A couple of months ago I had a cold and was searching the shelves for something that would take my mind off the discomfort, something fast moving and entertaining. Gorky Park, yes, years since I read it, only the vaguest memory of the plot, with Martin Cruz Smith’s smooth and humorous style. It was falling apart, so I read it in pieces, and then that was so good, I read Polar Star, Red Square, Wolves Eat Dogs and Stalin’s Ghost again. Smith writes extremely well, especially his first book Gorky Park. Somewhere in the middle of this, I began to re-read the Shan series by Eliot Pattison, starting with The Skull Mantra. From there I went on to Water Touching Stone, Bone Mountain and Beautiful Ghosts. Having got hooked in, I bought Smith’s Three Stations and Pattison’s Mandarin Gate. Reading all these books together – two of my favourite mystery writers – I began to compare them and see them in a broader perspective. Obviously the metaphysical element of the Buddhist monks, lamas and sutras, with touches of Taoism, lifts Pattison’s books into a dimension that Smith’s books lack, but Smith is the better writer, plot-wise and generally. I think even Pattison must get lost in some of his plots, but it is not the plot that one enjoys in his books but the people, especially the Tibetan characters, and Shan the Chinese investigator sent to a gulag in outermost Tibet (which the Chinese now call western China). Both authors have a similar contempt for police of various hues, even though both their main protagonists, Shan and Renko, are or were investigators. Both protagonists are always looking for the truth when only politically acceptable answers will do, and both get into a great deal of pain and trouble as a result. Both, of course, operate under a so-called communist system with its totalitarian power over individuals. And both authors are providing us with interesting lessons in history as the Tibetans do what they can to survive while the Chinese destroy Tibetan society, religion and artefacts; and we see Russian communism under threat in Gorky Park, and watch it gradually crumble during the series, while, in the later books, it is replaced by rampant would-be capitalism, power cliques and oligarchs. With all these similarities, there is an element which divides them. I’m going to digress here to talk about alienation and anomie. Alienation is a Marxist term used to describe, among other things, the separation between the worker and the product of his work which he or she neither owns nor profits by. Marx, of course, thought workers wouldn’t go on indefinitely tolerating such a system and a revolution would overthrow the ruling class. Both Russia and later China took up these ideas but, to put them into effect, they had to repress and genocide huge numbers of people who did not agree or who were untrustworthy for being of the wrong class. What we see in Smith’s series is the unravelling of the so-called revolution, and in Pattison the continued imposition of that revolution. Anomie, another early 20th century social concept, is used to describe the breakdown in social structures and relationships which leads to people living in an anomic state, largely unconnected either to society or to extended families. In any totalitarian regime, anomie is common because individuals are required to report on others or be punished themselves, leading to a dearth of trust. To end alienation in a Russian or Chinese type imposed ‘revolution’, anomie is inevitable.The element which divides the two series and approaches of the authors is that Pattison describes how Tibetans, especially with the help of their shared beliefs in Buddhism, continue to live in a nexus of relationships based on love, trust and acceptance. Shan is on the point of death and despair after months of torture when he is finally literally thrown into the mud of the gulag, and saved by the love and care of the monks and lamas. In Pattison’s stories it isn’t just the deeply religious who value all life, so do the herders, nomads and village people in Tibet. Shan, the Chinese investigator, brought back into service when needed in The Skull Mantra, has been touched by this ability to love and trust, and in turn touches others. We see many epiphanies during the course of the series. Pattison is never anxious to show us crimes punished, but sins resolved, souls redeemed. This cannot be said of Smith who has the American approach to crime fiction and gets the guns or knives out to deliver the ultimate punishment.However, it has to be said that there is one cross-over characteristic which rather puzzles me. Shan, although taking to heart Buddhist concepts, is always portrayed as anxious about someone or something. He must get to Lokesh before… He must save the lamas because… And so on. Renko, on the other hand, fearlessly sticks his head in the lion’s mouth every time. Renko has the more clear-sighted view of how illusory manifest life is. It would be interesting if Smith and Pattison wrote a joint book.
