The Road Back
A love story beautifully told, with passion that crosses both time and culture. The atmospheric cover entices the reader to open the book. Once opened, it is a page turner until the cover closes, but the story will remain with you long afterwards. The story is split into two eras, the 1950s and the 1990s; this works very well and helps the story flow. It tells of relationships and how the past has an impact on the present.
Set in the Buddhist part of Ladakh, which is a very unusual setting, to the west of Tibet, the detailed, descriptive prose paints a picture that is vivid and colourful. London‑born Patricia and her father, Major George Carstairs, set out on a journey to Ladakh, where the Major had spent time during the war. Patricia hopes that this journey will, at last, win her the love of her father. With them is their guide, Kalden, a young local man. Kalden is destined to become a monk, although this is against his own wishes. Much to the Major’s fury, Patricia and Kalden begin to have feelings for each other, and fighting how they feel about each other proves to be too difficult as they feel they are destined to be together. Their forbidden love, the sacrifices and losses, the daughter who is unable to stand up to her stern, cold father, and the son who has little choice but to follow his family’s wishes all make the book an emotional roller‑coaster. It is a beautiful story of innocent love, a tearjerker in places, so have a tissue ready.
