Enticement: Stories of Tibet

by Pema Tseden, Patricia Schiaffini-vedani (Translator), Michael Monhart (Translator)

Enticement marks the English-language debut of prominent Tibetan writer and filmmaker Pema Tseden. This collection gathers together his most relevant and influential short stories, including "Tharlo," which he adapted into an award-winning and internationally acclaimed film in 2015. Written originally in the Chinese and Tibetan languages, these stories make use of a variety of literary styles and sources, ranging from traditional Tibetan oral tales to magical realism, surrealism, and the theater of the absurd. They humanize the Tibetan experience by stepping away from patronizing, mystic, or idealized visions of Tibet to speak with empathy and humor about the real challenges faced by Tibetans in the age of globalization.

162 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2018

About the author

Pema Tseden (པད་མ་ཚེ་བརྟན།), born in 1969, is the first Tibetan alumni of the prestigious Beijing Film Academy graduating from the director’s department. He also studied Chinese-Tibetan translation and worked as a teacher and a civil servant. He is not only a sensitive and highly regarded director, portraying the modern Tibet with attention, accuracy and poetic touch, but also an esteemed writer, whose works have been translated into several languages. Although portraying ethnic minorities is a delicate topic in China, so far he has managed to deal with censors well, as all of his movies got approval. “The Silent Holy Stones”, his debut feature-length film in 2005, the very first feature shot in Tibet with a Tibetan crew, Tibetan actors and in Tibetan language. His following films got selected at international film festivals. As a fiction author, he both writes in Chinese and Tibetan. His books have been translated in several languages. He is also a translator of Tibetan contemporary literature into Chinese.

source: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/12/a...

Reviews

[P C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pema Tseden brings us into the full beauty of Tibetan lifeworlds, and I never want to leave.

[Maja Korbecka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several stories are very addictive, the repetitions and flow of narration resembling oral storytelling is instantly immersive. Numbers, multiplicity, irony and humour. Though it's a pity that female characters are so flat and stereutypical, I don't blame Pema though, he's exclussively man-focused author. Best in the collection: Orgyan's Teeth, A New Golden Corpse Tale.

[Ming · Rating 4 out of 5]

One needs patience for Tseden's films, to let the imagery slowly seep in, to settle into their slow, deliberate rhythms. One does not need as much here, since the stories are so bite-sized, but they're equally captivating and magical.

[Lan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slice of life. Bite-sized stories that create immersive glimpses into life in Tibet.