THE LAST OF EARTH

From the award-winning author of Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line comes a stunning historical novel set in nineteenth-century Tibet that follows two outsiders—an Indian schoolteacher spying for the British Empire and an English “lady” explorer—as they venture into a forbidden kingdom.

1869. Tibet is closed to Europeans, an infuriating obstruction for the rap­idly expanding British Empire. In response, Britain begins training Indians—permitted to cross borders that white men may not—to undertake illicit, dangerous surveying expeditions into Tibet.

Balram is one such surveyor-spy, an Indian schoolteacher who, for several years, has worked for the British, often alongside his dearest friend, Gyan. But Gyan went missing on his last expedition and is rumored to be imprisoned within Tibet. Desperate to rescue his friend, Balram agrees to guide an English captain on a foolhardy mission: After years of paying others to do the exploring, the captain, disguised as a monk, wants to personally chart a river that runs through southern Tibet. Their path will cross fatefully with that of another Westerner in disguise, fifty-year-old Katherine. Denied a fellowship in the all-male Royal Geographical Society in London, she intends to be the first European woman to reach Lhasa.

As Balram and Katherine make their way into Tibet, they will face storms and bandits, snow leopards and soldiers, fevers and frostbite. What’s more, they will have to battle their own doubts, ambitions, grief, and pasts in order to survive the treacherous landscape.

A polyphonic novel about the various ways humans try to leave a mark on the world—from the enduring nature of family and friendship to the egomania and obsessions of the colonial enterprise—The Last of Earth confirms Deepa Anappara as one of our greatest and most ambitious storytellers.

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REVIEWS

“A riveting novel that takes on the hubris of exploration, the pursuit of immortality, and the abiding nature of love and friendship.  Exquisitely written and carefully plotted, this book is a triumph.” - Laila Lalami, author of The Moor's Account and The Dream Hotel.

“The Last of the Earth rises before centuries of European fantasies about Tibet and unearths an expansive, untold story. Deepa Anappara has walked beyond the edges of history to craft this astounding and necessary novel.” - Tsering Yangzom Lama, author of We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies

“The Last of Earth is a bold retelling of stories of imperial adventurers who crossed in disguise into mid-nineteenth century Tibet. Deepa Anappara evokes the mesmerizing beauty of the Tibetan plateau, and the oft-forgotten figures of colonial expeditions, to produce an astonishingly gripping novel.” - Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, author of The Politics of Sorrow and Coming Home to Tibet: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Belonging