The Blue Sky
by Galsan Tschinag
The debut of a major voice in contemporary world literature.
In the high Altai Mountains of northern Mongolia, the nomadic Tuvan
people’s ancient way of life collides with the pervasive influence of
modernity as seen through the eyes of a young shepherd boy. The
confrontation comes in stages. First his older siblings leave the
family yurt to attend a distant boarding school. Then the boy’s
grandmother dies, and with her the boy’s connection to the tribes. But
the greatest tragedy strikes when his dog, Arsylang—“all that was left
to me”—dies after ingesting poison set out by the boy’s father to
protect his herd from wolves. “Why is it so?” he cries out in despair
to the Heavenly Blue Sky, but he is answered only by the silence of the
wind.
Rooted in the oral traditions of the Tuvan people and their epics,
Galsan Tschinag's novel weaves the timeless story of a boy poised on the cusp
of manhood with it the tale of a people's
vanishing way of life.
Translator: Translated from the German by Katharina Rout
Author's Bio:Galsan Tschinag, whose name in his native Tuvan language is Irgit
Shynykbai-oglu Dshurukuwaa, was born in the early forties in Mongolia.
From 1962 until 1966 he studied at the University of Leipzig, where he
adopted German as his written language. Under an oppressive Communist
regime he became a singer, storyteller, and poet in the ancient Tuvan
tradition. As chief of all Tuvans, Tschinag led his people, scattered
under Communist rule, back in a huge caravan to their original home in
the High Altai mountains. Tschinag is the author of more than a dozen
books, and his work has been translated into many languages. He
lives alternately in the Altai, Ulaanbaatar, and Europe.
Quotes:“The hero may be a simple shepherd boy, but his tale is nothing short
of epic. With this novel, a Mongolian shaman had stepped onto the stage
of world literature.”—Der Spiegel (Germany)
“Tschinag’s books have reached well beyond his native Altai mountains,
and with good reason. They speak of a true partnership between people
and nature, and in a language as clear and stark as the steppes.”—Südwest Presse (Germany)
“Tschinag describes the strenuous days spent betweem the herd of sheep
and the yurt with both affection and precision, and evokes the stunning
landscape in a particulary memorable way, all of it contributing to the
unlikely sense one has as a reader that we are remembering our own
childhood.”—Die Welt (Germany)
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The Blue Sky
The debut of a major voice in contemporary world literature. In the
high Altai Mountains of northern Mongolia, the nomadic Tuvan people’s
ancient way of life collides with the pervasive influence of modernity
as seen through the eyes of a young shepherd boy.
more...
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Binding: Paperback
Availability In Stock: 395
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Published: 2008
Size: 5.5 x 8.5
ISBN: 9781571310644
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