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Bezig met laden... Black Flamedoor Gerelchimeg Blackcrane
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Juvenile Fiction.
Juvenile Literature.
HTML: Award-winning author Gerelchimeg Blackcrane has written a compelling novel, set in Tibet, Mongolia and China, about the adventures of a fiercely powerful yet lovable Tibetan mastiff that is sure to join the ranks of other much-read classic dog stories. Kelsang, a Tibetan mastiff, is just a tiny puppy when his mother dies after a vicious fight with a snow leopard. Soon he comes to fill his mother's role as sheepdog for the master, Tenzin, his instincts teaching him how to herd the flock on the northern Tibetan grasslands. But one day when visitors see this huge, beautiful purebred, they ply Tenzin with drink and convince him to sell his dog. In no time Kelsang finds himself chained up in the back of a jeep traveling far from everything he knows. A series of adventures take Kelsang from the streets of Lhasa, where he fights with local street dogs, to brief refuge with an elderly painter, until he is once again cruelly held in captivity. But Kelsang escapes and meets Han Ma, a master who inspires his love and loyalty. Further adventures include protecting endangered antelope from poachers, warning of a devastating landslide, becoming a guard dog, bonding with a beautiful German shepherd and befriending blind children. But through it all Kelsang longs for the freedom of the grasslands, and so he is overjoyed when his master takes him to live in Inner Mongolia. And here Kelsang once again proves his heroic bravery and intelligence when he saves four children from perishing in a terrible snowstorm. .Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)895.1Literature Literature of other languages Asian (east and south east) languages ChineseLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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Apparently Gerelchimeg Blackcrane, a Chinese citizen of Mongolian ethnicity who is celebrated for his many animal stories, is a best-selling author in his native country. Having greatly enjoyed The Moose of Ewenki, the only other one of his books to be translated into English thus far, I lost no time in tracking down Black Flame, originally published in China as 黑焰 (Hēi yàn). I am so glad that I did, as I found it to be an engrossing story. There are certainly many heartwarming moments here - I loved the interactions between Kelsang and Han Ma, which are beautifully described by the author! - but I wouldn't describe this as being sweet, in quite the way that so many contemporary animal stories here in the west would be. Blackcrane write realistically, and without overt sentimentality, about the darker aspects of his canine hero's life, whether that be the natural enemies (particularly wolves) with whom he fights, or the human beings who mistreat him, and act as if he is nothing more than a commodity, rather than a feeling being with needs of his own. As a result, some of the scenes here can be a little difficult for an animal lover to read, but they never feel gratuitous, and the motivations of all involved always make sense in the context of the story, even when (in the case of humans) they are not so admirable.
Knowing nothing of mastiffs, Tibetan or otherwise, when I picked Black Flame up, I immediately went digging around on the internet (as you do), and discovered that like so many other breeds around the world, there was a fad for a while in China, of keeping these animals as pets. As Blackcrane's story makes abundantly clear, these are not animals that can be safely or happily kept by just anybody, and they have certain requirements - lots of space to roam, the need for actual work to do - that make keeping them in most cities problematic. I was therefore not surprised to discover that there is an epidemic of abandoned Tibetan mastiffs, dumped back in Tibet by their rich former Chinese owners, and being cared for mostly by monasteries. Ironically, given that Blackcrane clearly warns about the dangers of taking such dogs to large cities in his story, I can't help but wonder whether 黑焰, which was first published in 2005, was connected to the craze. Given that one of the first articles I read featured a photograph of a Tibetan mastiff being beaten to death by men with shovels, I almost wish I hadn't gone looking! Unlike animals, humans never fail to disappoint...
Leaving that disturbing reality aside, Black Flame is a book I would highly recommend, with the proviso that very sensitive animal lovers may find some scenes (especially the ones where Kelsang fights off wolves or other dogs) disturbing. ( )