Review of Shadows of the Living Mountain
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Review of Shadows of the Living Mountain
In this book, two sisters are living alike, yet unalike lives because of someone else’s intentional mistake; an imperfectly perfect single mother has a shocking dark light inside her; two young lovers hide their love because of the discriminating society; a set of fraternal twins has to face strange circumstances because of a queer medical condition and an even queerer mother, and so on. There are so many people with so many stories, yet they all have one thing in common—the land of the living mountain. These hauntingly beautiful stories take place in faraway places like New York, Madrid, Saudi Arabia, Australia, etc. Yet, the land of the living mountain remains in the center stage. If you want to know more about this magically realistic place which is a homeland of some amazing stories, you will have to read the Shadows of the Living Mountain by Aida Morden.
This historical fiction contains six stories of varying lengths: short stories, novella, and novelettes. The stories are filled with geographical, political, cultural, societal, and historical details about the Philippines. The term ‘living mountain’ refers to the active volcanic mountains present in the Philippines. The author interweaves the suffering caused by natural calamities like typhoons, volcanos, and floods to everyday issues like discrimination, jealousy, grief, health issues, poverty, and politics.
The positives of this book are unending. The author has mastered the art of “show, don’t tell.” I was halfway through the book before it hit me that I was not only reading some realistic fiction, but I was reading an allegory of something far more important. The author’s subtlety in combining fact and fiction was amazing. For example, see this sentence from the book- “for in the land born of fire, white stones are still forced to hide.” Such beautiful words, right? But in reality, this sentence was a silent cry about social discrimination. The writing was whimsical, the characters were real, the stories were relatable yet fantastical, and most importantly, the geographical settings were beautiful.
This book is not a one-time read. So, I plan to read this book numerous times in the future to uncover all the subtle details hidden inside the beautiful prose. This is a type of book that gets better by rereading. Yet, I will rate this book 3 out of 4 stars with a heavy heart. The more than ten minor errors I found in the book stopped me from giving a perfect rating. The errors were unnoticeable, yet I think another round of thorough professional editing will improve this book’s worth in the long run. Also, a glossary for the Filipino words would have been helpful.
I like that this book educates readers while entertaining them. Don’t get me wrong! I am not saying I learned everything about the Philippines just by reading this one book. What I am saying is, I am more familiar with the country now than I was before. I looked up some real geographical locations from the stories; they were truly breathtaking. More than the educational value, I enjoyed the author’s writing style.
This book’s positives can also be seen as negatives depending on your preference. If you dislike books with unspoken thoughts, irresolute endings, or stories that continue even after they end, you will not like this book. But if you believe that “stories are never finished” like Carl David’s grandfather, this book will be perfect for you. And, if you are a lover of history, poetic writing, short stories, and some mysticism, then go ahead and pick this book. I will also recommend this book to readers who enjoy introspective books. Happy reading!
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Shadows of the Living Mountain
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