Reviews

The Last Quarter of the Moon by Chi Zijian

stewart_monckton's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

I found this book rather slow - although it's clearly an interesting account of the decline of a traditional community / people over time.  I feel like describing it as a diary of loss.

The cast of 1000s made me grateful for the family tree at the start of the book.  SM

erin99's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

manonbierman's review

medium-paced

3.0

freddie_and_the_reading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

junyan's review

5.0

Absolutely beautiful.
“我落泪了，因为我已分不清天上人间了。” 女性与女性，女性与自然。

booksafternoon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

“We don’t need to leave a trail of tree markers anymore when we relocate. There are more and more paved routes in the mountain now. When there were none, we’d lose our way; there are many roads now, but we still lose our way because we don’t know which road to choose.”

A beautiful generational tale following the story of an Evenki woman and her tribe during the 20th century. 

This is a slow paced book with magical elements to it. At times it reminded me of the studio ghibli movie, Princess Mononoke, with all the deer, forest forces and spirits elements. 

Nature is almost a character on its own. We witness the happy, cheerful moments but we also witness the hardship and the brutal cruel side of Nature. “I’ve already told many tales of death, but it’s unavoidable, because everyone will die.”

My biggest problem with the book, was the pacing and the lack of action. It felt too monotonous at times.

popcornqueen's review

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

clc54's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

ccheng4's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

brannonkrkhuang's review against another edition

5.0

You, whoever you are, need to read it.