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krissyfied's review against another edition
4.0
I grew up on fairy tales and I carried my love for folklore, fantasy, mythology, and all things phantasmagoria until young adulthood. This book sated my appetite for local folklore, and my only complaint is that I wish this book contained more stories. My favorites are Ana's Little Pawnshop on Makiling St. by Eliza Victoria, Beneath the Acacia by Celestine Trinidad, and Balat, Buwan, Ngalan by David Hontiveros. The new print version also contains a bonus story by Eliza Victoria, and I must mention here that I am her newest fan. I can't wait to read more of her stories.
samiism's review against another edition
5.0
GORRRL. Oh my bathala! This book was great!
Philippine mythology has a whole universe of its own. Greek, Norse, Roman mythology--all great. We know what they're about. But Philippine mythology is seriously underrated. I always knew it was fascinating, but I didn't fully realize the scope until I read this book of retellings.
Growing up in a largely Catholic and superstitious country made me paranoid child. I was always wary about offending spirits and supernatural creatures. The night was my enemy. I wouldn't point at trees in the dark in fear of a demon biting my finger off. When walking home at night, I would chant "Tabi tabi po", asking invisible dwarves to move aside so I don't step on them. I stayed away from big trees because I didn't want to anger the kapre/agta living there.
This book sort of reminded me of my childhood, or at least the legends I heard from old folks. The legendary diwata (fairy) Mariang Makiling who "haunts" Mt. Makiling was often rehashed in these pages, probably because she truly is a fascinating character. The story of creation involving Tungkung Langit and Alunsina, proudly of Visayan origin, was also retold. (That said, I kinda want to name my future daughter Alunsina. It's such a beautiful sounding name.)
If you're curious about Philippine mythology, I highly recommend this book. Granted it's not accurate (it is a collection of retellings), but it's a fantastic gateway nonetheless.
danibee33's review against another edition
5.0
So good, I was savouring each story, reading this book over the course of a couple of months. I loved the way many of these stories took modern/contemporary twists on traditional & ancestral mythologies and folklores. Colourful, imaginative, and endlessly interesting. I usually don't like short stories that much but this is a book I'll definitely return to.
acupofmouie's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
storiesabtjane's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nouveau's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
earlapvaldez's review against another edition
5.0
What I greatly appreciate in this compilation is the wide variety of stories that tell us about the struggles of a Filipino in search of his roots: concerning love, transience, life, and death. And as a student of theology, this I have to say about the book: may we recover our pre-Christian origins in order to appreciate more what our faith has done to bring out the values that we have treasured since time immemorial
tregina's review against another edition
4.0
I am always a fan of stories based on myths and folklore, especially folklore that has been little explored in recent fiction like that of the Philippines. When I was eighteen years old I lived on Mindanao for a year, which was when I first encountered some of the original tales a few of these stories were based on, making them especially interesting to me. The anthology was at its best, I think, in the more modern retellings and adaptations, but there really wasn't a dud in the bunch.