The Blue Sky

“The story that lies behind this novel is as thrilling as the book itself….Tschinag makes it easy for his readers to fall into the beautiful rhythms of the Tuvans’ daily life.”

“Book by book, Galsan Tschinag is championing his people and preserving their traditions… . He gives a whole new meaning to the power contained in the written word.”

“One of those rare books that even when read in solitude makes you feel as if you’ve just been told a story while surrounded by family and friends in front of a fire… . The Blue Sky celebrates kinship, mirrors history and captures the mountains, valleys and steppes in all their surpassing beauty and brutality.”

“In this pristine and concentrated tale of miraculous survival and anguished loss, Galsan Tschinag evokes the nurturing warmth of a family within the circular embrace of a yurt as an ancient way of life lived in harmony with nature becomes endangered.”

“Tschinag offers softly outlined characters more in the oral tradition than that of the novel, and fly-on-the-wall depictions of the Tuvans… . Descriptions of the Altai mountains, remarkable sky, and closeness to the flock are slow but rich. The book is filled with small pleasures.”

“Tschinag’s beautiful descriptions of his stark and remote mountain homeland and the emotion he evokes through details about the family’s daily life will make readers eager for the next installments of Tschinag’s tale: The Grey Earth and The White Mountain. Recommended.”

“Galsan Tschinag’s The Blue Sky is a largely episodic novel that juxtaposes its protagonist’s development with changes in the society in which he lives. What makes it stand out is the emphasis on lived-in details; this is the sort of book where, reading it, you feel as though you could step directly into its setting and find yourself living there.”

“With the U.S. debut of The Blue Sky, English readers for the first time have direct access to a memorable native Tuvan voice.”

“The book, as a part of Galsan’s testimony, invites us to the same questions. For the places we know and love, what will we do to protect them? Even as technologies change our lifestyles, what will we pass on to our children? How will we use our words to shape the world? In this vein, the book is a perfect next installment for Milkweed’s Seedbank Series. Those who have loved and delighted in the other titles will be sure to find the majestic world of the Altai and its peoples a place worth remembering.”