The Last of Earth

Edgar winner Anappara (Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line) offers a vivid narrative of two 1869 expeditions into Tibet at a time when it was still closed off to outsiders and its rivers and mountains were mostly uncharted. The first is guided by Balram, a surveyor for an English captain attempting to trace the origins of the Tsangpo River. The other is mounted by Katherine, the illegitimate daughter of an English colonial officer and an Indian sex worker. Balram is determined to rescue his best friend Gyan, who was accused of spying for the British and held prisoner by monks in Shigatse, while Katherine is driven by the death of her sister, Ethel, and is attempting to be the first Western woman to reach Lhasa. Balram and Katherine are each met along the way by the mysterious Chetak, who tells ghost stories, such as one about an English officer haunted by a village girl who turned to stone after he raped her. While the pace is bogged down by dense descriptions of the landscape and its history, Anappara pulls off a fresh mix of spooky folklore and intense naturalism, as in scenes where Balram’s ever-dwindling crew of bearers succumb to the elements, leading to a power struggle between Balram and the captain. It’s an accomplished tale. Agent: Peter Straus, RCW. (Jan.)