Hearing Birds Fly: A Year in a Mongolian Village (Hardcover)

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Review
'With a skill and art quite extraordinary for a first book . the reader is drawn into the world she describes through the warmth of her friendships and the sympathy and generosity with which she treats all aspects of her subject. I put the book down finally with a sense of absolute satisfaction, having spent the last few hours beneath the spell of a writer of real integrity and power' - Chris Stewart 'With a skill and art quite extraordinary for a first book . the reader is drawn into the world she describes through the warmth of her friendships and the sympathy and generosity with which she treats all aspects of her subject. I put the book down finally with a sense of absolute satisfaction, having spent the last few hours beneath the spell of a writer of real integrity and power' - Chris Stewart

The steppe of north-west Mongolia is one of the harshest and most isolated places on the face of the earth. The ravaged terrain is prone to freezing winds, dust storms, snowdrifts and torrential rains. The summer is short and labour-intensive, the winter lengthy, dangerous and difficult. No surprise, then, that few tourists choose to visit this frozen moonscape and that even fewer stay for more than the time it takes to pass through. Even for the seasoned traveller, it is one of the most inhospitable and unforgiving places imaginable. After teaching English for two years in Ulan Batar Louisa Waugh decided to take up a post in Tsengel, a village in the north-western corner of Mongolia near the borders of Russia and China. This is the heartfelt account of this young woman's extraordinary time amongst the natives of this remote outpost, and it is full of the joys and hardships experienced by a close-knit community whose precarious existence is constantly under threat. Waugh lives as the locals do, with no Western luxuries or special privileges. With no gas, electricity or running water, her most pressing concern is coping through the winter months, and she discovers it's a full-time job simply keeping herself clothed, fed and warm. Although at times the writing is a little prosaic and workmanlike, there's enough fascinating material here to keep the pages turning. The sheer difficulty of survival accounts for most of this work, and it's stunning to realize that, in the 21st century, people still eke out a living in this ancient culture. The harsh conditions and lack of modern facilities mean that death is ever present, understood and accepted rather than feared or ignored. People die in the cold, in childbirth, from bubonic plague or alcoholism. They are swept away in swollen rivers or in mountainous ravines. And, in the end, it's the willingness of the human spirit to undergo such privation which gives these isolated people the exuberance of being truly alive. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
Louisa Waugh's passionately written account of her time in a remote Mongolian village. Frustrated by the increasingly bland character of the capital city of Ulan Bator, she yearned for the real Mongolia and got the chance when she was summoned by the village head to go to Tsengel far away in the west, near the Kazakh border. Her story transports the reader to the glacial cold and the wonders of the Seven Kings as they steadily emerge from the horizon. Through her we sense their trials as well as their joys, rivalries and even hostilities, many of which the author shared or knew about. Waugh's time in the village was marked by coming to terms with the harshness of climate and also by how she faced up to new feelings towards the treatment of animals, death, solitude and real loneliness, and the constant struggle to censor her reactions as an outsider. Above all, she aims to involve readers with the locals' lives in such a way that we come to know them and care for their fates.

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First Sentence
The word tsengel means 'delight'. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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6 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Hearing Birds Fly, 19 Jul 2005 By  Rich Milligan (Thatcham, Berkshire) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    This review is from: Hearing Birds Fly: A Year in a Mongolian Village (Paperback) "Hearing Birds Fly" is the extraordinary travelogue of Louisa Waugh, an English Language teacher who whilst living in Mongolia decides to spend a year at one of the furthest outreaches of the country living the lifestyle of the nomadic herders who inhabit the remote and isolated area. The book is a rare and insightful look at the lives of the proud peoples of the Tsengel village and also an interesting look at how in some areas of the world the turn of the seasons is still the guiding hand to all activities that go on. Louisa's style is warm and friendly and she never comes across as an arrogant foreigner scoffing at the primitive ways of the people. Likewise the people themselves come across to the reader as a noble and dignified folk, who do not generally begrudge their hard existence and yet can enjoy lighter moments as well. It was also refreshing to read that although Louisa's point of view was obviously from a female perspective and her closer friends were all women, she doesn't allow her writing to become a feminist crusade. The frankness of her writing is also a great credit to her. The names of the villages are difficult to follow and more than once I had to refer to the handy guide of characters at the front of the book, and likewise, even though Louisa doesn't bombard the reader with Mongolian phrases there is a simply glossary of common phrases at the start. The one criticism I have is that there simply aren't enough photos of both the area and the people. I'm guessing this was done purposely for the privacy of the inhabitants, but it would have been nice for some more for the nosey reader! The book was warm, sentimental, (but still factual) and extremely satisfying. I would actively seek out other books by Ms Waugh. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   17 of 19 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars time for reflection, 9 Feb 2003 By  "purabody" - See all my reviews This review is from: Hearing Birds Fly: A Year in a Mongolian Village (Paperback) Louisa's book is a very interesting account of life in a Mongolian village - a lifestyle that is being threatened by politics and modernity. However I found her writing particularly flat and pedestrian in style. To her credit though, she is brutally honest about being a foreigner in a society little touched by westerners. An example is when she admits to her possessiveness of the village when another foreigner is coming to visit for a day. Through her friendships with local women she and the reader are able to see the gulf of cultural divide, particularly for women. Although I found the writing style a little dull, I would recommend the book on two counts. First is for the information about nomadic lifestyles. Secondly is for the opportunity to reflect on westerners living and attempting to become a part of remote cultures, particularly when the experience is to be commoditised into a book. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   11 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating reading, 18 Jan 2003 By  Lyn Parnell (Merseyside, UK) - See all my reviews What a picture Louisa paints. You can feel the intense cold, and the summer warmth when she was able to bathe in the river. How wonderful that must have been after the long cold winter when she was unable to even wash properly. For someone of western origin the sanitation facilities were so primitive, I know I could not have endured them. The personalities of the people shine through, and you feel as though you know them. They lead such harsh lives and have so little yet what they have they will willingly share. Maybe we could learn from them, such as the way they treated Alibi when he killed his friend. Long may they enjoy their Bûjigs and The Arikh. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 6 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Anthropology and a good read ... What a great title! I am very much enjoying this book, it's a vivid and evocative tale of Louisa's nine months in a Mongolian village. Read more Published on 20 Sep 2005 4.0 out of 5 stars Poetic title I let the poetry of the title override the review that said the writing style was bland - glad I did. A good read and a sense of what Mongolian nomadic life is like. Read more Published on 23 Feb 2004 4.0 out of 5 stars An Addictive Read I have always been interested in Outer Mongolia as it's remoteness and geographical position has intrigued me. Read more Published on 13 Feb 2004 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 6 customer reviews...

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