alt av reising ter seg som en fjern drøm, er det greit å lese seg bort. Erika har reist omkring i Himalaya og forteller åpenhjertig om sine opplevelser og mennesker hun møtt på veien. Det blir også en gedigen, men uanstrengt, historieleksjon. Anbefales varmt!

[sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the people and places of the Himalayas.

I wanted to read up on the region before my trip to Nepal, and High satisfied my criteria. Erika Fatland, a Norwegian travel writer, is a skilled observer and anthropologist. She effortlessly intersperses narrative, history and interviews, which results in a book that is at once entertaining and informative.

I found myself wishing for some greater detail in certain sections, but with the book's considerable page length, I can understand the decision to just stick to the necessary information. I also felt that a little nuance was perhaps missing in some areas.

Translator Kari Dickson did an excellent job bringing High to an anglophone audience. It read smoothly and naturally.

Overall, this was a well researched, interesting read, that despite its long length was never tiredsome. I will certainly be looking into Fatland's other books. Highly recommended.

[Katja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veldig flott skildring av Himalaya-områdene, leses som en tilgjengelig etnografi (hun er sosialantropolog av utdanning). Om du vil oppleve verden er dette et flott alternativ nå som det fortsatt ikke er så mange muligheter :)) lærer masse om avsidesliggendes steder uten å være særlig etnosentrisk! Anbefales, skal lese mer av Fatland. Liker egentlig best skjønnlitteratur, men denne var fornøyelig; kanskje reiseskildringer er min neste favoritt 🧐

[Jifu · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, a great travelogue is one that frequently makes me stop because it keeps introducing me to peoples, places, customs, or other things that I was previously unfamiliar with, and I then in turn need to satisfy my newly stirred interest with a trip to Wikipedia or elsewhere where I can read about them in a little more detail. And when I undertake these frequent research pauses, I do so with some degree of reluctance - because I am torn between the urge to feed my curiosity and the desire to continue reading on and be exposed to even more as I travel through the author’s words.

You can probably guess where this review is going by now. Erika Fatland’s High had me pausing again and again and again to satisfy my whetted interest in a constant supply of new odds and ends that I wanted to learn even more about. If one wants to expand their knowledge about the “roof of the world,” then you frankly can’t find a better starting point than here.

Erika Fatland is fast-becoming my current favorite travel writer - and after devouring her latest work and her previous publications (Sovietstan and The Border) I genuinely can’t wait to see where she’ll take readers like me next.

[Eirik Sande · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like god bok som de andre reiseskildringene til Erika Fatland, men får ikke altfor lyst til å være avhengig av å reise i Himalaya

[Daniel Peña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otra gran, grandísima, obra de Erika Fatland. Himalaya sigue la senda abierta con Sovietistan y La Frontera. Mantiene su estilo, una mezcla de crónica periodística, antropología, historia y geografía (ordenadas de mayor a menor importancia), todo ello a partir de una gran narrativa. La lectura nos sumerge, o mejor dicho, nos eleva, hasta las más altas cotas, los más exóticos parajes y los populosos valles del Himalaya.
Por otro lado, el libro ya no está organizado por países, sino que adquiere mucha mayor importancia la altitud, pues está es la que modula las formas de vida en aquellos parajes.
Por último, señalar que, desde mi punto de vista, la calidad del libro es muy alta en general, con muy pocos capítulos tediosos y unos cuantos excepcionales. La parte relativa a Pakistán y el Punjab es brillante; sin embargo, la dedicada a China es aún mejor, dándole al libro un cierre extraordinario, a la altura de la obra.
En fin, que seguiré leyendo todo lo que publique Fatland sobre viajes y que animo a todo el mundo a que haga lo mismo.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erika Fatland is an intrepid traveller, never a tourist. She travels through the Himalayas visiting Pakistan, India, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and China, sometimes enduring delays, bureaucratic snafus, culturally uncomfortable situations, physical hardship. She is a real trouper. In every region she talks to ordinary people about their lives. She embellishes each chapter with a basic, enlightening history. I feel enriched by this book; like I have visited this region. The world is a fascinatingly diverse place in spite of human superstitions, cruel rituals, and archaic customs that harm women. Thank you, Erica. I will look forward to your next trip.

[La Tammina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* e mezza
L'ho trovato meno ispirato rispetto agli altri due suoi reportage che ho letto e un po' ripetitivo.
E' comunque una lettura interessante, ma per i miei gusti troppa, troppa, troppa! religione.

[Tuva Pipilotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dersom du ikke skal i fjellet i sommer får du lese om fjellet.
Litt for mange templer etter min smak, men ellers en vanvittig reiseskildring fullspekket med informasjon informasjon informasjon.

