Into the Forest discussion

This thread is for When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe

Ordered it

Just a word of warning, there is a fairly gruesome torture scene in the very first chapter. It's the Japanese occupation during the war is the premise for the book and the reason why the people in the story are hiding in the basement telling each other stories to pass the time. The Elephants dancing are the Americans and Japanese fighting, the sounds of bombings they hear from the basement. Knowing this the torture scene could be skimmed over.

Would you please list page number(s)?

pages 11 13,13, 16,17, 18

Jalilah wrote: "pages 11 13,13, 16,17, 18"

Thank you!

Leah wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "pages 11 13,13, 16,17, 18"

Thank you!"

And of these pages it's not like the entire pages are descriptions of the torture. They can be skipped.

I am really liking the magical stories told while hiding in the basement ( as described in the blurb). The parts about the Japanese occupation are tough to read, but relevant to the story. Of course I knew the Japanese had occupied the Philippines, but not much else, so I am learning a lot.

I am so grateful to you for the warning Jalilah. I have just picked up the book and should be able to start reading some time next week = )

There is also a rape scene around page 145. It's not super graffic, but conveys the horror of it. Reading about war is very difficult for me, but I do it from time to time as a kind of reality check, to remind myself that these things happened thoughout history and are still happening today.

The mythology and folktales are like none I have ever read. I really feel like I am being transported into a different world. Yes, the war part is difficult to read, but it's a great book so I hope my comments don't stop anyone from reading it!

I'll definitely read it, but i might wait a bit longer as I'm being knocked about emotionally by The Darkest Child at the moment and need something a bit softer after this!

Zanna wrote: "I'll definitely read it, but i might wait a bit longer as I'm being knocked about emotionally by The Darkest Child at the moment and need something a bit softer after this!"

It's a very powerful book and I am glad to have read it. I find the description somewhat misleading, as the stories within the main story, the more magical ones, are a relatively small part of the book, with the most part following various family members during the last days of Japanese occupation, just before the Americans took over. I feel like I've learned a lot of things I did not know about the Philippines and its people.

Forgot to post a link to my review on this discussion. I'm SO glad I read this Jalilah, I can't thank you enough for giving me the push as well as helping me prepare mentally for a tough read. What a great, unique book = )
review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...