The Song of King Gesar
Published on 7. November 2013
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-1-84767-233-9 (ISBN)
Description
The Song of King Gesar is one of the world's great epics, as significant for Tibetans as the Odyssey and Iliad for the ancient Greeks, and as the Ramayana and Mahabarata in India. Passed down in song from one generation to the next, it is sung by Tibetan bards even today.
Set partly in ancient Tibet, where evil spirits mingle with the lives of humans, and partly in the modern day, The Song of King Gesar tells of two lives inextricably entwined. Gesar, the youngest and bravest of the gods, has been sent down to the human world to defeat the demons that plague the lives of ordinary people. Jigmed is a young shepherd, who is visited by dreams of Gesar, of gods and of ancient battles while he sleeps.
So begins an epic journey for both the shepherd and the king. The wilful child of the gods will become Gesar, the warrior-king of Ling, and will unite the nation of Tibet under his reign. Jigmed will learn to see his troubled country with new eyes, and, as the storyteller chosen by the gods, must face his own destiny.
Set partly in ancient Tibet, where evil spirits mingle with the lives of humans, and partly in the modern day, The Song of King Gesar tells of two lives inextricably entwined. Gesar, the youngest and bravest of the gods, has been sent down to the human world to defeat the demons that plague the lives of ordinary people. Jigmed is a young shepherd, who is visited by dreams of Gesar, of gods and of ancient battles while he sleeps.
So begins an epic journey for both the shepherd and the king. The wilful child of the gods will become Gesar, the warrior-king of Ling, and will unite the nation of Tibet under his reign. Jigmed will learn to see his troubled country with new eyes, and, as the storyteller chosen by the gods, must face his own destiny.
Reviews / Votes
A thrilling, beautiful and moving epic, reminding us again of the timeless and exhilarating magic of pure story-telling. Alai opens up a world previously unknown to us, a foreign and yet strangely familiar world -- Tan Twan Eng, author of The Garden of Evening Mists and winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize Gives perspective to a strange and lovely chain of old tales * * The Sunday Times * * Shrewdly satiric and wonderfully entertaining * * Booklist on RED POPPIES * * [A] witty first novel.. an immensely enjoyable portrait of a thoroughly unusual figure... One of the best of the wave of contemporary Chinese novels translated in recent years * * Publishers Weekly on RED POPPIES * * [Red Poppies carries] readers into the heart of an exciting if tragic period of history. Drawing from Tibetan legend, landscape, and history, Alai has put together quite a tale * * School Library Journal on RED POPPIES * * The Song of King Gesar is one of the world's greatest epics, as significant in Tibet as the Ramayana and Mahabarata in India * * Asian Books Blog * *More details
Series
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
643 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84767-233-9 (9781847672339)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Persons
Alai was born in 1959 in Sichuan Province, of Rgyalrong Tibetan descent. As well as critically acclaimed collections of poetry, short stories and essays, he has written a number of novels, including the internationally bestselling Red Poppies: A Novel of Tibet, which was shortlisted for the 2002 Kiriyama Prize.
Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin are award-winning translators who have rendered the works of many of China's and Taiwan's finest writers into English. They live happily in Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin are award-winning translators who have rendered the works of many of China's and Taiwan's finest writers into English. They live happily in Boulder, Colorado, USA.