[Rory Lilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. Absolute Monster enjoyed

[Jonasssolberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I denne boken får vi et helt unikt innblikk i en ofte skjult del av verden, møter levende gudinner, krysser grenser til vidt forskjellige land, får se verdens tak og oppleve Himalaya fra både høyt og lavt hold -og mye mer.

Etter å ha lest den ferdig skjønner jeg at det kanskje ikke egentlig er en tilfeldighet at flere av verdensreligionene oppsto akkurat her. I årtusener har mennesker reist til Himalaya for å få svar på livets store spørsmål - og boka gir oss sitt eget.

Erika Fatland stiller oss spørsmålet: "Hvorfor reiser vi?", og gjennom reisen leverer hun en en suveren begrunnelse. Boka gir en innsikt, en refleksjon og setter i gang en ren nysgjerrighet i leseren, den er rett og slett fremragende.

[Christopher Hylland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Fatland’s books, truly inspiring to see and experience the world

[Davide Ivaldi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per l'ennesima volta Erika Fatland si conferma la miglior reporter di viaggio contemporanea.
Ne "La vita in alto" i luoghi attraversati e le persone incontrate valgono da soli il prezzo del biglietto, nel senso che il fascino e l'isolamento dei villaggi e delle città descritte basterebbero da soli a rendere questo libro un bellissimo reportage.
In aggiunta a ciò, la capacità dell'autrice di incontrare persone e vivere esperienze uniche arricchisce ulteriormente quest'opera.
L'unica nota negativa è l'assenza quasi totale di giudizi personali della Fatland, che raramente si esprime direttamente con i suoi pensieri ed opinioni, e dedica pochissimo spazio alle sue personali riflessioni.
Certo, non tutti sono Tiziano Terzani...

[Sar Etu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si alguna vez desaparezco, no os molestéis en buscarme subiendo al Everest.

[Arnau Fernández Pasalodos · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5⭐

Después de haber leído "Sovietistán" y "La frontera", este libro me ha decepcionado un poco. No obstante, merece muchísimo la pena acercarse a las obras de Erika Fatland

[Superstine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ferdig!

Syns denne er helt på høyden med Sovjetistan om ikke bedre. Hva skal jeg lese til morgenkaffen nå?? Må være enten reise, biologi eller diktatur. Bonuspoeng for to av tre.

Jeg ❤ Fatland og jeg ❤ sofareising.

[Marcus Ness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatland skriver godt om landene rundt og i Himalaya. Gleder meg til Sjøfareren!

[Henrika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mielenkiintoinen ja hyvin kirjoitettu kirja, mutta pitkään tässä meni. 😂

[Kersi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my Nepal vacation book and I loved it! Very interesting report about the Himalayas and the people there

[Raakel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, the author’s journey is amazing and she covers the diversity of life by the Himalayas very well including conversations with all sorts of people and telling us about non-mainstream religions and groups and interesting practises.
However, the way the book was written made it a tiring read. It was a mixture of a history book and random conversations and little essays about different topics and the pages were packed with details and random stories so it wasnt easy or enjoyable to follow. I would have preferred way less detail and randomness

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do enjoy travelling with Erika Fatland. She goes to remote places, asks interesting questions, has a great sense of humour, and oodles of pluck. Despite being terribly noticeable as a blonde Norwegian woman, in no hurry to have children, she remains unfazed and unflappable in the face of very bizarre tribal riuals and very different cultural norms. So to travel with her is like having a passport to courage, a currency of confidence and calm, an entree to places I wouldn’t dare to go alone. I love her books Sovietistan and The Border (meaning the 18 countries round the border of Russia). This journey is in the mountain region shared by Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and China, where sometimes the borders are porous and sometimes heavily defended. However, one mountain does look very much like another so, even though there were maps, I found it difficult to remember where we were, or which direction we were going in. Nevertheless, what was memorable were the visits, toward the end the journey, that got closer to investigative journalism or campaigning as she championed women’s rights in the face of menstruation traditions in Tibet, and the trafficking of young girls in Nepal/ India. Also memorable were the colourful characters of her guides, especially the defensiveness of her last guide in China. It took quite a long time to read - maybe as long as the journey itself! - but it was fascinating. I hope it’s not too long till the next one.

[Pablo Tierno Streich · Rating 3 out of 5]

El viaje por la cordillera del Himalaya es magnífico, y las conversaciones de la autora con la gente local ayudan a entender las particularidades de cada lugar. He disfrutado de sus aportaciones históricas y culturales, así como de su sensibilidad por conocer la situación de las mujeres.

Sin embargo, en ocasiones las conversaciones son poco relevantes y se suceden de forma aleatoria una tras otra. Se nota que el fin del viaje era escribir este libro, por lo que está muy enmarcado en conseguir entrevistas, siempre de la mano de un guía, intérprete y/o chófer para ella sola (un viaje no apto para todos los bolsillos…). Supongo que, en parte por ello, no despierta el espíritu aventurero que consiguen los escritores de viaje clásicos.