Pierre Delattre’s joyful book, Tales of a Dalai Lama, records earthbound flights of the spirit, like a bridge over silence. Here is a work of fiction with language simple and beautiful, detailing the structure of the faith of the Tibetan people as seen through the eyes of the awestruck, funny, and wise Dalai Lama, sometimes old and sometimes young. Here is fiction at its best, sure in its footing, centered in writing as an art, fulfilling its own functions and overcoming its own obstacles, bearing the reader along a path of zen grabbers, belly laughs, and glimpses of enlightenment while experiencing the nobility of faith. –