The Handsome Monk and Other Stories Hardback

by Tsering Dondrup

Part of the Weatherhead Books on Asia series

Hardback

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks

Description

Tsering DÃ¶ndrup is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed authors writing in Tibetan today.

In a distinct voice rich in black humor and irony, he describes the lives of Tibetans in contemporary China with wit, empathy, and a passionate sense of justice.

The Handsome Monk and Other Stories brings together short stories from across Tsering DÃ¶ndrupâ€™s career to create a panorama of Tibetan society. With a love for the sparse yet vivid language of traditional Tibetan life, Tsering DÃ¶ndrup tells tales of hypocritical lamas, crooked officials, violent conflicts, and loyal yaks.

His nomad characters find themselves in scenarios that are at once strange and familiar, satirical yet poignant.

The stories are set in the fictional county of Tsezhung, where Tsering DÃ¶ndrupâ€™s characters live their lives against the striking backdrop of Tibetâ€™s natural landscape and go about their daily business to the ever-present rhythms of Tibetan religious life.

Tsering DÃ¶ndrup confronts pressing issues: the corruption of religious institutions; the indignities and injustices of Chinese rule; poverty and social ills such as gambling and alcoholism; and the hardships of a minority group struggling to maintain its identity in the face of overwhelming odds.

Ranging in style from playful updates of traditional storytelling techniques to narrative experimentation, Tsering DÃ¶ndrupâ€™s tales pay tribute to the resilience of Tibetan culture.