Honestly, I have never written a book review neither I thought of attempting to write one. Being a cinephile, I often end up reading a film review before going to watch a film. So I am assuming that similar can be said for reading a book. But let me tell you, I did not read a review nor I had ever heard about the book, Wolf Totem, & certainly had no idea about Jiang Rong (the writer) before purchasing this particular one.
I was at a book sale with a friend surfing through thousands of literary works when I came across this piece. Of course because of two strong reasons: the cover had blood red colour & there was wolf written & imaged all over it. I took the bulky work into my hands & turned it right over, going for the brief summary at the back. I remember that it had Mongolia written & something to do with a Chinese guy's fascination about wolves.
Now, the only reason to purchase the book was Byambasuren Davaa's 'The Cave Of The Yellow Dog'. The film laid out everything about the nomadic people living in Mongolia & that had me caged in the thoughts of life in Mongolia, just like Chen, the Chinese guy (the book's character). I remember I had recently watched this film & was on a look for anything related to the Mongols. Well, I was in luck.
I did not start reading the book as soon as I purchased it. And It took me close to 5 years to finish the book. I admit I was just being lazy, procrastinating whenever its turn came. Maybe the number of pages put me off or I was watching more films, completing my master's or reading some other book. Finally, sometime in March 2018, I picked this book, the pages had turned yellow-brownish on the edges, it actually looked like a century old book, intriguing, secrets to be revealed page after page. So I made up my mind, to cover Mongolia, without pausing anywhere this time and so the journey with the nomads & wolves began.
Set in the 1960s, the book is about the nomadic lifestyle of Mongolian's from an outsider's perspective, a Chinese guy, Chen Zhen, who comes to Olonbulag to study the way of the nomads. He trains as a sheepherder under the guidance of Olonbulag's finest nomad, Biljee. An old soul full of stories about the history of Mongolia & a disliking towards the Chinese. Biljee held the Chinese responsible for turning the once evergreen Mongolia into a yellow-sand filled dessert, angering the 'Tengger' & sucking the life out of the lush green pasturelands with the modern ways of living.
During his stay, Chen witnesses a bloody wolf-pack attack and comes to know the risks of being a herder. He now knows that wolves are the main threat to sheep in the pastureland. But then it also comes to his knowledge that wolves are a blessing. He is told by Bilgee about the importance of balance in Mongolia and how everything here, life and death, is directly related to the wolves. The fact that wolves could be something more than a fierce carnivore made Chen curious. And so Chen's real journey amongst the nomads began.
Chen's questions about the four-legged creature increase to a point that he decides to adopt a newly born wolf. He comes up with a plan & asks his friend Yank Ke to help him. They plan to track down an adult wolf to a den where they, probably, will find wolf cubs. Bilgee, on learning Chen's plan of raising a wolf cub, becomes furious, suggesting to drop the plan at once. Bilgee tells him that he was going against the grassland rules and this would anger Tennger. But Chen seems resilient & proceeds with his plan.
Chen, Yang Ke and a few others track down a female wolf to her den & are sure about finding cub litters in there. Their luck strikes & they find seven wolf cubs in the den. The cubs on being found, their eyes still not open, play dead. Chen's party takes them to their yurt. Unable to keep all the seven Chen soon realises he can keep only one and will have to kill the rest, send their souls to the sky, to Tennger. At that very moment, Chen realises what a grave mistake he has committed & prepares himself for the real hardships.
Chen's nature in raising a wolf; a free spirit, a wild Mongolian legend, always chained is unsympathetic. The legendary Mongolian wolves live and die on their own terms, to chain them, to take their freedom away is a crime. The same way like prison is to a man. Chen just doesn't want to raise the cub & know more about wolves but wants to build a friendship with the cub, like it used to be in the tales. Can friendships be forced?
The book explores the relationship between the cub and Chen. How Chen wants to befriend the wolf cub (Little Wolf) and how he wants to grow old with him. Wolf Totem reminded me of Miyazaki's anime world. How the selfish human side corrupts every beautiful thing that exists, from green lush pasturelands to the purest form of friendship. How the human brain differs to understand that forcing onto anything will only bring destruction, both physical & mental.
At one point, the nomads are looking for a new pastureland to settle before the summer strikes. Bilgee takes Chen & Yang Ke to a hidden land across a hill. The sheer sight of the land atop the hill makes Yang believe that if there is heaven then this must be it. The meticulously written details about the discovered land, a green lush land, a lake with ducks & swans, with no sort of human presence to corrupt it makes Yang lost in the tranquillity. He sits & admires every inch of the land. Such detailed visualisation in writing makes you Yang as if you are seeing it for yourself.
If you ever feel like visiting the 60s & 70s Mongolia, this book is your destination. The minute details penned in the book transcends you to the location. At instances you find yourself staring in a pitch dark den with shining eyes staring back near a ravine and sometimes newly discovered, uncorrupted pastureland standing atop a hill. After reading it, you can't stop but become another Chen, trying to befriend a wolf, to earn its friendship no matter how even though you know you are going against the very rules of nature.
