bcoltin 's review for:

Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong

1.0

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I hated this book. The central idea is that the Han Chinese have become weak from farming and need to learn from the Mongolian hunters. The whole framing feels pretty racist to me. It has some good parts, like about preserving nature and protecting ethnic minorities. However, it comes across as very paternalistic and colonialist--- the main character is a Han who goes to live with the Mongolians. The book studiously avoids all questions of why the Mongolians are ruled from Beijing. The main characters calls his mentor "Papa" which is kind of creepy. None of the characters have much of a personality, they are mouthpieces to deliver rants about superior racial traits and protecting the environment from the author. The writing is atrocious. Also, the main character enjoys murdering puppies.