From archive (archive)
Subject: _Reindeer Moon_ by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Keywords: Reindeer Moon, prehistory, Siberia,
From: ag4@vax1.UUCP (Anne Louise Gockel)
Date: 1 Oct 87 00:13:19 GMT




                           _Reindeer_Moon_
                           by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
                              available as a SFBC selection
                              (paperback edition ??? I don't know)

_Reindeer_Moon_ is the story of Yanan who lives in pre-historic Siberia with
her family.  Her family hunts and gathers but does not know how to dry meats
and does not try to save grains or vegetables through the winter.  In the
first chapter the thirteen year old Yanan discovers that she is already
married.  Marriages are carefully arranged among family members and involve
elaborate gift giving all around.  Her husband is a member of the family that
shares their lodge and he is patiently waiting for her to mature.  Learning
that she is married is a turning point for Yanan; from this point on she has
to start thinking of herself as on the way to adulthood.

_Reindeer_Moon_ alternates between the last 2 years of Yanan's life and the
first year or so of her life as a spirit.  Yanan's clan leaves for their
winter hunting grounds and eventually splits up.  Yanan travels with her
parents, her younger sister Meri, her father's second wife and two cousins.
When her parents die, Yanan and Meri are soon abondoned with winter fast
approaching.  Somehow they make it through and even manage to find the rest of
their group in the spring.

As a spirit Yanan has been captured by the shaman of the clan and is required
to work for their good.  She is able to take the shape of any animal she
desires.  As a wolf she runs far and wide, ostensibly to chase game towards
the waiting and starving hunters.  But with a wolf's brain she can't always
remember that that is her task.  As a raven she flies with the group on their
travels and as a mamomoth she investigates the other mammouth herds.

Thomas skillfully ties the two stories together, alternating chapter by
chapter.  Winter is hard, starvation and hungry animals are a constant threat.
Summer is easier, but very short.  With luck the group manages to kill one
mammouth my creating a rock avalanche that throws it down a cliff.  Of course
much of the meat spoils before they can finish it, but there is plenty of food
for a while.  Most of the waking hours are spent chasing food or preparing
clothing or tools.

The short biography of Elizabeth Marshall Thomas says that she has spent time
studying hunting and gathering cultures around the world.  I felt that her
details of the life and work were reasonably accurrate (however I am not the
sort of person to pull apart a work for technical details).  Yanan's clan has
developed a fairly sophisticated culture, maybe more sophisticated than their
lack of tools would indicate.  The politics seem more appropriate here at work
than in ancient Siberia.  However this makes the story more interesting and
enjoyable since the characters are people you can identify with.


I read _Reindeer_Moon_ because a good friend with good taste handed me her
copy and said "Here, it's what _Clan_of_the_Cave_Bear_ was supposed to be."
She was quite right.  _Clan_ of_the_Cave_Bear/Valley_of_the_Horses are ok
books; _VotH_ overdoes the 'hey, sex is a neat thing' message, but that's
neither here nor there.  The point is, Wendy was right!  _Reindeer_Moon_ is
everything that CotCB/VotH tries to be (except very long) but _Reindeer_Moon_
is far superior!  I couldn't put it down.  It's fast moving. The scenes
when Yanan is a spirit taking the body of an animal are marvelous!  I highly 
recommend the book.

                                                    -Anne Louise Gockel