Name: Bone Talk
Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
ISBN: 9781788450171

Candy Gourlay

Samuel lives in a tribe deep in the Philippine jungle at the end of the nineteenth century, and has never encountered anyone from outside his own tribe before. Hes about to become a man, and while hes desperate to grow up, hes worried that this will take him away from his best friend, Little Luki.

Bone Talk

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

What I have loved about this year's Carnegie Shortlist is the range of stories and voices. Bone Talk blew me away by taking me deep into the history of the Philipines right before the American boot came down on its people. The pre-colonial lives of the Bontok crash headlong, through the voice of young Samran who is poised on the brink of a major rite of passage into manhood, into the colonial presence of American troops. You feel the ancient rhythms of the Bontok way of life, the mythologies, relationships, and preoccupations, suddenly rupture. Nothing will ever be the same again. The loss is incredible. You are with Samran and his father in their grief and bewilderment as their gods seemingly abandon them. You stand there with them, where the symbols and signs they relied upon no longer make sense, become unreadable, as if the gods have turned their backs on them. The pages fly as you hold your breath, watching Samran take the lessons of his elders and try to use them to make sense of the death, destruction, and lies that shape the American soliders' interactions with the Bontok people. Candy Gourlay has powerfully, empathetically illustrated the many ways war and external politics irrevocably change the lives of innocent citizens. As an American, this story is particularly painful, resonating with so many of the stories of war, destruction, prejudice, and hope that the world is experiencing now. Without the Carnegie Shadowing Book Club shortlist reading challenge, I'm not sure I would have found this novel on my own. I am so glad I did.

Samkad lives deep in the Philippine jungle, and has never encountered anyone from outside his own tribe before. He's about to become a man, and while he's desperate to grow up, he's worried that this will take him away from his best friend, Little Luki, who isn't ready for the traditions and ceremonies of being a girl in her tribe. But when a bad omen sends Samkad's life in another direction, he discovers the brother he never knew he had. A brother who tells him of a people called 'Americans'. A people who are bringing war, and destruction right to their home... A coming-of-age story set at the end of the 19th century in a remote village in the Philippines, this is a story about growing up, discovering yourself, and the impact of colonialism on native peoples and their lives.

Bone Talk

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