A review by mat_tobin
Running on the Roof of the World by Jess Butterworth
4.0
Living under the rule of a Chinese occupation, twelve-year old Tashi sees her parents taken away from her small Tibetan home. Suspected of being involved in an underground revolution to overthrow this rule or, at the very least inform the outside world of what is going on, Tashi’s parents find themselves imprisoned and her only hope seems to cross the Himalayas to India and seek help from the Dalai Lami. Accompanied by her friend, Sam and a pair of yaks, both set off across the Himalayas in search of support.
It is clear from the back of the book that Jess has spent time in this region and living amongst Tibetan culture. There was a sense here of a place which felt a little more real and lived in that I thought I might encounter. The characters may have felt a little Waternised at times and there were some odd plot holes and time-shifts (as if the book had been heavily chopped) but Butterworth does explore interesting questions of dictatorial rule and the pace was a strength.
It is clear from the back of the book that Jess has spent time in this region and living amongst Tibetan culture. There was a sense here of a place which felt a little more real and lived in that I thought I might encounter. The characters may have felt a little Waternised at times and there were some odd plot holes and time-shifts (as if the book had been heavily chopped) but Butterworth does explore interesting questions of dictatorial rule and the pace was a strength.