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4udrey's review
3.75
read this book for school and im glad that such filipino stories and histories are finally being told. while there are some things i can pick at regarding the writing or pacing, i still think this is a decent book that represents the rich and deep history of the Philippines and be a stepping stone for more Filipino voices to come
dbenton90's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bookbelle5_17's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Review of When Elephants Dance
By: Tess Uriza Holthe
The Japanese take the Philippines from America telling people they’re pro-Asian, but what they really were was pro-Japanese This was reminiscent of the Diary of Anne Frank. We have the Karangalan living in the cellar of their own with a few of their remaining friends. The daughter, Isabelle, who wants to be a doctor, is missing, and her brothers, Alejandro and Roderick have just escaped being beaten by Japanese soldiers. A friend of the family Domingo Matapang is the leader of the guerillas trying to fight against the Japanese but caught between two families.
This is a dark and haunting story that is not just about what happened to the Filipinos when the Japanese took over, but it covers the themes of family, cultural identity, and learning from the past. The story is told through Isabelle, Domingo Matapang, and Alejandro bringing the reader closer to the action. The opening scene is scary and tense as we don’t know what will happen to the boys. The narrative tension builds with each perspective, but we get reprieves through the stories told from the elders about the past. The stories they tell are sad too but have a moral message that is meant to teach and guide the present situation. My the most memorable ones for me were the one about the sisters and the one about young Spanish boy falling for the Filipina girl. Each of the characters are complex and authentic, but Matapang and Feliciano are the most complicated as both young men straddle a line between two sides of the same war. They both have their reasons for their choices, but not everyone agrees or loves them for it. The scenes of destruction of Manila and the torture the Filipino(a)s is devastating and felt an emotional tug on my heart as a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racial slurs, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Abortion, Classism, Sexism, Grief, Racism, Torture, War, and Hate crime
book_concierge's review
2.0
First sentence: Papa explains the war like this: “When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.”. I first picked up this book because of the title and this opening line. The elephants in this tale are the Japanese and Americans fighting over the Philippines. The Filipinos are the chickens.
The novel takes place during WWII, towards the end of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. The Filipinos had suffered greatly during those three years of occupation. They were starving, and subject to being picked up by the Japanese, seemingly at random, only to be tortured or killed. The book focuses on an extended family living in the basement of an apparently abandoned house. They venture out, one or two at a time, only to forage for food or medicine. To comfort themselves and each other they tell stories – sometimes traditional Filipino folk tales, and sometimes stories from their own past. These are intended to help each other understand and endure their situation, or to teach a lesson they will need to survive.
It’s an interesting idea and it could have been a really good book, but Holthe just wasn’t quite up to the task. The basic plot of the family’s enduring/surviving the occupation is a riveting one, and Holthe really shines in those sections of the book. However, it seems she was trying too hard to impress, or that she was determined to include every possible Filipino tradition and folk tale in an effort to educate the reader about her parents’ homeland. When she interrupts the plot line to tell another story, she loses momentum, and the attention of the reader.
The novel takes place during WWII, towards the end of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. The Filipinos had suffered greatly during those three years of occupation. They were starving, and subject to being picked up by the Japanese, seemingly at random, only to be tortured or killed. The book focuses on an extended family living in the basement of an apparently abandoned house. They venture out, one or two at a time, only to forage for food or medicine. To comfort themselves and each other they tell stories – sometimes traditional Filipino folk tales, and sometimes stories from their own past. These are intended to help each other understand and endure their situation, or to teach a lesson they will need to survive.
It’s an interesting idea and it could have been a really good book, but Holthe just wasn’t quite up to the task. The basic plot of the family’s enduring/surviving the occupation is a riveting one, and Holthe really shines in those sections of the book. However, it seems she was trying too hard to impress, or that she was determined to include every possible Filipino tradition and folk tale in an effort to educate the reader about her parents’ homeland. When she interrupts the plot line to tell another story, she loses momentum, and the attention of the reader.
jenniferdeguzman's review
3.0
I have not come across a lot of novels dealing with the Filipino experience during World War II, so I think this book fills a necessary role. The stories in it are intriguing and often very lovely. However, I found that its position as the writer's first novel is very obvious. There is a lot of technical awkwardness that made me too aware of the author's process.
For example, the stories are told by different people but do not each have a distinctive voice. In fact, the voices of the characters who are supposed to be telling the story change when they switch from their dialogue to their storytelling. This, and the Decamaron-like structure, seems to indicate that the author had several short stories and added bridging material to make a novel. To be fair, the bridging material does make for a fairly compelling story, but on its own, it's not a full novel. Holthe does her best to make the short stories within the story relevant to the action, but often her attempts feel a little tacked-on.
Another problem is that, in an effort to help people who might not be familiar with Filipino culture and history, when the characters are ostensibly talking to each other, fellow Filipinos, they explain details that never would need explaining -- like how to make adobo (just in case the reader doesn't know what adobo is) or who Jose Rizal is or what a Tagalog word means when the characters are speaking Tagalog to each other.
The patriotic afterword "written" by one of the novel's characters is unnecessary.
This is a good effort for a first novel, but I think an editor's guiding hand could have made it read more smoothly. I think it got a lot of positive critical attention for its subject matter, which has led people to overlook some of the craft problems with the writing.
For example, the stories are told by different people but do not each have a distinctive voice. In fact, the voices of the characters who are supposed to be telling the story change when they switch from their dialogue to their storytelling. This, and the Decamaron-like structure, seems to indicate that the author had several short stories and added bridging material to make a novel. To be fair, the bridging material does make for a fairly compelling story, but on its own, it's not a full novel. Holthe does her best to make the short stories within the story relevant to the action, but often her attempts feel a little tacked-on.
Another problem is that, in an effort to help people who might not be familiar with Filipino culture and history, when the characters are ostensibly talking to each other, fellow Filipinos, they explain details that never would need explaining -- like how to make adobo (just in case the reader doesn't know what adobo is) or who Jose Rizal is or what a Tagalog word means when the characters are speaking Tagalog to each other.
The patriotic afterword "written" by one of the novel's characters is unnecessary.
This is a good effort for a first novel, but I think an editor's guiding hand could have made it read more smoothly. I think it got a lot of positive critical attention for its subject matter, which has led people to overlook some of the craft problems with the writing.
strawbecky113's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ssb25's review
5.0
Tess Uriza Holthe is an amazing storyteller. Her descriptions were incredibly vivid and everything came to life - even the suffering. There were times when I had to stop the reading just to mentally prepare myself. I didn't know much about this time period in history nor the culture of the Philippines and I think the author did an amazing job of easing in and out of the reality of the characters and the stories.
nerissassippi's review
3.0
This was a page-turning summer read, but one that left me feeling full not empty (like too many summer books). It was the first Philippine novel I have read and it unveiled the country and gave its culture and history a face for me. The present-day story line would ultimately have been forgettable if not for the lovingly-told folk tales woven into the character's backgrounds. I can imagine them being told to Holthe by her grandparents and I am glad that she has shared them with the world.
chloelockwood's review
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lonzy's review
4.0
This was a powerful book about love and family and survival. It is an interesting mixture of historical fiction and magical realism. In some parts the descriptions of war get a little graphic.