Last Seen in Lhasa: The True Story of an Extraordinary Friendship in Modern Tibet

by Claire Scobie

Some go to Tibet seeking inspiration, others for adventure. The award-winning journalist, Claire Scobie, found both when she left her ordinary life in London and went to the Himalayas in search of a rare red lily. Her journey took her to Pemako, where few Westerners have set foot and where the myth of Shangri-la was born. It was here she became friends with Ani, an unusual Tibetan nun who was to change her life.Through seven journeys in Tibet, Claire chronicles a rapidly changing world -- where monks talk on mobiles and Lhasa's sex industry thrives. But it is Ani, a penniless wanderer with a rich heart, who leaves an indelible impression. Together, in a culture where freedom of expression is forbidden, they risk arrest. And they forge an abiding friendship, based on intuition and deep respect.Evoking the luminous landscape of snow peaks and wild alpine gardens, Claire Scobie captures the paradoxes of contemporary Tibet, a land steeped in religion, struggling against oppression and galloping towards modernity. Last Seen in Lhasa is a unique story of insight and adventure that can touch us all.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Memoir, China, Asia

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Claire Scobie is an award-winning journalist who has lived and worked in the UK, India and now Sydney. Her first book, Last Seen in Lhasa, is a memoir based on her friendship with a Tibetan nun, and won the Dolman Best Travel Book Award in 2007. Claire teaches writing workshops across Australia. Penguin published her first novel, The Pagoda Tree, in mid-2013.

Reviews

[Carol Brill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this book. If I was only rating the writing, it's a 4.
I admire the poetry in the writing, like here, "Our plant-hunting expedition was timed for early June when alpine flower4s awaken from an iron-hard winter to trumpet the start of summer."
It's a mix of travelogue, spiritual journey, history of strife in Tibet, and memoir about a friendship. I expected the friendship to be the main theme and it often felt over-shadowed , slowing the story and making it hard for me to stay interested.

[Rachna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking to read a travel memoir infused with religion and spirituality? Look no further.
Last Seen in Lhasa turned out to be such an unconventional and underrated book, which was hidden in plain sight when I picked it up at a book sale, just like the hidden rare red lily the author travels to Tibet to find at an expedition.
What she instead found was Ani, the Tibetan Buddhist nun and a pure friendship unattached from tainted expectations, almost spiritual in nature.
Ani's ascetic, removed from materialistic life, and yet contrastingly a human who radiates more warmth and childlike humor than the ones who live a normal life.

This book is an experience, to be looked beyond the words, the English and probably the more technical details and bits (I had to sometimes skim over quickly through some pages) but I think Claire Scobie does enough and complete justice portraying the life of a Buddhist nun, their conversations and her learnings and journey through it.
It is a mark of the author's deeply curious nature and yearning to understand a life so different than hers, that she has been a medium through which Ani's story is seen and told.

[Anne Deane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary story ... who could imagine the scripts for where life takes us as times! Amazing story, personal connection, spirit, description of land and culture. A wonderful read!
9/10

[Barefoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the story slowly while living in the Kalasha Valley in Chitral, North Pakistan, with my four-month-old child. Just her and me. We lived in a cottage. Everything was slow. I was reeling from a challenging birth, and longing for the adventures I never had or began too slowly. Tibet was on my heart and mind. I had picked the book up from who knows where? Old bookshop in Islamabad?

Anyhow, my postpartum self was slow, confused and fuzzy. And I thought.. no better company than a book that I only manage to read in bits and slowly... and which I do not want to finish because I want a part of my spirit to float in Lhasa vicariously through this reading.

I found the book interesting and enchanting. May be a bit skimpy at times. There is some desolation and quiet here, in the narratives and characters. I like the sometimes tone of "journalist's notes". The amusing insight into the minds and actions of tour leaders and guides. The Tibetan lovers. The details of architecture.

This is a book with a hidden structure and landscape. I enjoying exploring it. There is no satisfactory neat ending; it is an ongoing story.... Somehow its manner and styling itself is reminiscent of the agelessness and timelessness of the people and place it speaks of.

No particular "depth" to be found. Just the story of an informed woman's travels and friendships. The author didn't try to impress or evoke.

And that sparseness and thirst is just fine with me.

[Mandy Fawcett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful read. Having been to Tibet & Dharamsala, I could picture some of the places mentioned. It has been wonderful to revisit them through the Author and Ani's eyes as well as experiencing other unique and such peaceful locations. Having finished the book, I feel grateful for all I have and in a place of calm.

[Kalika · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet travel journey in both the physical and spiritual relam. The author is quite self-obsessed but good writing and characterisation makes this a fine read. At the end of the book you fall as much in love with Ani as the author and can't help wishing for a friend like her.

[Kerry Hennigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been buried deep in one of my stacks of unread titles ever since I purchased it. What a shining jewel of a book those stacks harboured, without my being aware of it - until now.

Claire Scobie's travels in India, Nepal and Tibet are described in prose that at times is so beautiful it sings. Just as beautifully described is the enduring friendship between the author and her dear friend, a Tibetan nun named Ani.

Year after year, trip after trip, Claire returns to Tibet under increasingly difficult circumstances thanks to tightened security by the nation's Chinese overlords. On one of those trips, she and Ani make the pilgrimage to Mt Kailash, the sacred mountain of Tibet, realising a long-held ambition for both.

The location, the experiences and especially the relationship between Claire and her friend Ani make Last Seen In Lhasa a reading experience that will be long remembered. I have returned my copy to my tottering stacks - this time of titles read - and waiting to be re-read.

