The Hotel on the Roof of the World

Five Years in Tibet

De: Alec Le Sueur

Narrado por: Steven Kynman

The very aptly named Mr Pong had the kind of breath that could stun at over ten feet… This wasn’t just bad – there was something rotten down there. Something had crawled in and died. Gunter howled with laughter as he saw the look of horror on my face. It was the best entertainment he had seen since he had watched Chef chasing yaks through the kitchens.

Few foreigners are lucky enough to set foot on Tibetan soil, but Alec Le Sueur spent five extraordinary years there, working in the unlikeliest Holiday Inn in the world. Against the breath taking beauty of the Himalayas unfolds a highly amusing and enlightening account of his experiences. Fly infestations at state banquets, unexpected deliveries of live snakes, a predominance of yaks and everything yak-related, the unbelievable Miss Tibet competition, insurmountable communication problems and a dead guest are just some of the entertainments to be found at the ‘Fawlty Towers’ of Lhasa.

Le Sueur, the only Westerner since the days of Heinrich Harrer to spend so long in Tibet, examines the country’s intriguing cultural background, providing a fascinating insight into a country that was only just opening up to the outside world.

©2003 Alec Le Sueur (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Reseñas de la Crítica

“...offers lucid details about living in a place that westerners tend to misunderstand.” (Time Magazine)

“An hillarious account of a clash of cultures...a comparison with Fawlty Towers is inevitable, but this is funnier.” (Mail on Sunday)

“Imagine moving Faulty Towers from Torquay to Tibet...Le Sueur has distilled five years of real anecdotes into one hilarious volume...unbelievably true.” (Focus Magazine)

good book, questionable narration

The content is great. The racist appropriation of Asian accents by the narrator is offensive and demeaning.

Hilarious nonstop laughter

If you're looking for a relaxed book to learn about Tibetan culture and landscape in a time closer to today, after Communists' "peaceful liberation," this book is great entertainment.

From a Westerner's point of view, it describes less of how the locals traditionally live than in The Noodlemaker of Kalimpong by Gyalo Thondup, more details about the present-day (late 1980s, early 1990s) culture than the high almighty Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer, and very sarcastic about the current Chinese rule over Tibet. The cruel true events are covered, as well as ironic politics and corruption that is so true in every part of modern-day China. I enjoyed this book much more than Harrer's.

Very funny and very insightful

If you could sum up The Hotel on the Roof of the World in three words, what would they be?

Funny
Poignant
True

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tashi, his explanation that he is Tashi. Tashi Delek.

Which scene was your favorite?

The funeral. Having been China this is something I could see a guide doing.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The entire book is very funny. I laughed out load at several points.

Any additional comments?

I have been to China on several occasions’ both as a tourist (with China Spree), and while on business. China is a very unique place with an amazing culture. But, to our western way of life a lot of this culture is truly bizarre. This book demonstrates some of this culture, while still showing that we are all one tribe. We all generally want the same things out of life.
This is one of the best fish out of water stories that I have ever read… or been read. If you like humor like the Hitchhiker Guide or Monty Python you will love this book.

only wish it was longer

An entertaining and funny story in a country where stories are usually spiritual or depicting oppression.

Tone deaf

Completely inappropriate and tone deaf given the tragic sequence of events in Tibet as a result of the Chinese overrunning the country and its genocide against the Tibetan people.