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A review by literaryjunarin
Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
"It is good to fear your enemy. Fear means you take nothing for granted. It is easy to get lulled into a false security, especially if your enemy looks just like you, as the Mangili do."
This book is very rich in the customs of the Bontok culture. Sacrificing chickens for rituals, hunting, tribal wars, praying to ancestors, etc. I learned a lot about their situation during 1899. Like how circumcision in boys is a ceremony, not just a surgical procedure for health reasons. The Bontok's belief in the afterlife is also interesting. It's just sad that the main reason for deaths during that time is infection. I'm surprised they don't know about herbal medicine.
I liked the book a lot, Luki being my favorite girl. Samkad, he's the main character but he irritated me a lot. He's such a brat in the 1st half, and then an asshole in the 2nd half. I hated how he treated Luki.
Since this book is set during the Philippine-American war, I realized that I didn't know about this war. I'm sure this was taught in school but my brain did not retain the knowledge. It gave me the shivers when I thought that this might be related to the St. Louis World Fair in 1904.
I just wish there's more action here. I think the book stayed too much on Samkad's head.
This book is very rich in the customs of the Bontok culture. Sacrificing chickens for rituals, hunting, tribal wars, praying to ancestors, etc. I learned a lot about their situation during 1899. Like how circumcision in boys is a ceremony, not just a surgical procedure for health reasons. The Bontok's belief in the afterlife is also interesting. It's just sad that the main reason for deaths during that time is infection. I'm surprised they don't know about herbal medicine.
I liked the book a lot, Luki being my favorite girl. Samkad, he's the main character but he irritated me a lot. He's such a brat in the 1st half, and then an asshole in the 2nd half. I hated how he treated Luki.
Since this book is set during the Philippine-American war, I realized that I didn't know about this war. I'm sure this was taught in school but my brain did not retain the knowledge. It gave me the shivers when I thought that this might be related to the St. Louis World Fair in 1904.
I just wish there's more action here. I think the book stayed too much on Samkad's head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Violence