The Last Quarter of the Moon
This lyrical epic novel moves from the narrator’s childhood at the beginning of the 20th century to her old age near the end of the 20th century. The narrator, unnamed, is a member of the Eastern Chinese Evenki tribe, a small, reindeer-herding community who which lives off the land and believes in the spiritual power and magic of nature. Their beliefs are based on the interpretation of the wilderness surrounding them and how to protect their way of life.
Her childhood is surrounded by her extended family. Linke and Tamara are her parents. Her sister, Lena, and her brother, Luni, grow up learning chores like milking reindeer, drying meat for jerky, making baskets, canoes, moccasins, and gloves, and baking unleavened bread. Their clan Headsman and Linke’s brother, Nidu, is the narrator’s uncle. He is the only one in the family who speaks with the Malu, or their Spirits, which factors deeply into the soul of the narrator through the novel.
The clan lives on the right side of the Argun River, which is situated between the mountains of eastern China and the Siberian Russian landscape. Their only connection to the outside world is a tradesman, who comes a few times a year, bartering goods like salt, bullets for hunting, liquor, flour, and cloth, in exchange for pelts and reindeer antlers. As political turmoil and wars impinge upon their way of life and the environment, they are forced to move camp, led by ancient customs, reindeer, and the forces of nature.
Throughout her life, the family is forced to make difficult choices that go against their beliefs. The clan endures the trauma while also relying on each other. The novel elicits emotionally nuanced characters, personifies nature and reindeer as characters, and buffets the complexity of the story.
