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graciegrace1178's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars for the anthropological study and the lingering sense that Tschinag just...is. Wow.
I'll probably revise this at some future date, but I need to get the general idea out. This book is five stars because it is quite simply unlike any account I've ever read in its genuineness.
Tschinag discusses his life without a cultural filter. Some practices that would be deemed universally odd in Western society are covered openly, freely, and without a second thought. There are no concessions of "this may seem odd," or "although Western society might not understand" to soften the cultural blow for audiences. Concessions are very occasionally made, but not for the audience, so much as for the general flow. It's a difficult distinction, but it's very much a real one in this story.
Tschinag simply speaks. In this omission of self-consciousness, Tschinag manages a rare account of life without alteration to audience preferences. I genuinely have never seen this in writing before, and I struggle to articulate how significant it is to read something that is not written to win an audience over. There is no marketing, no jabs at the self to seem sufficiently self-effacing to be deemed acceptable in public eye. There is no underlying current of awareness about how he or his story will be perceived. There are points where Tschinag acknowledges his audiences and how his actions may be perceived, but it is not a calculated acknowledgment. It....simply is.
I've said before that sometimes books are like water. Just reading the page provides the same experience as drinking water when you're parched. This is that. And it's that in a new sort of way. I didn't realize how overwhelmingly I am surrounded with content that seeks to snag my attention and cater to its perceived audiences until I got here and read a text that didn't particularly care about how I interacted with it. It's so baffling. It's so wonderful. It's so perplexing. It's so enlightening.
I'll probably revise this at some future date, but I need to get the general idea out. This book is five stars because it is quite simply unlike any account I've ever read in its genuineness.
Tschinag discusses his life without a cultural filter. Some practices that would be deemed universally odd in Western society are covered openly, freely, and without a second thought. There are no concessions of "this may seem odd," or "although Western society might not understand" to soften the cultural blow for audiences. Concessions are very occasionally made, but not for the audience, so much as for the general flow. It's a difficult distinction, but it's very much a real one in this story.
Tschinag simply speaks. In this omission of self-consciousness, Tschinag manages a rare account of life without alteration to audience preferences. I genuinely have never seen this in writing before, and I struggle to articulate how significant it is to read something that is not written to win an audience over. There is no marketing, no jabs at the self to seem sufficiently self-effacing to be deemed acceptable in public eye. There is no underlying current of awareness about how he or his story will be perceived. There are points where Tschinag acknowledges his audiences and how his actions may be perceived, but it is not a calculated acknowledgment. It....simply is.
I've said before that sometimes books are like water. Just reading the page provides the same experience as drinking water when you're parched. This is that. And it's that in a new sort of way. I didn't realize how overwhelmingly I am surrounded with content that seeks to snag my attention and cater to its perceived audiences until I got here and read a text that didn't particularly care about how I interacted with it. It's so baffling. It's so wonderful. It's so perplexing. It's so enlightening.
aibautista21's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
siria's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
A fictionalised account of the author's childhood in 1950s Mongolia, The Blue Sky is at its best when Galsan Tschinag is both showing us the rich texture of nomadic daily life and how much the child narrator doesn't understand about what's going on around him. As a Soviet satellite, mid-20th-century Mongolia underwent a process of livestock collectivisation and political purges, and passing references to "kulaks" clues in the reader to what the narrator's parents are so worried about. The pacing is slow, but occasionally feels too deliberately so, and the ending smacks too much of "Book 1 of 3." Still, the writing is often beautifully evocative, and the build up to the ending works very well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
__sam__'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
sabinaleybold's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
liberrydude's review against another edition
3.0
A very different and interesting book about life in a nomadic pastoral community. When I was reading James Church's latest book which included a trip to Mongolia, Church spoke of the blue sky and nothingness of the steppes there. It reminded me of a book by a Mongolian author that I'd considered reading when it came out in 2006. However, Tschinag is not Mongolian but Tuvan. Tuvans are an ethnic minority in Mongolia and reside in the northwest corner in the Altai Mountains. There is also a Russian Tuvan Republic bordering Mongolia. This is the first of a trilogy about his life growing up on the steppes and mountains when the Soviets are starting to take more and more control over traditional ways of life. It's the story of a way of life that is vanishing. It's heart breaking at times and it's startling in its life and death intensity. These are nomadic pastoral people-herders of sheep and goats. They eke out a living and are true survivors living on the fringe. He tells of his brother and sister having to go off to school and the joy of his father bringing them home at semester break with candy- which might as well have been like gold. Even rags brought home by the students were recycled and valued. Much is made of the devotion to their animals and the cultural taboos in a herding society. A bad storm in the winter or spring can destroy them and such a storm happens towards the end of the book. There's a shamanistic aspect to the book as nature is revered, feared, and respected-the blue sky is such a force and the young boy calls on it without success to save his dog.
towardinfinitybooks's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Death