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When the Elephants Dance
 

When the Elephants Dance

by Tess Uriza Holthe

Tess Uriza Holthe writes with a mixture of metaphor and fact, a combination of the supernatural and the all-too-real. When the Elephants Dance opens, in fact, with an apposite metaphor for a horrible reality: "Papa explains the war like this: 'When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.'" The elephants in question are the Americans and the Japanese, fighting for possession of the... (read more)

Top tags: fiction,  philippines,  world war ll,  historical fiction,  book club (all tags)

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Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

Jen-Ay
  • Rated 5 stars

“This is a rare find. Written by a Filipino about the Philippines during World War II. It really has no competition. The author collected most of her information from her father, friends and family. She delicately weaved in some of the tales she was told as a child about spirituality and ghosts and old beliefs into the elaborate threads of the Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, American and Arabian influence of the Philippine culture.
Besides all that, it is an intricate story. Tess has you...”

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Didn’t Like It

bklein
  • Rated 2 stars

“This book was painful to read. When I thought I had anticipated the worst that could happen to these characters, something even more dreadful happened to them. I thought the technique of writing from 3 different character perspectives, while continuing to move the story forward was interesting, and the folklore stories woven in were engaging, but the overall story was so dreadful and the descriptions so gruesome that I wasn't able to enjoy the writing style. It's definitely a moving story...”

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Community:
  • Rated 3.916667 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 4.5 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • Jacqui

    jacqui said:

    “I grew up listening to WWII stories from my grandmother - what she particularly had to endure. This book made me wept as it graphically described what she and many Filipinos had to endure during this dark moment in our history. It gave me a deeper sense of respect for them, esp. for Filipinos who refused to be subjugated by a foreign power.
    The fantasy/mythical portions also made me appreciate our country's lore and culture.”

    posted Thursday, September 20 2007
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