Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong

Blurb from Goodreads

An epic Chinese tale in the vein of The Last Emperor, Wolf Totem depicts the dying culture of the Mongols-the ancestors of the Mongol hordes who at one time terrorized the world-and the parallel extinction of the animal they believe to be sacred: the fierce and otherworldly Mongolian wolf

Published under a pen name, Wolf Totem was a phenomenon in China, breaking all sales records there and earning the distinction of being the second most read book after Mao’s little red book. There has been much international excitement too-to date, rights have been sold in thirteen countries. Wolf Totem is set in 1960s China-the time of the Great Leap Forward, on the eve of the Cultural Revolution.

Searching for spirituality, Beijing intellectual Chen Zhen travels to the pristine grasslands of Inner Mongolia to live among the nomadic Mongols-a proud, brave, and ancient race of people who coexist in perfect harmony with their unspeakably beautiful but cruel natural surroundings. Their philosophy of maintaining a balance with nature is the ground stone of their religion, a kind of cult of the wolf.

The fierce wolves that haunt the steppes of the unforgiving grassland searching for food are locked with the nomads in a profoundly spiritual battle for survival-a life-and-death dance that has gone on between them for thousands of years. The Mongols believe that the wolf is a great and worthy foe that they are divinely instructed to contend with, but also to worship and to learn from. Chen’s own encounters with the otherworldly wolves awake a latent primitive instinct in him, and his fascination with them blossoms into obsession, then reverence.

After many years, the peace is shattered with the arrival of Chen’s kinfolk, Han Chinese, sent from the cities to bring modernity to the grasslands. They immediately launch a campaign to exterminate the wolves, sending the balance that has been maintained with religious dedication for thousands of years into a spiral leading to extinction-first the wolves, then the Mongol culture, finally the land. As a result of the eradication of the wolves, rats become a plague and wild sheep graze until the meadows turn to dust. Mongolian dust storms glide over Beijing, sometimes blocking out the moon.

Part period epic, part fable for modern days, Wolf Totem is a stinging social commentary on the dangers of China’s overaccelerated economic growth as well as a fascinating immersion into the heart of Chinese culture.

Why I Want To Read It

Hello, it is the first day of the (work) week again! Today is the first Monday of June. Whoa, just like that, we are nearly midway through the year. More than anything else, I hope that the year has been kind to everyone. If it had gone the other way, I hope that the rest of the year will be filled with nothing but positive vibes and good news. Also, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit. After more than three years, the World Health Organization has finally announced the end of the global health emergency caused by COVID-19. It is a good sign but everyone should still be cautious as the virus is still very much present. As such, I hope everyone will still adhere to the minimum health protocols.

While Monday is not the favorite day of many, it is also a chance for new beginnings. It also means a new blogging week. To kick off another week of blogging, I am sharing a fresh Goodreads Monday update. After two months of immersing myself in the works of Japanese writers, I have decided to travel across Asia, not literally though. I will be lining up works of Asian writers from different parts of the continent; I am currently reading Ninotchka Rosca’s State of War, the first work of a Filipina writer I read in over two years. To align with my reading theme this month, I will also be featuring works of Asian writers in my Goodreads update this month, starting with Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem.

I know I have encountered Wolf Toteem previously; I think around the time I was reading works of Asian literature last year. But it must have slipped my mind or something. Or it might be somewhere else because there is an air of familiarity that embraces the book; it is already ticked as “want to read” in my Goodreads. Nevertheless, I encountered the book again recently while searching for the best works of Asian writers. This is basically the primary reason why I want to read the book. It seems that the book comes highly recommended. It seems that the book was also a sensation in China; to be the second most-read book after Mao Zedong’s The Little Red Book is a major accomplishment in itself. The book was also the first recipient of the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2007.

However, there are more reasons why I am looking forward to reading the book. First, the book is set in the Mongolian steppes, a setting that I hardly encounter in literature. Admittedly, Central Asia is a territory I have not ventured to until recently when I read Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov’s The Day Lasts More Than A Hundred Years. Another reason why I am looking forward to the book is because it was written by a Chinese writer. One of my realizations last year is that my foray into Chinese (and Indian too) literature is quite measly compared to Japanese literature. As such, I have resolved to read more works by Chinese writers. I just learned that the book has autobiographical elements as well and was juxtaposed with an important phase in contemporary Chinese history.

How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!