Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This book was a chore. It was a difficult read but I did persevere with it.
Parts of the book were interesting and it was very long.

I found this one tough going. It takes time to adjust to the set up, and the writing was quite clunky in places. It did get going, however, and I began to enjoy it more.

This sounded really great, but took way more effort to get through than expected.
The settings and historical as well as political background was interesting, but I really struggled with the characters and the romance part of things.
It was a long book and not entirely my cup of tea. I expected more something like Pachinko by Min Jin Lee or Wild Swans (as it was described as).

Nonetheless thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy.

‘Blood flowed, tears flowed, life went on.’

Sweeping epic: cue the John Barry soundtrack with stunning views of Tibet, as a lone horseman gallops across the plateau….. OK, a little facetious, but that’s exactly what this book is crying out for. Many of the reviews I have read have gushed over this – me, not so much. It’s fine, but it’s not really my cup of tea.

This is the story of Gongzha, growing up in 1960s Tibet as the winds of change blow across the plateau, Mao’s Cultural Revolution throwing old traditions and beliefs out of the window. Hiding a statue of the Buddha and some texts in the face of destruction, Gongzha’s actions will have repercussions later in the book. The opening Prologue tells us about the death of Gongzha’s true love Cuomu, mauled to death by the legendary bear Kaguo, and then we step back in time with Part One to see how their love story developed. Part Two, a longer piece of narrative, jumps forward many years and introduces many new characters, central of them being Feng, who lives and works in Shanghai but visits Tibet where she meets Gongzha, now a wild itinerant nomad, roaming the plains still hunting down the bear Kaguo. This second part involves lots of love triangles, strange enigmatic figures who appear framed against the sky in suitably cinematic poses, and a gang of shadow hunters out for revenge. It’s all rather complicated, and for me there were just too many characters and too many strands for the author to keep track of that, well, I lost interest at times. The ‘romance’ is a bit Mills and Boon at times; when Feng meets Gongzha her hearts ‘flutters’ and a short time later we read: ‘How could this tanned and dusty man who ate raw meat, expressed happiness when he felt it and kept silent when he did not, not be attractive?’

I’m perhaps not the target audience for a book such as this; whilst the scenery and its descriptions were well-written, and the background story of Tibet changing over the decades, how the traditional values of its people and Buddhism evolve, are historically interesting, I found the characters a little two-dimensional and the ‘epic’ love story a little too unbelievable. Lots of near-death experiences, lots of weeping and ‘I can’t live without you’. Some people will love everything about this, but I was left a little underwhelmed, I’m afraid. 3 stars for the setting and some of the descriptions.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of the book.)

I think I missed the mark with this one. I might re-read it again and see if it agrees with me because the first time didn’t leave a huge impact on me and that’s made me sad because I was expecting to enjoy it thoroughly. It probably has to do with the fact that romance features somewhat more heavily in it than I anticipated. It’s my lack of appreciation in this really.

Let’s start with the good things! The setting, Tibet in the 1960s with lives its people being changed in unnamable ways due to Mao’s Cultural Revolution. These people’s lives are very hard, their life depending on their herds and their animals’ health. With their Buddhist beliefs and a touch of older legends, the book frankly read like a fantasy at times but in the best way possible. Then there’s the descriptions of the land and the mountains and the author did such a brilliant job of it that it made me want to visit Tibet and the funny/sad thing is I totally could too. It’s not far, after all.

I could truly imagine how absolutely gorgeous the places must have been and that sort of made me more fond of the setting than normal. Now, to the not-so-gorgeous things. I think despite being written so brilliantly, I found the plot to be a bit not my cup of tea. It’s a love story at its core and a broken man’s journey towards love and while that seems like a good thing, in recent years, I haven’t really found them to my taste. Then there’s the problem with parts of the book, the first part of it is given such life and vibrance and just when I am getting used to it all, there’s part two. Part two gives us new characters and love triangles and not satisfying closures. So, I preferred the first part entirely. It felt more alive and real to me. Those two or rather 1.5 stars were lost to the second part, truly.

An epic love story, set in the Tibetan mountains and grasslands.

Gongzha’s heart belongs to Cuomu, but her parents do not approve of their relationship. As they struggle to be together, Cuomo’s life is violently taken by Kaguo the bear – Gongzha’s life from thereon is set on following Kaguo to avenge the death of his beloved.

The story is of course not this simple. A host of other powerful characters populate the stunning scenery, among them Feng – a visitor from Shanghai who falls in love with Tibet and with Gongzha. Is it possible that Gongzha can reconcile himself to Cuomu’s memory and find love again?

So many facets to this story, I loved the beautiful descriptions of the scenery, and the philosophical and Buddhist themes. A long but very rewarding read.

I mainly really liked this book, although not perfect. I think the author reflected the historical realities of the time very well. I enjoyed learning about it, as that's why I read historical fiction.
But, for me the plot was not so interesting enough to hook me 100% of the time.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it.
Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for this complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Historically this period and regional turmoils were unknown to me, however the author's way of handling her source material was exceptional, it pulled the reader in and made him interested and aware not only of history, and its stream, but mainly of the plot and the characters' struggles. "Love in No Man's Land" is a period drama that deals heavily with identity, family ties, love and the need to remain who you are when the rest of the world changes.