Reviewed by pdr lindsay-salmon

‘THE SKULL MANTRA’
by Eliot Pattison,
published by Minotaur Books,
Paperback of 416 pages,
ISBN-13: 978-0312385392
The 1^st novel in a series of six.
Winner of the Edgar Award.

Eliot Pattison is a remarkable writer, one I have been recommending to readers’ groups, libraries, friends, family and my students. I came across his book, ‘The Skull Mantra’, by accident. A friend sent me a copy, and I cannot thank her enough. As an American published book I would not have seen it in most New Zealand bookshops, and I would have missed a reading experience which has had a profound effect on me.

There are few books these days which make such an impact on me as a reader. I have read and reviewed for so many years that it takes an exceptional novel to make me weep.  ‘The Skull Mantra’ did just that, and when I reread it to try and analyse Pattison’s skills as a writer I still find nuances I missed before. So what is so special about an Edgar winning mystery? Well, it is far more than a mystery. It really is a literary novel about a Chinese man finding his way in a new and difficult world, after a destructive and life changing episode which sweeps him from his home and work.

‘The Skull Mantra’ cannot be treated like an Agatha Christie mystery. It is not a quick and easy read. You cannot read it in one afternoon of trying to find out whodunit by looking for clues and red herrings. Its themes and characters are complex, definitely three dimensional and carry with them a reality which hurts. This novel, like those which follow in the series, was written by Pattison because he cares about his subject matter, writing with honesty, from the heart. When asked why he sets his novels in Tibet he said this: ‘I write about Tibet because there is no purer symbol on earth of the struggle of soulless bureaucracy and sterile global economic forces versus tradition, spirituality, and ethnic identity.’ He went on to add: ‘I write about Tibet to give those who do not have the opportunity to travel there to understand what it feels like to witness an armed policeman assault a praying monk.’

For those who do not know Tibet’s history, Communist China invaded Tibet in 1949. The consequences of this violent invasion have been, and still are, devastating for the Tibetan people, their religion, and traditional way of life. Pattison’s novels deal with the themes of cultural and religious destruction, government corruption, and living under a brutal foreign power whose political belief is ‘that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.’ The joy of Tibet, in Eliot Pattison’s eyes, is that: ‘Tibet has shown us a new truth – for Tibetan resistance has proven the opposite.’

If all this sounds too serious and solemn for a novel, take heart, ‘The Skull Mantra’ is full of hope. Pattison is not an indignant, pro-Tibetan propagandist. He does not lash out at the Chinese and make them cardboard villains. He simply shows, through his characters, how the Chinese government is failing by using violence and brutality. His hero is not a Tibetan, resistance fighter full of hate and anti-Chinese propaganda. Pattison chooses to have Shan Toa Yun, a Chinese investigator for the government, as his hero. Shan has been disgraced, tortured, and sent to a labour camp in Tibet because he was too good at his job investigating corruption and wrong doing. Shan was investigating corruption by a senior party member, a man powerful enough in the government to have Shan removed and disgraced before Shan disgraced him.

‘The Skull Mantra’ opens with Shan, now a slave labourer in the People’s 404^th Construction Brigade, working on a road site when the headless body of a recently murdered man is discovered. Most of the members of the 404^th Brigade are monks, imprisoned for thirty or more years, ever since the Chinese first arrived. For the monks a murder requires certain religious ceremonies and they cannot work until the ceremonies are performed. The Chinese will not allow any religious activities. This means trouble, torture, executions and the death of more of these precious lama, Tibetan priests and monks. Shan wants to protect them. Not only did they save his life and sanity when he first arrived at the camp, they are also a special part of Tibet’s culture.

Colonel Tan, the chief administrator and overall boss of the region, has other ideas. Poor Shan is hauled out of the camp and driven to the colonel’s office. The colonel requires Shan to be an investigator again and discover who the body is and who killed him. If Shan can do this he can save the monks. Shan is reluctant to try. He cannot trust the colonel, he fears what will happen to the monks when he leaves the labour camp. In the end he has no choice, but he has Colonel Tan’s cooperation. Once Shan begins to unravel the mystery of the headless man he finds connections to other deaths, to the Tibetan resistance movement, to government corruption. Each time he seems to be nearing the truth another problem arises. In the end it is the lamas themselves who provide the final truth, but it is Shan who ties them all together. All the numerous subplots, and all those remarkable characters, are finally connected in a stunning ending. I would be very surprised if anyone guessed who the murderer was, and Shan’s denouement is more sorrowful than triumphant. The lamas have taught him to be a man of compassion.

‘The Skull Mantra’ requires intelligent reading. The use of Tibetan words and expressions, the setting, the vast difference in cultural behaviours, all need a thoughtful mind actively involved as one reads. The brutality, the casual use of torture, the shameful treatment of Tibetans does not make for pleasant reading. At times the reader has to walk away, but Shan and the lamas somehow rise above the cruelties and they are the characters who stay with the reader at the end of the book.

I cannot recommend this novel, and the others in the series, highly enough. Do read ‘The Skull Mantra’ and share it with everyone you know. Not only will you learn a great deal about Tibet, Communist China, and Tibetan monks, you will also, in your reactions, learn a lot about yourself.

pdr lindsay-salmon________________________________________________________________________