Waking the Dead and Other Stories by Yvette Tan

Waking the Dead and Other Stories Reviews

• 
  Maxine

  Waking the Dead and Other Stories is a collection of short fiction stories written by Yvette Tan. It almost sounds ridiculous how this is my first book of Ms. Yvette, when I worked next to her back when I was still with Manila Bulletin where she serves as its Agriculture Magazine online managing editor.
  
  Her writing style is a breath of fresh air in Philippine literature. Tan’s stories are simple, yet complex – oftentimes based on a basic context, it utterly and weirdly surprises by pushing the boundaries of our imagination.
  
  Each piece merges Philippine folklore and urban legends, like the tikbalang’s (a huge and hairy creature that smokes tobacco on top of a tree) and manananggals (vampires who separate their lower bodies from its upper to fly), with real life stories.
  
  “Kulog,” the story about a kapre who had a change of heart to care for a battered child, is tough to read but is my favorite. It is in fact the piece that won Tan her Palanca award.
  
  Tan also triggers and unearths our deepest secrets – from failed romances, missed goodbyes, and the what-ifs – turning forgotten memories into vivid recollections.
  
  Here, “Daddy” is certainly a winner. Tan wrote about how she, as the protagonist, received calls from her late father. It was an emotional piece for me, given how I also experienced such.
  
  Tan did not shy away from the unimaginable and restricted. “The Bridge” is about a pretty lady with bouffant hair (sounds like a certain former first lady) who chose to sacrifice a child to keep her beauty and sanity, while “Delivering the Goods” shows drug trafficking in the worst possible way. The Black Mirror-esque “Boss, ex?” is also a work of fiction to die for.
  
  Tan's exploration of various characters is top-notch, each offering a different perspective. Its horror, romance, drama, mystery, and everything in between – all 100% and no half-baked.
  
  Truly a heartstopper book to honor and watch out for, and surely above and beyond any collection of short fiction stories I've read so far.
• 
  Jam

  
  
  Stories of Philippine mythological creatures, urban legends and folklore hold a dear place in my heart as they were the only form of entertainment in my childhood town where we consistently had no power on Saturdays from 7am to 7pm.
  
  
  
  
  We’d be scared. But then we’d craved for stories of tikbalang, aswangs, nuno sa punso, etc. So to say I love these books is an understatement. It brings me nostalgia and fond memories.
  
  
  
  Each of these stories are carefully weaved bringing in a sense of familiarity as we remember how are ates and kuyas told us a variation of these stories when we were kids. The stories may seem familiar but each is also a breath of fresh air.
  
  
  My favorite story is titled “Kulog”. It’s about a kapre who had a change of heart to save a young girl.