LEAVING MOTHER LAKE: A GIRLHOOD AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Yang Erche Namu,Christine Mathieu | 294 pages | 10 Feb 2004 | Little, Brown & Company | 9780316735490 | English | New York, United States Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World PDF Book Her story is a universal story of a daughter trying to win the approval of her mother. This book is her story, in her voice, until she reaches the mid- twenties. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. At 16, Namu was chosen to sing in a competition that took her to Beijing. The Hopi North America have matrilineal descent and organization but their ownerships and other aspects differ. In her advice book, Namu Can Do, So Can You , she suggests that Chinese women thrust out their breasts when they need favors from men and urges them to smoke because "holding a cigarette in five beautiful fingers is really seductive. Sign in using your Kirkus account Sign in Keep me logged in. In the afterword, Christine Mathieu spells out the reality of women's role in Moso culture. However, the "real" story is about the girl who started as a villager and ended as a world famous This was read on my memoir kick this year. Almost there! Other editions. Women take any number of lovers in succession, with no shame or commitment. Did she transcribe her story? Trivia About Leaving Mother La But there are hints of the woman who this girl would become, the writer of numerous autobiographies herself, a performer and celebrity, cantankerous and adept of publicity stunts. Published February 10th by Back Bay Books first published Log in. Men will visit at night but are most often "away" herding or trading or traveling for teas or new animals. It's always better when a man takes his time, you know. That said, it's a complicated story on many ends This was read on my memoir kick this year. She tells you just enough about the toads in her soul to get you to hear the birdsong in her voice. Only men are free to pursue outside interests. The younger woman feels trapped by this expected role, elucidated in her mother's declaration: "You're a woman, you belong in the house, to the village. So, I Googled her and this book was a prominent mention there, and in a recent New York Times profile. Born in , Namu recalls the arrival of the Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution; finding the diet and the climate too daunting, they soon left. Jan 12, Pamela rated it liked it Shelves: china , In sum, I didn't find Namu particularly interesting at all. Friend Reviews. Reading all three together or in close proximity enhances the experience of reading one in isolation. View 1 comment. She wants to see what is over those mountains, and the next ones, and the next The Mosuo number only some 30, and live near pristine Lugu Lake, which lies at the base of the sacred Gamu Mountain, the protective site of their mother goddess on the border of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in southwestern China. An autobiography of a girl who is of Mosu heritage, growing up in a remote part of China in a society which is matrilineal in nature. Maybe, but all memoirs have some bias and selective memories. Namu has performed a neat trick in exoticizing herself for two different cultures. Error rating book. The Mosu tribe, itself, has a distinct lifestyle from China and neighboring tribes, yet, within their defined community, Namu and her mother break from the tradition of their own culture. Instead, womenfolk take a series of lovers throughout their lives, and the children of these "walking marriages" remain in their mothers' homes under a matriarch's supervision. She competed with girls from eight other hill tribes and won first prize. As our current divorce rates testify, love and sex provide a lofty ideal and a tenuous basis on which to build enduring marriages. This is a fascinating book and supposedly a true memoir which is why it seems strange that the publisher's detail page includes the statement "The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Other Editions It provides an engaging insight into a way of life and culture many of us cannot imagine. At first, thrown by her shabby attire, the doorman would not let Namu into the Conservatory. The Mosa see women as "in" the house- men's work away and outside. Sort order. Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World Writer Read this book! Mathieu smooths her out a bit, I think do some Googling -- maybe after you read the book -- and you'll see what I mean , and has enough understanding of China in general and Moso culture more specifically to be able to weave in a ton of detail. I know Namu is a bit of a controversial person and the book is telling you her life story through here eyes, it's not an academic study on the Moso, so it will be very biased, but it's entertaining and I'd still say it's informative for people who want to know more about this culture but don't want to dive into heavy literature. With her characteristic candor and dry wit, she recounts the story of her fateful meeting with her future husband. It was a story, but not a story that grabbed me. Christine Mathieu is an anthropologist who spent many years researching the Moso. It is a reason to read. Review Posted Online: Dec. I LOVE this story! Her story is a uni It took me quite a while to 'get' into this story. Many reviewers and some on line references suggest the memoir is vastly exaggerated, but Namu is still living and there is a historical trail that confirms most of her history. The Moso have made an extraordinary cultural choice - they have sacrificed neither sexual freedom nor romantic love nor economic security nor the continuity of their bloodlines. This is a fascinating look at an old Chinese-Tibetan ethnic group so isolated Namu writes of dirt floors, and the pig living in the courtyard before he's slaughtered and eaten - every bit. This is an autobiography, written with an anthropologist, of the most famous of the Moso, a woman who left her family at fourteen for Shanghai. This book gives a great insight in the culture of the Moso people and their unique way of life. Her mother broke up her room with an ax and burned the contents, but they reconciled on a subsequent visit. More filters. Then I asked him about the red strokes and he answered that the men had been executed. Apr 27, Karen Floyd rated it it was amazing Shelves: memoir. She was selected to represent Sichuan - a region with 87 million people. All in all I think it's a special story that deserves to be told. Namu left her home to become an actor and singer in Shanghai, Bejing, and abroad, but she paints a detailed picture of the Moso people: matriarchal, peaceful, a culture that depends on keeping to traditional practices. Namu is one of the most unique women I have ever encountered. In the main village on the lake there is now a red light district for sex tourists who hope their palms will be scratched the traditional invitation. Strolling in the streets with my teacher and classmates, I came across a large poster with the photographs of two young men and, listed under each picture, their names, their ages, where they had grown up, and last, the words homosexual criminal. It was sort of depressing to read. It is the story of a young girl coming of age in the 70's in an unusual society in the Himalayas - a society run by women who control the households, pass property to daughters, make all the important decisions, consider marriage inconvenient and unnecessary It was more directly addressed in Namu's descriptions of menstruation shame, the isolated experience of childbirth and the Moso's male-dominated public presence, wherein the culture is represented solely by men through trade and travel. Wow, this was fascinating stuff. An important observation from the inquisitive heroine, Namu, after she had left home and begun school: In China red ink was a curse. The women of a family reside in the same house, each with a separate room where they receive visits from men they are free to choose; relationships are usually transitory, and jealousy is discouraged. Community Reviews. Diane I hadn't really ever thought of a matriarchal society; however, I believe the people of Moso were that. Others have comment This is a fascinating book and supposedly a true memoir which is why it seems strange that the publisher's detail page includes the statement "The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World Reviews The culture has a matrilineal descent system, but it is not unique in this regard. Living so closely to the bridal abduction rituals and other obvious male dominant practices of the Yi culture helps highlight a Moso feminism that allows a woman to control household politics, take and refuse lovers and have uncontested custody of her children. It is an area known as the 'Country of Daughters' because of its matriarchal society. But to me it was far more fascinating to read about how that culture was influenced during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and afterwards, especially to the use of manufactured goods or electricity.