When the Elephants Dance

I kept hearing that this book was a blend of magical realism and painful reality. It is...I guess. It's a story of the last days of WWII in the Philippine Islands, during the Japanese occupation. The present-time narrative alternates between the points of view of three young people, and now and then it shifts to a story of the past, told by one of the older people, that tends to contain elements of the magical or supernatural, and is intended to convey a lesson for the young people in the present. This plot style has the potential to disintegrate into chaos, by Holthe skillfully keeps it moving with gorgeous prose and seemless blending of past and present tales. Her portrait of a nation caught between the hammer and anvil of two powerful opposing armies, of a people struggling to salvage identity and honor from the blood and ashes of war, is beautifully written and heartbreaking. This is REAL literature.

This is a first novel by Tess Uriza Holthe, a young Filipino-American woman and what an amazing debut it is! It's based on her father's experiences in the Philippines during World War 2 and it describes the devastating effect it had on the people. The title comes from the saying "when the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful", and it alludes to the Japanese and Americans as the powerful elephants and the Filipino people as the chickens who must scurry about and try not to get trampled. The storyline follows some Filipino neighbors who hide in a basement during the final days of the war, venturing out only to find food. These trips are dangerous and capture means torture or death, but still they venture out. There's a 12-year-old boy, his 17-year-old sister as well as a young man who has chosen to be a guerilla. We get to know each of them well, as well as their families and identify with their fear, hunger and courage. But Ms. Holthe has added a second element to the story. While they are trapped in that basement, and later when they are prisoners in Manila, the elders tell stories laced with magic realism, which not only keeps their minds off the war around them, but also introduces the reader to some of the history, myths and legends of the people. This structure added depth and texture as the life lessons they taught affected the hard choices made by the characters.I loved the voice, the tone, the interweaving of past and present. And I loved learning about the Philippine culture. I could almost taste the food, smell the ripe foliage, feel the heat. I learned about the hard years of Spanish rule, the role of the church, and the poverty of the lower classes. There are lessons in everyday living. And some moving love stories. This book has everything. The author, however, has been criticized for getting distances between places confused and for misspelling Tagalog words. As an American, however, I was not aware of these small details. I was totally caught up in the story and found myself thinking about the characters long after I put the book down for the day. This is a simply wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

Marvelous! Can't wait for her next work...For a first novel, Ms. Holthe's "When the Elephants Dance" is a marvelous piece of work. I did get a bit irritated by the misspelled and mis-phrased Tagalog words and statements, some details on fauna, and also the lapses in time judgment (crossing over to Coron, Palawan and back to Manila in less than a day). For that, I fault the editors. Nonetheless, I consider those trivial in the face of great storylines and lyric and magical narratives of the allegorical stories. I grew intimate with each of the narrators and the stories they both told and heard. I wish the novel never ended. When I finished the book, I felt that that world was gone and I had to say goodbye to my new friends and lovers. I hope Ms. Holthe continues to write and I eagerly await her second opus. I think her first novel is just heralding whatever comes next. She's got a remarkable voice, and with "When the Elephants Dance," Tess Uriza Holthe is just clearing her throat.

People who know me know that I read a great deal --and try to read good, worthwhile thought provoking books that take me to places I haven't been or periods I am unfamiliar with,,,and that I love to recommend books that I have been impressed with --well, When The Elephants Dance fits all of the above -- it is compelling, highly thought provoking and is just so well written....that you can literally feel and taste and experience the hardships that the Filipinos endured during the Japanese occupation...the mythical and magical stories told by the members of the extended family thrown together in an attempt at survival are breathtaking and I felt emotions that I don't ordinarily experience with a book, any book..it is simply put a wonderful story that should be read by many.

This wonderful book is a treat for readers everywhere! Beautifully written (many of the passages absolutely sing), it's reminiscent of the classics--from 100 Years of Solitude, the Canterbury Tales and the Decameron. In the wartime Philipines, several families gather in a cellar to hide from the Japanese soldiers who terrorize the Filipino population. To pass the time and quell the pains of hunger, they tell each other stories, which are without a doubt the best part of the novel. Rich with Filipino myth and magical realism, each story reveals something not only about the characters, but about this long-ignored but proud Pacific culture. The story of war, which plays out simultaneously, is less captivating, but that's only because of the superb quality of the stories, which would be hard for any writer to top. Still, the story of these people, caught between the Japanese and the Americans, illuminates a part of the war that many of us have never really learned about.This is a triumphant, beautifully written book, which stayed with me a long time after I finished it. Very highly recommended.