Lost Horizon

by James Hilton

Book Overview

Originally published: New York: W. Morrow, c1933.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0895773619
• ISBN13: 9780895773616
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Reader's Digest Association
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Depth

The other reviews covered pretty well. The depth of the story in such a short book is a great accomplishment by Hilton. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. Well done.

A life long favorite

This has always been a favorite of mine. I forgot that the Peter Finch movie was an absolute horror of a Bacharach musical. After watching it I felt the need to re-read the book. Glad I did. Characters are well-drawn. Plot is sufficiently intricate to keep your interest and a satisfying over-all read. I love the classics so I would also recommend Tale of Two Cities, To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone With the Wind, all of Shakespeare, etc. etc. etc.

A lovely book.

Lost Horizon is the perfect book for a slow day. Just sit outside, with a glass of tea and a fuzzy kitten in your lap. The novel is a slow moving, delightful story, with fully human characters set in a setting of fantasy. It's not a big book but it feels longer - because of the slow pace and detailed, colorful, descriptions. Four people are kidnapped and taken to the valley of the Blue Moon, where they are offered, in a way, not just a better life but a chance to help in a larger than life project to help the future of mankind (if mankind has a future). A must for ANY library.

Shangri-La or Shambhala- I'd make the journey in a minute!

What struck me most about this book is how non-dated it was for having been written in 1933. First of all, the story starts in Afghanistan during an airlift to evacuate foreign nationals during an anti-western revolution. Next, the main characters are essentially skyjacked to an unknown destination against their will for unknown purposes. As for the characters, they seem very familiar and contemporary also: a world-weary and burned-out government bureaucrat, a gung-ho and impatient young military officer, a business man that has stolen over 100 million dollars from investors through stock fraud, and a fundamentalist Christian missionary that believes in one "true" religion and holds all others in contempt. There is also the conviction among several of these characters that globally "the whole game's going to pieces." However, there is also something hauntingly timeless about this story. It occurs to me that the hidden civilization of Shangri-La is based on the mythical kingdom of Shambhala, where immortal masters live that look after the evolution and welfare of mankind. The great mountain of Karacul that looms over the valley also seems symbolic of Mt. Meru- the axis of the cosmos- and where the gods are reputed to dwell. It is certainly no coincidence that most of the people that find Shangri-La are the world weary- and the journey comes close to killing them. That would seem to be a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment. For this is what the lucky and the worthy find in Shangri-La, all the time in the world, or rather out of the world, for contemplation, preservation of all the worthy attainments of the human race, and the pursuit of wisdom. Sounds pretty close to heaven to me.... An interesting side note is the fact that _Lost Horizon_ was the first paperback title ever published by Pocket Books in 1939. This particular edition bears the same classic cover art as the original.

A Masterpiece

The story of a group of people who survive an airplane crash in Tibet and find shelter at a mysterious monastery is extremely well known, but unlike most novels, Lost Horizon is less about its characters and their siutation--interesting though those elements may be--than it is about their thoughts and ideas. Written as it was on eve of World War II, these thoughts and ideas center upon developing a way of life that preserves, rather than destroys, that which is finest in both humanity and the world in general.The novel is elegantly and simply written and possesses tremendous atmosphere. Although enjoyable as a purely "fun" read, it is also thought provoking, and the thoughts it provokes linger long after the book is laid aside. I can not imagine any one not being moved by the book, both emotionally and intellectually, regardless of their background or interests. If such a person exists, I do not think I would care to meet them.Although James Hilton wrote a number of worthy novels, Lost Horizon is the novel for which he is best remembered, a great popular success when first published and a genuine masterpiece of 20th Century literature.

MY FAVORITE STORY

When I was a teenager, I went to see the movie Lost Horizon seven times. During my 74 years, I read the book many times. After I retired, I made four trips to that part of the world, and spent many months each time searching for that wonderful Shangri-La dream. If you have never read Hilton's classic, and you are a person with an optimistic spiritual outlook, then The Lost Horizon is a must for you. If you read it and want to believe it, then you should visit Burma and the temples of the ancient city of Pagon, and then spend time in the three kingdoms of the Himalayas: Nepal, Ladakh and Bhutan, in that order. You will be moved to tell others, or write about your spiritual experience. I was so moved. May your days be filled with the magic of life. Sirrom