Song of the Mango and Other New Myths - Vida Cruz-Borja - ★★★.½

AUTHOR: Vida Cruz-Borja

GENRE: Mythological Anthology.

RATING: 3.6 Stars.

In a Nutshell: This anthology contains some gems, and there’s no doubt that the author has a wild imagination. As an OwnVoices work, this offers an interesting glimpse of mythical characters from the Philippines.

This indie collection of fifteen stories contains elements and/or characters from Filipino myths but in a contemporary setting, thus lending the book an exotic charm and a novelty.

Several things made me opt for this book, but the strongest two reasons were that stunning cover (Kudos to the cover art illustrator!) and the fact that this was a Filipino work using Filipino mythical creatures! The title was also attractive, especially the term ‘new myths’. The author explains the reason for that term in her introductory note, saying, “…the concept of having a just equitable world, which is the theme of the stories, is nothing but a modern myth.” Quite true!

The stories are taken from a decade’s writing. The page count of 400+ pages should tell you that the stories are not on the shorter side, and the writing style also doesn’t make them quick reads. However, where the stories click is in their creativity and their characters.

The writing structure of the stories is mostly like a fable. But a couple of the tales are written as a newspaper report/interview, with the “journalist” noting down an interesting event and the lead-up to it. These were my favourites, not least because of the uniqueness of the structure. The author has a vivid writing touch, making the story’s world come alive with her words.

I have never read any Filipino fiction or mythology, so this book made me aware of several new (to me) mythical characters such as a diwata and a tikbalang. However, my lack of familiarity also served as an impediment, as the book did not go on to provide any kind of character detailing for these entities. There was also no glossary that could provide a brief insight about the characters. The Kindle dictionary was of no help, and honestly, I was feeling too lazy to pick up my phone to search every new character online. Simply put, a mythological character glossary would have worked wonders for my experience.

The book also contains one B&W illustration per story, with the drawings being sketched by varied illustrators. Some worked nicely for the story and represented a key moment well, others didn’t.

At the end of the book, there is a list of detailed trigger warnings provided separately for each story. Appreciate this effort! I skipped reading two of the stories because of the triggers mentioned, so my rating average won’t include those.

The afterword is written by the author’s creative writing teacher from fifteen years ago, and it was such a delight to read! The teacher also has writing aspirations, and it was quite sporting of her to write such an honest and heartfelt note for her student’s debut anthology.

Of the thirteen stories I read, five stories reached/crossed the four star mark. My favourites were ‘To Megan, with Half My Heart’, and ‘First Play For and By Tikbalang Triggers Uproar on Opening Night’, both having a novelty to their plot and structure.

Definitely recommended to fantasy and mythological retelling lovers, as long as you are prepared to research the mythical creatures to get a better visual image and understanding of the stories.

3.6 stars, based on the average of my ratings for the stories I read.

My thanks to author Vida Cruz-Borja and BookSirens for the DRC of “Song of the Mango and Other New Myths”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The book is also available on Kindle Unlimited.

For some reason, Amazon has marked this as a children’s book, with the suggested reading age range being 10-18 years. I disagree. The themes and the dark content in some of the tales make it an appropriate read for adults, young adults included.