Desert Rites is the first of a three volume “Desert Series,” set in China’s far West Gansu Province. The series is set in the late twentieth century. Residents in China’s major cities and the coastal provinces are enjoying newfound prosperity after a decade of economic growth, but not the impoverished villagers of Liangzhou. They must eke out a living by training hawks to catch rabbits, hunting foxes for their pelts, and squeezing out meager wheat harvests from largely barren, sandy land. The lives and deaths of the village characters are related in the trials of surviving in this neglected part of China. Two fathers will kill their own children, a young man will die of cancer, a protest against heavy taxes and fees will be staged with no result, and two married women will have extramarital affairs. The desert gives these people life; it also brings death and hardship. In hospitable conditions compounded by a relentless government tax system comprise the daily realities of the villagers, who often turn to shamans to lessen their suffering and hope in vain to mitigate their problems. Xue Mo writes with compassion and produces a vivid picture of village life in the desert.