Wolf Totem - Hardcover

Rong, Jiang

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241143527 ISBN 13: 9780241143520

Publisher: Penguin Press, 2008

Synopsis

Beijing intellectual Chen Zhen volunteers to live in a remote settlement on the border of Inner and Outer Mongolia, where he discovers life of apparent idyllic simplicity amongst the nomads and the wild wolves who roam the plains. But when members of the People's Republic swarm in from the cities to bring modernity and productivity to the grasslands, the peace of Chen's solitary existence is shattered, and the delicate balance between humans and wolves is disrupted. Only time will tell whether the grasslands' environment and culture will ever recover...Wolf Totem has been a sensation ever since it shot to the top of the Chinese bestseller charts in 2004. A beautiful and moving portrayal of a land and culture that no longer exists, it is also a powerful portrait of modern China and a fascinating insight into the country's own view of itself, its history and its people.

About this title

About the Author

Jiang Rong was born in Beijing in 1946. In 1967, he volunteered to join the first wave of intellectuals who moved to the countryside, and lived as a nomad on the outer edges of Inner Mongolia for 11 years. In 1978, he returned to Beijing, where he took a postgraduate degree in economics, and took a position as an economics professor at a Beijing university. He lives in Beijing with his wife, the renowned author and feminist critic Zhang Kangkang. Wolf Totem is his first novel.

From AudioFile

In this autobiographical novel set in the 1960s, the author leaves his life as an intellectual in Bejing and goes to the remote grasslands of Mongolia. There he becomes enthralled with the nomadic life and the synergies between the mongols and their environment, particularly the wolves with whom they share the grasslands. The long passages of exposition and description are handled adroitly by Jason Culp. Maintaining a strong, steady pace, he adopts the air of an interested observer who is at times surprised by what he sees and hears. He uses accents to draw out the contrast between the speech patterns and tonality of the Mongols, the students among them, and the Chinese who later come to drive the people into the modern world. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241143527
• ISBN 13: 9780241143520
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432