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The big news on the home front is that Candy Gourlay (blog) has launched her debut Young Adult speculative fiction book Tall Story here in the Philippines. The book was released last May in the United Kingdom, and will be released in the United States in early 2011 (both editions published by David Fickling Books). Here's the product description, taken from the book's Amazon UK page:
"Be careful what you wish for... Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long lost half brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London, where he belongs. Then Andi's biggest wish comes true and she's minutes away from becoming someone's little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he'll turn out to be tall and just as mad as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he's tall all right. But he's not just tall ...he's a GIANT. In a novel packed with humour and quirkiness, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures."
You can also view the book trailer, which I found courtesy of a post at the NEST site. (Gourlay visited the school early this year)
And here's a cute video that Gourlay uploaded to announce the fact that Tall Story had been acquired for publication:
If you'd like to win a signed copy of the Philippine edition of the book, Tarie Sabido is holding a contest. She also mentiond that the Philippine edition (published by Ramón C. Sunico) is special in that it is illustrated, and also includes a glossary, notes, and discussion guides. Tarie also interviewed Gourlay last year, where they spoke about the book's path to publication, and its relation to the legend of Bernardo Carpio: "… I read everything I could find about giants, all the folklore and all the legends. This brought me to Bernardo Carpio, the Filipino legendary giant. I read all the different versions of the Bernardo Carpio story and realized that through the years it had been adapted by storytellers to suit the times - Bernardo Carpio was a metaphor for the resistance against Spain, he was an explanation for a lot of geology in the Montalban area, and he was even a Christ metaphor in the early 1900s. Nick Joaquin wrote a wonderful time travel story featuring Bernardo Carpio in Pop Stories for Groovy Kids, retellings of Filipino stories published in the 80s. That decided me - I was going to tell my own version of Bernardo Carpio and other Filipino folk tales…"
You can also read a post on the book by Chachic, who was at yesterday's launch at Powerbooks Megamall (Tarie also has pictures in her post on the launch), where she mentions that the book is available at Powerbooks and National Bookstore branches for the low price of P275. We'll try to get a review in as soon as possible, but the book has been very well received in the United Kingdom, with positive reviews from the Times and the Sunday Times, amongst other publications, listed on the reviews section of the book's site. Here's a sample of what people are saying:
- Amanda Craig, The Times Saturday Review: "Bernardo... is one of the most likeable teenage boys in fiction for some time... The possibility of the supernatural woven into a life of struggle makes this faintly reminiscent of Louis Sachar's Holes though the plot is less complex. Gourlay is good at describing the comedy of family life and the underlying tragedy of life in a poor country; readers who are in sport will enjoy the drama of Andi's great match against a rival basketball team. This is a lovely book, as colourful, cheerful and original as its cover
- Bookseller: "…combines wry humour and profound comment on cultural identity. It is an astute coming-of-age novel. There is an assured quality to the writing which wholly envelops readers in this convincing, witty and poignant story about difference, assimilation and family dynamics."
- Portrait of a Woman: "This is one of the sweetest and most refreshing books I've read this year. It is a very sweet story, extremely well written and deeply enjoyable! … There are also some serious issues developed in the plot, about working immigrants in the UK not being able to bring their children in the country or how nobody really cares about earthquakes on the other side of the world."
And from the books' Amazon UK Page:
- Addy Farmer: " A deft and beautiful piece of storytelling."
- L.F. Lawlor: " This is a heartwarming, funny story of culture clashes and family love… Candy Gourlay has created a wonderful story, told in alternating first-person sections which vividly create two worlds. It is hard to believe this is her first novel - she is an author to watch."
- Jeannie Waudby: "…It's sad and funny, and it has a slam-dunk ending. This is one of those books to keep on your shelf, to read again when your spirits need lifting."
Tall Story is available at Powerbooks and National Bookstore branches for P275.
[Image source: Candy Gourlay's website. Copyright holder/s maintain appropriate rights.]
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