A reviewer on the 2026 N American edition of The Last Quarter of the Moon, a tragic tale of the twilight of reindeer herders in China’s Greater Khingan Mountains:
[Author] Zijian pays close attention to the herds that serve as powerful companions and co-creators of the stories of the Evenki people. The reindeer “forage very delicately. When they pass through a meadow, they nibble lightly so that hardly a blade of grass is harmed, and what should be green remains green. When they eat birch and willow leaves, they just take a few mouthfuls and move on, leaving the tree lush with branches and leaves.” These animals exemplify the traits that define the Evenki: the importance of community and the delicate interdependence of all living things.
Late in the novel, Secretary Gu, a government representative, is sent to convince the narrator to relocate, citing roaming reindeers’ harm to the forest’s delicate ecosystem. The narrator responds: “I really wanted to tell him that our reindeer have always kissed the forest. Compared to the loggers who number in the tens of thousands, we and our animals are just a handful of dragonflies skimming the water’s surface.”
While both practical to the Evenki’s way of life and symbolic of their cultural heritage, Zijian’s tone of respect, for people, the reindeer, and their shared landscape, highlights the endurance of the intricate and delicate web of relationships that sustains all.
(Excerpted from Skimming the Water’s Surface: Interdependence and Memory in Chi Zijian’s The Last Quarter of the Moon, as reviewed by Tara Friedman)
