BONE TALK

Narrator Ramón de Ocampo takes listeners on a journey to a mountain village in the Philippines at the end of the nineteenth century. Samkad is thrilled when he is chosen by the Bontoc tribe ancients for the rite of passage to become a man, but circumstances intervene as his remote village is thrust unwillingly into the Philippine-American war. Between their local rivals, the Mangili tribe, and the American soldiers with their guns, Samkad and his father are unsure who their true enemies are. Many listeners will be unfamiliar with this period in history and the rich heritage of the native Philippine people, but de Ocampo makes Samkad's first-person point of view sound vibrant and compelling. De Ocampo engages listeners' empathy for Samkad and his rapidly changing world. S.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2020]