Tetong in the Land of the Unknown - Softcover

Reyna, Ludvimin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1479205699 ISBN 13: 9781479205691

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012

Synopsis

This is the story of a young man’s passage to manhood as he and his two brothers struggle to save their father from the curse of an evil sorcerer. Skeptical, arrogant and even insolent at first, the boy quickly learns that there are creatures and magic far beyond his imagination or even comprehension. His quest for the magic takes him from one end of the northern part of the Philippines to the other and into dimensions far beyond. Written for children, this novel is a fantasy romp for kids of all ages and in the best tradition of Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

In this lush, kaleidoscopic children’s fantasy, a plucky Filipino lad embarks on a magical mystery tour in search of a talisman that can save his father’s life. Twelve-year-old Tetong rolls his eyes at the superstitious beliefs held by people in his Filipino village, but that skepticism is soon demolished by the mind-blowing adventures he experiences in this frenetic yarn. When his father contracts a mysterious ailment that baffles local healers, Tetong sets off in search of a cure and has encounters with strange and supernatural beings. He makes friends with an irascible witch and a creek monster (whom he returns to human form), rescues an injured eagle, liberates roosters from cruel bondage and frees horses from impending slaughter. His good-heartedness wins him valuable allies, an invisibility hat, a magic green orb and the power to fly, but it also incurs the wrath of a sorcerer known as the Man In Black, whom Tetong will have to fight in order to find a magic bird and lift the curse on the Land of the Unknown. Reyna tells Tetong’s story in the classic style of a fairy tale: Wondrous happenings proceed matter-of-factly; developments unfold by arbitrary incantatory rules; animals talk; and a deep moral reciprocity shapes a world in which favors are always repaid. Her prose is straightforward and brisk, her lavish imagery at times almost psychedelic (“[S]mall drops of purple light changed to orange and huge rolling eyeballs seemed to stare at him”) and her characters piquant. Along the way, she includes descriptive passages about Filipino village life, illustrated with engaging sketches. The narrative teems with so much action and spectacle that it sometimes loses the main story thread amid the whirl, but young readers will find plenty of diverting romps to hold their attention. A busy, imaginative, beguiling fairy tale.

Review:

The story is riveting. The presence of magic throughout the story is enchanting and hugely entertaining. The author’s imagination soars, and she takes the reader along for a wild, wonderful ride. This is magic realism in the best tradition of authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez.”
— James Thayer
Author of White Star and Terminal Event

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1479205699
• ISBN 13: 9781479205691
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 260
• Editor: Johnson Karen
• Illustrator: Zapata Olivia