<![CDATA[Wolf Totem]]>

false <![CDATA[Wolf Totem]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1204292764m/1217728.jpg 1217728 15 An epic Chinese tale in the vein of The Last Emperor, Wolf Totem depicts the dying culture of the Mongols-the ancestors of the Mongol hordes who at one time terrorized the world-and the parallel extinction of the animal they believe to be sacred: the fierce and otherworldly Mongolian wolf Published under a pen name, Wolf Totem was a phenomenon in China, breaking all sales records there and earning the distinction of being the second most read book after Mao's little red book. There has been much international excitement too -- to date, rights have been sold in thirteen countries. Wolf Totem is set in 1960s China -- the time of the Great Leap Forward, on the eve of the Cultural Revolution. Searching for spirituality, Beijing intellectual Chen Zhen travels to the pristine grasslands of Inner Mongolia to live among the nomadic Mongols -- a proud, brave, and ancient race of people who coexist in perfect harmony with their unspeakably beautiful but cruel natural surroundings. Their philosophy of maintaining a balance with nature is the ground stone of their religion, a kind of cult of the wolf. The fierce wolves that haunt the steppes of the unforgiving grassland searching for food are locked with the nomads in a profoundly spiritual battle for survival -- a life-and-death dance that has gone on between them for thousands of years. The Mongols believe that the wolf is a great and worthy foe that they are divinely instructed to contend with, but also to worship and to learn from. Chen's own encounters with the otherworldly wolves awake a latent primitive instinct in him, and his fascination with them blossoms into obsession, then reverence. After many years, the peace is shattered with the arrival of Chen's kinfolk, Han Chinese, sent from the cities to bring modernity to the grasslands. They immediately launch a campaign to exterminate the wolves, sending the balance that has been maintained with religious dedication for thousands of years into a spiral leading to extinction -- first the wolves, then the Mongol culture, finally the land. As a result of the eradication of the wolves, rats become a plague and wild sheep graze until the meadows turn to dust. Mongolian dust storms glide over Beijing, sometimes blocking out the moon. Part period epic, part fable for modern days, Wolf Totem is a stinging social commentary on the dangers of China's overaccelerated economic growth as well as a fascinating immersion into the heart of Chinese culture. 2764224 2005 Wolf Totem total:209|5:46|4:71|3:62|2:19|1:11| 209 749 608 78 5 3 false false Sun Mar 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jul 23 12:49:43 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 11 05:22:42 -0700 2009
From the very first page I was hooked. Jiang Rong creates such a vivid and compelling narra...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 30 07:00:38 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 07:00:42 -0700 2009
Setting aside any reservations one might have about style (one reads for many things, style being only one of them), I enjoyed the book most for its depiction of the social and bureaucratic processes of the Great Leap Forward and how these brought...more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Jun 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 10 06:00:19 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 11 05:29:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 14:00:31 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 14:03:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Dec 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 07:23:17 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 07:37:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jun 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 09:25:11 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 10:21:50 -0700 2009
I saw not the glorious herds of horses used for combat, scouting, and protection, ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Apr 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 28 18:47:47 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 14 14:55:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 12:08:27 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 05:43:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Mar 21 12:56:29 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 13:02:29 -0700 2009
Some may dismiss the book as treehugger-gibberish, but I disagree. There are passages that m...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 15:09:50 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 15:13:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jun 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 09:58:42 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 00:57:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Feb 13 14:23:19 -0800 2009 Thu Aug 27 18:37:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 22 14:23:30 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 22 14:31:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false true Sun Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 18:24:49 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 31 08:14:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 28 06:16:57 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 00:46:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 28 08:46:58 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 08:35:19 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 22 23:34:10 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 13:49:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 03:57:55 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 04:09:28 -0700 2008 written with the flair of a report to the Central Committee.

So, so badly written. What does it mean when the main character describes his pivotal, mentored relationship in the book with the most senior herds...more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Apr 04 07:25:33 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 04 07:25:33 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 05:19:55 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 04:52:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1217728