Bone Talk

Story

Samkud is growing up in the mountain of the Philippines in around 1899. He is a member of the Bontok tribe and he has never met anyone from outside his tribe. Everything changes when a new boy arrives in the village with news of people called Americans who are coming to ‘civilise’ them.
Why we chose it

A beautifully written story set in the Philippines at the time of the 1899 American invasion, told by a young boy growing up in a remote tribe who encounters the outside world for the first time. Most stories from this time are told in the voice of the invaders, tourists or anthropologists. Candy Gourlay takes us into the world of the Bontok tribe and shows us their world through their eyes.
First published

2018, David Fickling Books