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ubepandesol's review against another edition
"Stories are easy, and they give life order, a piece of driftwood to cling to in the storm of grief. But even stories must be accurate."
This anthology features a wide range of short stories: from lovely romances between two powerful albeit romantically clueless characters to poignant scifi/speculative fiction featuring artificial intelligence, from college-age women whose blessings from years past turned into a curse eventually to a city girl navigating the unfamiliar environment of the province in which she experiences being othered--i could go on and list the blurbs of each story but i think readers who don't have any idea what they'll find inside this book before rushing in (like me) will find countless treasures inside. That said, the rest of this review will be locked behind a spoiler tag because the most memorable moments for me in this book are things that I felt would be best enjoyed if you discovered them yourselves.
<blockquote>"And there perhaps find another girl with bright eyes, who can sing silly songs with you, who can actually be yours, if only in secret."</blockquote>
<blockquote>She touches your cheek, unaware how you melt. “I’m glad you’re taking me seriously.”
“I always do,” you answer, mock offended. She meets your gaze. Look away, you plead silently, but she does not. In the end, you’re the one that drops your head; she removes her fingers from your face.</blockquote>
The sapphic love story between the binukot and her guardian featuring the bakunawa is so intense, their longing screamed so loud on the page. I think that one's one of my favorites here, although I could say the same thing about the romance between the witch and the elemental, I'm truly just a sucker for love stories these days~
The story about the victims of the Philippines' war on drugs, the main characters are the victims themselves, an immortal goddess in the Underworld, and the policeman drowning in the blood in his hands. The guilt, the shame, the trauma was so palpable in the page, and yet the writer exercises compassion towards the characters all the same. If in mainstream fiction we see these people as villains, here we see the emotional rollercoasters character development of the bad guys as well. This is not to say their actions are condoned at all, only that the writer had been creative and imaginative enough to illustrate the bad guy's perspective without making the entire work black-and-white. I suppose that's the word I'm looking for: complex. The characters are <i>so</i> real and life-like. Tropes aren't employed for the sake of tropes; rather, the characters are fleshed out well enough that if their stories do fall under the common tropes, it's only secondary to their journey in the story. This applies not only to the policeman story but also for the whole collection.
This anthology features a wide range of short stories: from lovely romances between two powerful albeit romantically clueless characters to poignant scifi/speculative fiction featuring artificial intelligence, from college-age women whose blessings from years past turned into a curse eventually to a city girl navigating the unfamiliar environment of the province in which she experiences being othered--i could go on and list the blurbs of each story but i think readers who don't have any idea what they'll find inside this book before rushing in (like me) will find countless treasures inside. That said, the rest of this review will be locked behind a spoiler tag because the most memorable moments for me in this book are things that I felt would be best enjoyed if you discovered them yourselves.
<blockquote>"And there perhaps find another girl with bright eyes, who can sing silly songs with you, who can actually be yours, if only in secret."</blockquote>
<blockquote>She touches your cheek, unaware how you melt. “I’m glad you’re taking me seriously.”
“I always do,” you answer, mock offended. She meets your gaze. Look away, you plead silently, but she does not. In the end, you’re the one that drops your head; she removes her fingers from your face.</blockquote>
The sapphic love story between the binukot and her guardian featuring the bakunawa is so intense, their longing screamed so loud on the page. I think that one's one of my favorites here, although I could say the same thing about the romance between the witch and the elemental, I'm truly just a sucker for love stories these days~
The story about the victims of the Philippines' war on drugs, the main characters are the victims themselves, an immortal goddess in the Underworld, and the policeman drowning in the blood in his hands. The guilt, the shame, the trauma was so palpable in the page, and yet the writer exercises compassion towards the characters all the same. If in mainstream fiction we see these people as villains, here we see the emotional rollercoasters character development of the bad guys as well. This is not to say their actions are condoned at all, only that the writer had been creative and imaginative enough to illustrate the bad guy's perspective without making the entire work black-and-white. I suppose that's the word I'm looking for: complex. The characters are <i>so</i> real and life-like. Tropes aren't employed for the sake of tropes; rather, the characters are fleshed out well enough that if their stories do fall under the common tropes, it's only secondary to their journey in the story. This applies not only to the policeman story but also for the whole collection.
doceon's review against another edition
5.0
Terrific! Outstanding! A wonderful collection of wonderful stories. Great prose, great premises, terrific characters. Strongly recommend.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
4.0
These stories, largely urban fables from a Filipino, are dense enough with emotion and incident and sometimes lingual complexities that it took me a while to get into the flow of them, after reading so many airier short stories this year. But they're really rewarding and surprising, a little bit Charles de Lint, a little bit Trese, and a little bit cultural education through folklore. Among all the baby-eating bad girls and reluctant anime-warrior girls and dead girls in the afterlife, my favorite was "A Spell For Foolish Hearts," about a young gay witch-boy in San Francisco who has no idea what love is, even when he falls into it. It feels like a story designed to have fandom yelling at the page, "Just kiss him, you idiot!", and that fandom is going to see the ending coming long before the protagonist does, but the story is so kind and giving, and so full of telling detail about San Francisco and its communities (including the magical one) that it just feels like a comfortable, homey place to rest while waiting for Patrick to wake up and kiss Karl already. This is a really compelling collection full of surprises.
alexxshum's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
ariizolas's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank God I still remember how to finish books. This was incredible. I read "How to Swallow the Moon" once for a fiction class and it's even better the second time around. Other favorites (though this whole collection is wonderful and deeply affecting): 'A Cup of Salt Tears,' 'Asphalt,' 'A Canticle for Lost Girls.'
rubiscodisco's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
4.0
Isabel Yap writes stories with the kind of blending of folklore, fantasy, and realism, and a mystical tone, which Neil Gaiman uses. With Gaiman, who is a master of his craft, the effect is often spectacular. I wouldn't say she's on his level, but Yap is a good enough writer that she actually pulls it off.
The fact that most of these stories are distinctly and unapologetically Filipino makes it even better for me. To be honest, this exactly the kind of subgenre of fantasy that I would like to write in. My personal favorite stories are the one about the binukot, and the one with Maganda (of Si Malakas at si Maganda fame).
The fact that most of these stories are distinctly and unapologetically Filipino makes it even better for me. To be honest, this exactly the kind of subgenre of fantasy that I would like to write in. My personal favorite stories are the one about the binukot, and the one with Maganda (of Si Malakas at si Maganda fame).