Lost Horizon

I heard about this book from my mother but dismissed it as too dated since it was published in 1933. It is old, but I think it taps into something timeless. This book is credited with bringing the idea of Shangri-la to the Western consciousness. After finally reading it, I can see why this is such a different and mind-blowing concept for most of the world.

The author draws from the Buddhist view of Shambhala, which is a perfect and eternal place. Hilton weaves a tale of adventure amid the snow-capped Himalayas. Five survivors of a small plane crash find… show more.

I had seen the 1937 film adaptation as a child yet never read the book. Picking it up in 2023, I was struck by a subtle theme that I would have completely missed at an earlier age.

The characters, and therefore the author, are aware that a second great war might lie ahead, and some would escape. The longing for a place of refuge where they would scarcely age, free from the stresses of our modern world, made even more sense in the 1930s. Hilton’s characters embody the fear that another, even darker time is on the horizon. In that… show more.

I was on a spiritual retreat when I found an old, dusty copy of Lost Horizon in the retreat’s library. Some of this book is surely dated—having a Christian monk as the head of a Tibetan nirvana hasn’t aged well—but the heart and soul of James Hilton’s tale of a world gone mad and one man’s discovery of a hidden paradise feels more relevant than ever. We’re all looking for Shangri-La, for the hidden paradise in our own hearts, and Hilton, through his compelling, heartfelt story, points the way.