kiramke's review
4.0
Very interesting insight into two cultures I don't know that much about, in the narrator and the subject. This is a very casual slice-of-life sort of narrative, and the tone was sometimes a bit jarring, but overall that allowed me to feel familiar with an entire life. I ended up checking out the audio which, while not my favorite audio, was a better fit for how I wanted to explore this story.
shelby1994's review
slow-paced
2.0
Thank you @AstraHouse for the #gifted copy!
Judging translated works, especially works of non-fiction is so difficult because you can’t rely that the words on the page are the words the author intended to put there. Their personality is refracted through the lens of a translator; in the best cases, a translator works with the author to amplify the tone of the work to be more contextually understood within a language. In many other cases, such as Winter Pasture, the magic of the original words is bogged down by direct translation and lack of imagination.
Li Juan’s months living with one of the last Kazakh nomadic herding families are a travel writer’s wet dream. But the words on the page don’t do justice to the circumstances. The voice is so flat; nothing feels like it holds any weight or emotion. The winter highlands are dry, frigid, and monotonous, but many writers are able to make gold out of harsh conditions like that. The exception here is when Juan writes about food; the chapter on the daily meals, special-occasion festivities, and tea-rituals was by far the most engaging part of an otherwise lackluster account.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty
stellarya's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
altlovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
"To sing is to expand your presence, to occupy the vast silence with your voice."
This book is one woman's first-hand account of her time amongst the Kazakh herders in China. These herder nomads live at the behest of mother nature, following the spring thaws north and then slowly working their way back south again for winter. The winters especially are quite harsh in this region of China, with temperatures plummeting and regular snowstorms that cause basically their entire existence without power or plumbing to freeze. Still, these people remain cheerful, with family and neighbors being at the center of their existence.
With a unique, interesting topic like this, I somehow expected more from the book. The author has periods where she seems very philosophical and lyrical in how she describes the environment, the people, and her surroundings, and then long periods of same-y passages about sheep, cows, tea, and manure. The people she lived with for this period of time were also kind of a mixed bag. Being honest, I'm not sure how she managed to put quite a positive spin on Cuma, because he sounds insufferable, brash, and annoying at the best of times.
So, unfortunately, this book is hard for me to recommend, as it's just too long and too dull in places. I'm hoping to find another book on this topic for maybe a better perspective, to give this another chance.
This book is one woman's first-hand account of her time amongst the Kazakh herders in China. These herder nomads live at the behest of mother nature, following the spring thaws north and then slowly working their way back south again for winter. The winters especially are quite harsh in this region of China, with temperatures plummeting and regular snowstorms that cause basically their entire existence without power or plumbing to freeze. Still, these people remain cheerful, with family and neighbors being at the center of their existence.
With a unique, interesting topic like this, I somehow expected more from the book. The author has periods where she seems very philosophical and lyrical in how she describes the environment, the people, and her surroundings, and then long periods of same-y passages about sheep, cows, tea, and manure. The people she lived with for this period of time were also kind of a mixed bag. Being honest, I'm not sure how she managed to put quite a positive spin on Cuma, because he sounds insufferable, brash, and annoying at the best of times.
So, unfortunately, this book is hard for me to recommend, as it's just too long and too dull in places. I'm hoping to find another book on this topic for maybe a better perspective, to give this another chance.