White Crane lend me your wings: A Tibetan Tale of Love and War

by Tsewang Yishey Pemba

A posthumous novel by Dr Tsewang Yishey Pemba, the founding father of Tibetan-English literature, White Crane, Lend me your Wings is a historical fiction set in the breathtakingly beautiful Nyarong Valley of the Kham province of Eastern Tibet in the first half of the twentieth century. Dr Pemba skillfully weaves a dazzling tapestry of individual lives and sweeping events creating an epic vision of a country and people during a time of tremendous upheaval.

The novel begins with a never-told-before story of a failed Christian mission in Tibet and takes one into the heartland of Eastern Tibet by capturing the zeitgeist of the fierce warrior tribe of Khampas ruled by chieftains. This coming-of-age narrative is a riveting tale of vengeance, warfare and love unfolded through the life story of two young boys and their family and friends.

The personal drama gets embroiled in a national catastrophe as China invades Tibet forcing it out of its isolation. Ultimately, the novel delves into themes such as tradition versus modernity, individual choice and freedom, the nature of governance, the role of religion in people’s lives, the inevitability of change, and the importance of human values

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

468 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Kaushal Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please visit http://www.guptakaushal.in/2017/04/bo... to read the complete review of the book.

Whoever said, everything is fair in love and war, on what basis was what? What was the experience? What was the extent of suffering? Sometimes love is like a fight, very easy to pick up, but very difficult to figure out where and when to stop! Can love kill war? Can war kill love?

The book also talks about the engrossing tale of something wrong that happens, a compelling narrative of the war and the conflict within and outside the human.

Not every war is won by ammunition and a strong army, but also by determination for a cause and this historical fiction by Tsewang Yishey Pemba conveys the same in accordance to the Chinese invasion.

I would recommend this 468 page long book to anyone interested in reading a great historical fiction or to understand Tibet from a different and new perspective.

[Prasenjit Basu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a masterpiece about the modern tragedy of Tibet. Set in the breathtakingly beautiful Nyarong valley in “Inner Tibet” (western Sichuan, and Qinghai), it is a tale of love and war, of Christian pastors seeking to convert Tibetans who are instead won over by the simplicity and faith of the Buddhists, of the fierce but devout Kham warriors who are overwhelmed by the technology and deviousness of the communists.

[དྲན་རྫི། · Rating 5 out of 5]

The “Game of Thrones” of Tibetan Literature, “White Crane, Lend Me Your Wings” by Tsewang Yishey Pemba surprised me with its graphic depictions of sex and violence, not typical for Tibetan literature. It was perhaps precisely because he was writing in English, and by extension, for an English-reading audience, that Tsewang Yishey Pemba was afforded the license to depict sex and violence in explicit terms which, undoubtably, draws the reader into the work but also serves to enchance the realism of the work. This stands in contrast to the Tibetan literary mores that, at least at that time, were significantly more conservative. But this novel is so much more than these sensational elements. “White Crane, Lend Me Your Wings” is a great monument of historical fiction in Tibetan literature. It features a rich narrative and complex plot arc in which Tsewang Yishey Pemba experiments with a unique character who is English by birth but Tibetan by upbringing (the inverse of, and perhaps reflection of, the author himself) and explores the history of “what could have been” if the modern history of Tibet had taken a slightly different course. This is written only as someone like Tsewang Yishey Pemba can, having lived on the cusp of the “old society” and the “new,” and straddled the traditional Tibetan worldview and modernity and Christianity. This provides him with a unique perspective on Tibet and her position in history and the inner world of the Tibetan people. Despite being one of the first, if not the first, works of historical fiction written in English by a Tibetan author, it endures as a timeless classic, its story continuing to inspire and its message growing only more urgent.

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit I have not read many novels featuring missionaries (my fault) so I thought this would be like the Poisonwood Bible. But it is of a completely different breed, while I do love the former, this book is rather raw, authentic and viciously eye opening on complex issues, especially the plight of refugees/the Tibetan diaspora. The message it gives is really long overdue and very valuable, but on top of that the story, strength of its characters and emotions and the amount of life packed into it makes it worthy in itself. It is packed with horror, brutality, gore, violence, debaunchery, peace, learning, politics, loyalty beyond measure and what I am perfectly happy to believe is the world’s most extraordinary landscape. And really, this seems like a book that honestly tells a story no other could - the valley life as it existed might never be again, the history undermined and the people scattered or under pressure.

The Asian Review of Books piece is very good https://asianreviewofbooks.com/conten..., especially the comment that the text has both “exotica and erotica”.

From an academic point of view, on the missionary front it was useful to learn their roles often involved preaching, education and medicine - I just hadn’t realised that. Some very profound thoughts on religion and philosophy too.

[Lakshya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was suggested to me by a senior I hold in high regard.
Throughout the book, my liking for the concept of religion varied quite a bit. I'm not fond of religion being used as a seat for someone to fulfill their agenda. But as the book progresses you sort of tend to give everyone their freedom.
You see, this book in the end made me realise that fulfilling agenda, war, politics, etc, doesn't really need religion. Yes, people rely on it 90% of the time. But it all comes down to simply being a good person and to know how important it is to be kind.
A very well written book. With a gripping story about a place I wish I get to visit in my lifetime.

[Deepali Adhikary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of the book says that it is a tale of love and war. I think it lies. It is so much more than that. It is a tale of determination and perseverance, it is tale of sacrifice and betrayal and it is tale, well told, of a bond between people that only strengthens with each hardship and challenge. White Crane, Lend me your wings is a literary masterpiece from the magical land of mountains and valleys.

[Arnabh Sengupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fictionalised account of the Tibetan culture on the brink of the Communist takeover reads like a fantasy. The description of the Tibetan landscape and the ways of the people who live in high altitude is amazing.
It was a gripping narrative that felt exotic yet relatable. A must read for anyone interested in the Tibetan-Indo China geopolitical relationship.

[Tony Gualtieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great English language novel by a Tibetan doctor that does an excellent job synthesizing and dramatizing the tragic history of a valley in Kham during the first half of the twentieth century. Fascinating reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in the Tibetan struggle.

[Reemaayana · Rating 5 out of 5]

**book review**

https://embracebookswithkalaekitaabi....

[Dorjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful english novel,written by Tibetan. But I not fulfilled ending. What happened to tenga,after Paul been to America with tsomo.

[Bob Peru · Rating 5 out of 5]

a tibetan novel. and a fine one.

[Tsewang Pemba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading and would recommend it to all my friends.