The Kite of Stars by Dean Francis Alfar

I have been wanting to read Dean Francis Alfar ever since I heard about him! To be honest, I wanted to read How to Traverse Terra Incognita but the library only had The Kite of Stars. It’s a really solid collection of short stories, though, so I have no regrets!

There are 18 stories in this collection, and while I didn’t understand a few of these, I liked a lot of what I read. Some of my favourites where:

- L’Aquilone du Estrellas (The Kite of Stars): the titular story about the lengths people go to for love, which had a very sad twist ending.

- Saturdays with Fray Villalobos: a story about a priest who loves food (perhaps a bit too much), which also touches on the subject on religions.

- The Maiden and the Crocodile: Written in the style of a local legend but with the ending first. But it’s only when you get to the start that you understand the ending.

- How Rosang Taba Won a Race: a very fun story about getting the better of the colonial masters. Lots of Tagalog in this one, which is why I brought the book to Jo-Jie Jie for help. (Although you can get the gist of the story without knowing Tagalog)

- An Excerpt from Princes of the Sultanate: I like this mainly for the form because it tells a story through footnotes (and in the medium of a short story too)

What I like about these stories is how inventive they are. They all have twists in them or are a new form of a familiar topic. If you’re in the mood for short stories, you’ll probably find one to suit you here.