The Gray Earth

This powerful, sweeping novel continues the saga of Dshurukawaa, the Tuvan shepherd boy introduced in The Blue Sky. Torn between the onset of visions and pressure from his family to attend a state boarding school, the adolescent Dshurukawaa attempts to mediate the pull of spirituality and pragmatism, old ways and new.

Taken from his ancestral home, Dshurukawaa reunites with his siblings at a boarding school, where his brother also serves as principal. Soon he comes to understand that the main purpose of the school is to strip the Tuvans of their language and traditions, and to make them conform to party ideals. Struggling to escape oppression by excelling in his studies, Dshurukawaa and his family are soon at odds with the system, placing his brother in danger. When tragedy strikes, Dshurukawaa begins to sense the larger import of his visions, and with it a way to honor.

Galsan Tschinag is the author of more than a dozen books. Originally published to wide acclaim in Germany, they have been translated into many languages. As the chief of Tuvans in Mongolia, he led his people, scattered under Communist rule, back to their original home in the high Altai Mountains. He divides his time between the Altai, Ulaanbaatar, and Europe.

Katharina Rout teaches English and Comparative Literature at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Her translations from the German have been acclaimed widely. She lives in British Columbia, Canada.