Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Lost Horizon

Lost Horizon by James Hilton, ever heard of it? I hadn't, but it was a book I'd randomly snagged at my mom's house at some point (I don't even remember when), and I needed a quick read that was outside of my usual sphere of interest. It did indeed end up becoming a quick read in comparison to other books read this year and last. It's about Shangri-La. I felt rather silly as I had at one point thought Shangri-La was a real city. So did my husband though so I felt a little better, but in case you didn't know, Shangri-La was invented by Hilton. I found it refreshing to read a book that I knew absolutely nothing about and discover it all for myself. It was a fun, quick, and somewhat thought provoking read. If you have the time, and nothing better to read, I recommend it. It is after all (unbeknownst to me until recently) a classic. A movie was made in 1937 in case you wanted to know... which you probably didn't, but there you are.

3 comments:

  1. Since you snagged these from my bookshelf and there are many books there that I have not read, it may come as a surprise, dear readers, that this book I have read. And loved. It is a quick read but, as alluded to by Katie, it is thought provoking. There were actually two movies made of this book. The first one in 1937 as Katie said. A very lovely movie. The second movie was made in the '70's and despite some respectable Hollywood heavy weight was a total flop. You see, they made it into a musical. I think that Burt Bacharach did the score and except for one small snippet of music was pretty horrible. The main female character in it was the beautiful Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet). Don't bother looking for it. You won't be able to find it. I think that there are copyright issues and it has never been released from the mouldering vaults to which it has been relegated. Hollywood, I think it might be time to resurrect this wonderful story. Please do it right!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I amend my comments above! I found it on Amazon. I bought it. I am not sorry. I did like this movie but forgot that I was ashamed to admit it at 18 because it was the 'critics' that hated it. And when I said that it had Hollywood heavyweights in it, I was not kidding. Listen to this line-up. Liv Ullman, Michael York, James Shigeta, Sir John Geilguid(before he was a Sir) Olivia Hussey, Sally Kellerman and this was the last film in which Charles Boyer appeared. You may remember him in Gigi as the old roue. I am excited to see it again! :) Too bad we can't watch it together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! That would be so much fun. You could bring it with you when you come to visit if you haven't already watched it.

      Delete