[Carol Hu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book while I was traveling in India and China. I was surprised how little do I know of Tibet, the place I longed to visit in the future. It was such a moving story, detailing not only the struggle of the local culture but also a spiritual mirror for me to check in. It makes me realize that sometimes we are not as connected to one's self as we thought. Overall a very moving story and I loved the depth and the breadth.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whatever you feel about a book like this, these stories need to be told. You feel the sands of time sifting through the hourglass that perhaps people like the Tibetan nun, Ani, might soon become a thing of the past. It was her story that made me want to read on.

[Ruth Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very compelling read. The author shares on an intimate level her experience and friendship with a Tibetan nun. Over seven journeys she shares also the effects on the Tibetan people of the Chinese occupation. A book that will stay with you long after the last page has been read.

[Chris Waterford · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, first hand account of the situation in Tibet under Chinese rule and details of a very close friendship between an English woman (now living in Australia) and a Tibetan nun. A lot of finely observed detail made it a sometimes difficult read for me.
6.5/10

[Isabel Losada · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful true story about a friendship between the author, Claire Scobie and a nomadic Tibetan nun.
I loved this. I love the gentleness.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly inspirational account of the author's travels and discoveries about Tibet and Buddhism, and her unique friendship with a Tibetan nun. I felt transported and part of the events myself.

[Liam Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ending is bad and drags a bit but interesting overall

[Private · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story about friendship

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping for more details. I didn't really understand what was so special Ani and why they were such close friends. I wanted more details about being a Westerner in Tibet.

[Bronwen Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friendship between tibet nun and English journalist and the visits to Tibet

[Linda Hendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A true life Tibetan nun/ porter tale.

[Santanu Dutta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book with a lot of expectations after reading quite a few books that narrated travels, explorations and spiritual journeys in Tibet. This book started with the author's journeys in the quest of legendary Red Lilies in the first south east corner of Tibet in the Tsangpo Gorge region at a place Pemako referred to by the Buddhist texts for centuries as a place for eternal pilgrimage.

The author have narrated her seven journeys through Tibet nicely with the changing Tibetan culture in modern times. The status of people and their living. However I feel there is some major gap lying since we find little about the effects of the changes and an philosophical or spiritual aspects of the same. The book rolls around a Tibetan Buddhist nun named Anny who is one her way on an eternal pilgrimage through her life. The relationship of author and Anny and the spiritual aspects of Anny on author's life is good to read.

The book also at times get very much sluggish in the narrations of author's own life and relations that took place in her journeys in Tibet

Overall an enjoyable book but not upto the level expected for.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite books are ones that give me insights into other cultures or places, and this one is superb at doing that. Claire Scobie has tied together her visits to Tibet and insights about the country with the story of her growing friendship with a Tibetan nun, whose lifestyle is so vastly different than her own.
She gives a troubling account of a country in the throes of immense change and a culture that appears to be on the cusp of disappearing forever. I had the privilege of going to Tibet in 2006, a year after Scobie's last described visit. I recognize locations she describes, mainly in Lhasa. Her story brings back vivid memories of places with a strong Tibetan heritage: Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, and the marketplace. But, it was obvious that modernity and Chinese culture were shoving aside the ancient ways.
I was only there for a short time, and as part of a Chinese tour group, so I knew my vision was limited. It was enough to make me yearn to know more. This book expands my vision of a place I never thought I would get to see, and a way of life that most people never will.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book as it just didn't hold my attention. This was my book group read and we all thought the same. The premise of the story was good, however the writing style let it down. It kept drifting off at a tangent from the main storyline - the relationship between the author and the nun Ani. Whilst some of the 'tangents' were interesting they weren't structured in a way that kept the reader interested. I have been having a go at this for the last month and only managed to get to page 80. It's such a shame because the side issues waffled on so much you lost track of the main storyline. I am sure there is a lovely story in there but it is totally swamped with other information that distracts the reader.

[Eline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was amazing and beautiful. It was inspiring and it almost brought me to tears. It made me think of Tibet, how unfair life is for the people there. I also have a lot of respect for the writer, Claire Scobie. I think she really is a strong and good woman, I love her. And I have to say, it was hard to read. It took me a long time, and if I had known that, I might not have picked it up. But I'm so happy I did, it absolutely blew my mind and was definitely one of the best books I've read in 2016. Go read this!

[Steven Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the reviews almost as much as I enjoyed the book. "A bit self-obsessed"? It's a memoir. I was engrossed in the story, delighted by the characters and the way they were drawn; saddened by their circumstances in Tibet; and envious of the author's chutzpah in recognising that she had found something special in Ani and Tibet and doing what it took to deepen her connections to both.

[Pam Boardman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled with this book to begin with, I thought that it was going to be a description of her trekking. However when I realised it was really about Buddhism and what was happening in Tibet, I loved it. I have been to Tibet several times and met many Tibetan people, and seen many problems like those shown in the book.

[Shu · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no other truth but that which lies within our heart. Truth is not what is, but the understanding of what is opens the door to truth. In fact we need not climb any mountain or circumambulate any lake, but turn inwards. Truth is not some far distant place, it is in the knowing of oneself.

[Kris Kennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abit self absorbed but creates an appreication for a disappearing way of life as a hermit Buddhist

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

2008
Amazing travel writing and great insight into Buddhism and the culture of Tibet "the secret world"... I recommend :)

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful and beautiful book, very simply and honestly told. It manages to show that the human spirit can be indomitable, without being cloying. A wonderful read.

[Isobel Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book...loved it and would read again!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book!!!