Rating: *** 3 stars

Carol Barker,
The Tibetans: Life in Exile.
Mantra, 1999

The Tibetans: Life in Exile charts the recent, turbulent history of Tibet, since the Chinese invasion of 1950. It follows the Tibetans into exile in Dharamsala, India, where they have established a government in exile, under the leadership of the Dalai Lama, an outstanding example of hope and diplomacy among the crisis. The book is a highly personal account, researched and written by an author who spent five months living among the Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala. It is full of good things and tells an important story. Yet it is precisely the lack of objectivity which tends to lessen its impact. Constant repetition of the injustices suffered by the Tibetans dilutes their ability to move the reader. The book works best when the author steps back and lets the Tibetans speak for themselves, in the form of interviews with both children and the Dalai Lama himself. Then the story has its greatest impact.

A bitty style of writing, coupled with difficult subject matter, make the background to the crisis difficult to follow without prior knowledge. An extended glossary would have helped. Though slightly old-fashioned in design, this book should appeal to older children with some prior knowledge of Tibet, and to teachers.

Anita Ganeri