Rating: 
Summary: Booker Prize Quality Novel
Review: This is a beautifully written and expertly translated novel. It certainly ranks creatively with "The Life of Pi," as well as meeting the high standards set by such surreal writers as Marquez and Allende. Not that this novel is as surreal as the South Americans' novels, but it portrays a reality so much closer to medieval times than to the 20th or 21st centuries that it seems surreal and even rather upside down. Initially, I was unsettled by the Chieftain State it portrays so vividly--executions, mutilations, and willful behavior extraordinaire by the Chieftain Families. But through shifts in power and the maturation of the characters, there is so much humour and wisdom and delight in this book that much that is universal is revealed in this way of life that we see rapidly moving towards extinction. I think China has intervened in matters Tibetan--be they religious or/and political, for a very long time preceeding China's invasion of Tibet. This potential of the Chinese for intervention with Tibet is represented in this novel--but I in no way felt that "Red Poppies" is pro-Chinese or in any way denigrates the Tibetans. I have a passion for Tibetan religion, culture, and art [actually I'm most interested in the Tibetan Bon Shamanic tradition]--and have an absolute horror of China's persecution of the Tibetan people, so I expect I would have been sensitive to any subtext in the novel if it exists in this regard. Finally, this is the kind of book that helps one step outside of the familiar and gain a fresh perspective--rather like going on vacation and then coming home and having everything look just a little bit different for a time. So take a break and enjoy this magical work.
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