Reindeer Moon (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "MY NAME WAS YANAN and my story began where it ended, in Graylag's lodge on the highest terrace above the north bank of the Char..." (more)
Key Phrases: betrothal exchange, reindeer doe, mammoth hunters, The Stick, Fire River, Aunt Yoi (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those familiar with the author's landmark study, The Harmless People, will not be surprised at the range of anthropological information she brings to her first novel, or at the lucidity of her prose. What will astonish, engross and move readers in her narrative of a group of hunter-gatherers who lived 20,000 years ago is the dramatic immediacy of the story and the depth and range of character development. A whole culture is imaginatively and authoritatively illuminated, people who live in lodges observing a complex series of societal rules and taboos built around the interrelationships between families that constitute a lineage. It is a life of privation, in which hunger, danger and violence are pervasive. Survival depends on close observation of and intimacy with the animals they use both as role models and as food, and an understanding of the seasonal rhythms governing the annual migrations. We meet the protagonist, Yanen, as a young girl, living with her family in what is now Siberia. Just a few chapters into the narrative, she dies and becomes a spirit who must serve the members of her lodge by finding food for them, often by taking on the form and behavioral characteristics of animals or birds. The story proceeds in flashback as Yanen relates the memories of her youth: the death of her mother after childbirth and of her father from hunting wounds, leaving Yanen and her baby sister alone in desolate country; their fearsome trek to rejoin other members of their lineage; Yanen's marriage; the rash deeds that cut her off from the people she loves and the tragic mistake that seals her fate. Thomas never romanticizes her characters, nor does she demean them by arch language or a patronizing tone. Yanen is an enchanting young woman: intelligent and courageous, an excellent hunter, but also headstrong and hot-tempered. Other characters are equally as vivid, and as involving of the reader's emotions. Suspenseful, insightful, poignant, this novelthe first to be issued under the Davison imprintis a remarkable achievement.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Twenty thousand years ago in prehistoric Siberia a young girl named Yandan lived and died. Now, as a spirit, she tells the story of her life, a continuous struggle to survive. A noted anthropologist, the author is very concerned with describing the relationship between human and animal. Thus, in Reindeer Moon people take a back seat to nature. Just as the reader is engrossed in one of Yandan's life experiences, the scene shifts to an account of one of Yandan's spirit journeys, a confusing device, and one that detracts from both storylines. Comparisons between Reindeer Moon and Clan of the Cave Bear ( LJ 9/1/80) are bound to arise. Like Jean Auel, Thomas has a difficult time making prehistoric sex anything but laughable. Reindeer Moon lacks the "popular touch" that makes Auel's books best sellers; yet readers interested in the period and with an eye to nature might enjoy this. Lydia Burruel Johnson, Mesa P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; First edition. edition (February 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 5551870030
• ISBN-13: 978-5551870036
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,960,321 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Difference between this and Clan of the Cave bear, July 13, 2003

By	Heather Hays (Goodfellow-AFB, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Reindeer Moon: Reindeer Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

One thing, I thought the clan of the cavebear lacked, even though it was an excellent book, was the raw sensations of living in a primeval world.
This book does give you this impression, and it is a lasting one. In this book, you are cold, and hungry and lost in a world full of predators. The brutality of each day is brought out to it's fullest, the emptiness of the space around you. The winters are freezing, and the summers are brief and fleeting and bittersweet.
The relationships between the characters are for the most part, well done. The one between Yanan and her sister Meri was especially well done. In the beginning, Yanan looks at her as spoiled brat. Later on, in the journey home they bond rather well. The book demonstrates this to us and does not tell this to us.
Another thing worth mentioning is how well Elizabeth Marshall Thomas writes the various animals that inhabit the tundra. You can almost see the mammoth storming across the plains and the yellow gleam of a wolf's eyes. Yanan, after she becomes a spirit, (she introduces herself as one in the beginning of the story) takes the form of various animals and their habits are well described and thought out.
This is a story about death, but also about life, and what hasn't really changed after billions of years.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reindeer Moon, September 9, 2002

By	K. Freeman (Apple Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Reindeer Moon: Reindeer Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

An excellent book with strong research in all areas, from natural history to shamanism. Vividly described and "real"; told in a spare, effective voice. An especially good portrayal of an adolescent character. Far superior to any of the "Clan of the Cave Bear" books.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional portrayal of another world view!, February 18, 2000

By	"darshank2" (Richmond, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reindeer Moon: Reindeer Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is so much more sophisticated than Clan of the Cave Bear, that it shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath! OK, OK, maybe I am a rabid fan, but I think I became one with good reason. If you are interested in other cultures and want to understand how someone very different from yourself might think, this is the book for you. Ms. Thomas' other books also put you into another world, another mind, whether she writes about humans, as in Animal Wife, or about animals, as in Tribe of Tiger and The Hidden Life of Dogs. Her command of English and her talent for eloquent understatement are wonderful to experience. If you are discerning and literate, you will adore her.