A Great First Effort - 3.5 Stars The Skull Mantra was the Winner of the 2000 Edgar Award for best New Author. I cannot take issue with the choice as it an expertly written first effort. Had some of the content been presented in a manner that recognized the reader may be unaware of the concepts dealt with, my rating would have been higher. Plot Outline Shan Tao Yun was an investigator in Beijing but when he ran afoul of his superiors, he found himself sentenced to a work camp in Tibet. His fellow prisoners were largely Tibetan Buddhist monks sentenced to hard labor in an effort to remove them from the populace and "cure" Tibet of the "unwanted, backward religious thinking". Religion crashes head on with the governing powers when a dead body is found at the worksite and all signs lead to a murder by a demonic deity. The monks wish to perform religious rites at the site of the crime but it is not allowed. The tensions boil over and the monks threaten to stop working which will result in unnecessary bloodshed. Shan is given temporary leave and tasked to find a natural resolution to the crime and cut the feet from the Buddhist protests. Shan finds his own desire for the truth and his Taoist beliefs conflict with the unwanted assignment and he tries to resolve the matter justly while saving himself. My Thoughts If anything, this book is incredibly detailed. If you enjoy explorations of religion, you are in for a treat in this novel. The author appears to be quite knowledgeable when in comes to the History of Tibet and the Buddhist religion. That said, it is both a pro and a con. Detail, Detail, Detail The author has an incredible eye for detail. The aspects of the religion, the explanations of the conditions and the surroundings were excellent. The reader feels as if they are transported to an exotic and, for most readers, and strange environment. The author creates an excellent sense of culture within the novel and this provides an excellent basis for understanding the often strange (to me) behaviors of some of the characters. Many of the decision and actions would have seemed out of place had this taken place in Anytown, USA but seem reasonable in the struggling culture of Tibet.Additionally, the characters were well developed and without a doubt, Shan is one of the most intriguing leads I have read in a long time. The setup of a prisoner investigating a crime and torn by two competing cultures makes for an original and entertaining read. Slow Down a Minute! At times, the detail became overwhelming. My knowledge of Buddhism is minimal. There was much effort put into the minutia of the religion and I often found myself completely lost. While the author seemed to be quite knowledgeable of the religion, I assume the majority of North American readers are not. Given that I believe I was the intended audience, the author should have done a better job of making this more accessible to me. Given that the religion played a central role, this issue lead to a significant drop in my rating. Can this one stand alone Yes. It is the first book of the series. Final Thoughts Overall, I enjoyed this well written novel. While I was often lost in the details of the religious aspects, the rest of the story and the mystery was well plotted and well written. I plan on continuing with this new found author. Sex - 1 There was no sexual content. Language Mild Obscenities - 67 F-Words - 5 Religion Exclamations - 4 (I generally only look exclamations as it relates to Christian terms. There may be some related to Buddhism in the book as well) The use of adult language is incredibly low and suitable for all ages. Violence - 2.5 There is a murder at the outset but the body is only found. Parts of the body are missing but there is not graphic detail. A person is shot in the head and there is an underlying threat of violence throughout.
What do You think about The Skull Mantra (2001)?
Interesting to read the mixed reviews about this book, which I freaking LOVED and blew through in three nights. The Tibetan setting is fascinating and beautifully rendered, and I learned an enormous amount about the Buddist religion. I also liked that while the Chinese regime is depicted as horrifically brutal as most oppressive regimes are, Pattison has still created sympathetic, human Chinese characters and resisted the easy temptation to reduce the Tibetan vs. Chinese stuggle into a cartoonish us-against-them situation.Even though I loved this book, I'm debating reading the others in the series. I think the conclusion of the story was perfect, and I may prefer to leave it as it is.
—Monica
I've just finished this astonishing book, and I have to say it became one of my favorites. I think it's wonderful how there aren't many landscape descriptions and still I felt like being there, like I could even feel those mountains, smell them... how there isn't much description of person either but it felt like those people got closer and closer to me with each turned page. It's one of those books you just can't put down. The only two things I can mention as negative, is that it was so hard to remember who is who, with these such similar Chinese names, and that at the end, when Shan found out about everything, there were some parts I just couldn't put together - why did this happen, and how did he draw this and that conclusion, and so on... but I guess that's also a reason why it was fascinating, as it moved my brain and it was not the kind of story where you can foresee everything. All in all, I can really recommend it to everyone! I can't wait to read the next book, but I'm also a bit afraid what if now I put my expectation too high. But anyways it's great that there are more parts, because I hate to say goodbye to the characters of a book I loved so much, and Shan, Choje and the others are definitely like that!
—Dorka
Hearing Nancy Pearl on NPR this morning reminded me that I had read this gripping mystery a few years back, and I highly recommend it.Summary: The corpse is missing its head and is dressed in American clothes. Found by a Tibetan prison work gang on a windy cliff, the grisly remains clearly belong to someone too important for Chinese authorities to bury and forget. So the case is handed to veteran police inspector Shan Tao Yun. Methodical, clever Shan is the best man for the job, but he too is a prisoner, deported to Tibet for offending Beijing. Granted a temporary release, Shan is soon pulled into the Tibetan people's desperate fight for its sacred mountain and the Chinese regime's blood-soaked policies. Then, a Buddhist priest is arrested, a man Shan knows is innocent. Now time is running out for Shan to find the real killer...in an astonishing, emotionally charged story that will change the way you think about Tibet--and freedom--forever.
—Joyce
