The Human Zoo
Ratings2
Average rating3
15
Ratings2
Average rating3
A blistering new novel that follows a Filipino American journalist’s return to dictatorship-ruled Manila to research her book on tribes from a “cracklingly original” (Elle) and “singular” (New York Times Book Review) author, PEN Faulkner award-winner, Sabina Murray. Filipino-American Christina “Ting” Klein has just travelled from New York to Manila, both to escape her imminent divorce, and to begin research for a biography of Timicheg, an indigenous Filipino brought to America at the start of 20th century to be exhibited as part of a "human zoo." It has been a year since Ting’s last visit, and one year since Procopio “Copo” Gumboc swept the elections in an upset and took power as president. Arriving unannounced at her aging Aunt’s aristocratic home, Ting quickly falls into upper class Manila life—family gatherings at her cousin’s compound; spending time with her best friend Inchoy, a gay socialist professor of philosophy; and a flirtation with her ex-boyfriend Chet, a wealthy businessman with questionable ties to the regime. All the while, family duty dictates that Ting be responsible for Laird, a cousin’s fiancé, who has come from the States to rediscover his roots. As days pass, Ting witnesses modern Filipino society languishing under Gumboc’s terrifying reign. To make her way, she must balance the aristocratic traditions of her extended family, seemingly at odds with both situation and circumstance, as well temper her stance towards a regime her loved ones are struggling to survive. Yet Ting cannot extricate herself from the increasingly repressive regime, and soon finds herself personally confronted by the horrifying realities of Gumboc’s power. At once a propulsive look at contemporary Filipino politics and the history that impacted the country, The Human Zoo is a thrilling and provocative story from one of our most celebrated and important writers of literary fiction.
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The framing device of this novel is that a writer, whose mother is from the Philippines and who had spent many years of her childhood there, is trying to write a book about natives who became part of human zoos while she deals with the realities of the leadership of a Duterte-type figure. But I found the protagonist too passive of a figure to really get invested in, which meant the book didn't quite work since it's much more about her relationships than anything else.
I've been to a government building thrice within two weeks, in which I have waited a total of seven hours. In those seven hours, I read this book. I am starting with this information since I feel it gives a bit of context to my review. I don't usually read books like this and this was shelved in my “maybe want to read” pile. I checked it out after seeing it was available since I'm currently waiting on hopes for three books I want to read. I wasn't sure if I was really going to read it, though. I would meander through the first couple of pages to see what was going on before I drifted off.
And then I was stuck waiting. With this particular building stuck in the middle of dead spot, so no WiFi. All I had was this book that has already been downloaded offline.
It's hard for me to make an objective review since this book just isn't really what I typically check out. I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone, and this sounded pretty interesting. A sort of “slice-of-life” book about a woman moving to the Philippines after an impending divorce and staying with her great aunt, who lives and aristocratic lifestyle. There is an undercurrent story of the main character, Christina (often called Ting) is trying to finish a book centered around the subject of an indigenous chef and his people who were taken in order to be part of a touring “human zoo.” Both of these things are the small bits of Ting's life that makes up the whole of her experience. The story is really an exploration of Filipino culture under a harsh presidential regime as seen through Ting's daily life; through her relationships, through the setting, and through Filipino history.
There's not really a driving plot force, which isn't what I'm used to. This is a heavily character-driven book, where we experience life alongside Ting. I didn't find it overly boring, though, like I do sometimes with these kinds of books. There were a couple of places where I began to skim, but never for too long. I wasn't skipping entire chapters or anything like that. My favorite parts of the book were the descriptions of the setting and the food. It really did feel like an authentic showing of Filipino culture. The passage I still remember in this book is the one about the flooded roads, where women took off their sandels in order to wade through the water. It just really stuck out to me, that imagery.
I find it hard to fault the book for the things I didn't like since a lot of it was really down to my own personal tastes. I do find the writing quirk of “characters have a conversation where neither really responds to the other and they just keep saying random, unrelated things” to be annoying regardless of genre. There were a lot of history exposition dumps, but I actually found them interesting to read so I didn't mind, but I do wonder if part of the motivation of writing this book was a chance for the author to flex their research that they've done rather then weave it seamlessly with the story.
My biggest complaint is really the ending. No spoilers, but the book really ramped up in the very last section and went into hyperdrive before ending extremely abruptly. It was one of those endings that gave me whiplash for how hard and fast it went. I really don't get the reasoning behind that. I suppose it was meant to be some kind of slow burn, which in retrospect, I can see and think wasn't too ineffective, but my least favorite endings are the abrupt ones.
That's pretty much all of my thoughts. Interesting book and even though it's different from what I usually read, I'm glad I took a chance and did. It was harsh, sometimes bleak, but the camaraderie of friends and family managed to shine through even the darkest of moments. That's an important lesson to take away.
