Rating: 
Summary: Great premise -disappointing writing
Review: I had great hopes for this book, but was disappointed enought that I didn't read the last third narrator. I'm not familiar with the history behind the story, but good historical fiction will put it all in perspective - this didn't. I did not like the first person narrator; at times the writing seemed very simplistic and just "too direct" as if the writer was telling me exactly what I was to be feeling. I can't comment on the accuracy of the language or customs, but did find the many foreign phrases troublesome. Overall, I think this could have been a really good story, but it just didn't deliver.
Rating: 
Summary: The book that touches the Filipino soul
Review: I have always searched for a book that would tell about the soul of the Philippines. What does it feel to be colonized, to be downtrodden, to be full of greatness? That is the story of the Philippines and all of its myriad people. "When elephants dance" is a breakthrough book. It tells not only a great story but also touches the Filipino soul. For those Filipino-Americans searching what it means to be a Filipino, read this book and look into the past of your ancestors. Both good and bad, it is all here. Cowardice and bravery, sadness and happiness, and ambivalence and emotion are brought together like pinakbet in a clay pot. Buy the book and enjoy it. TatangREtong
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: I just got through with reading this book. I was sad to see it end, but all good things come to a finale; however, i'm glad that I can always read this book over, and over again. The writing is poetic and has a hypnotic rhythm that flows throughout it. The mythical tales that intertwine with certain characters' experiences, gives the reader a break from the terror that wishes to crush the hopeful prisoners of war. This book is written with emotion: it can make one laugh, it can make one angry, and it can also make one cry. This book has reminded me of where I come from, what my family and the people of the Philippines had to experience during WWII...and it has reminded me to be proud of my heritage, and to embrace my culture.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I thought...and fabulous!
Review: I kept hearing that this book was a blend of magical realism and painful reality. It is...I guess. It's a story of the last days of WWII in the Philippine Islands, during the Japanese occupation. The present-time narrative alternates between the points of view of three young people, and now and then it shifts to a story of the past, told by one of the older people, that tends to contain elements of the magical or supernatural, and is intended to convey a lesson for the young people in the present. This plot style has the potential to disintegrate into chaos, by Holthe skillfully keeps it moving with gorgeous prose and seemless blending of past and present tales. Her portrait of a nation caught between the hammer and anvil of two powerful opposing armies, of a people struggling to salvage identity and honor from the blood and ashes of war, is beautifully written and heartbreaking. This is REAL literature.
Rating:
Summary: A spectacular piece of fiction!!!
Review: I read this book in three days. I was completely engulfed by the story. Holthe's blend of island mythology, history, and fictional accounts of civilian suffering during WWII Philippines is exceptional. Her confluence of styles would prove disastrous for many writers, but she pulls it off perfectly. The novel unfolds as an emotional powerhouse. As our country struggles forth from September 11th Holthe's book is an important reminder of the tremendous price civilians pay for the global chess games played wantonly by 'elephant' governments.
Rating:
Summary: A spectacular piece of fiction!!!
Review: I read this book in three days. IT'S THAT GOOD. Holthe's blend of island mythology, history, and fictional accounts of civilian suffering during WWII Philippines is amazing; this confluence of styles would prove disastrous for many writers, but she pulls it off perfectly. This book made me smile, this book made me cry. As our country struggles forth from September 11th Holthe's book is an important reminder of the tremendous price civilians pay for the global chess games played wantonly by "Elephant" governments. I highly recommend When the Elephants Dance!
Rating:
Summary: This book transports you to WWII Philippines
Review: I read this book last summer, and could not put it down. It reminded me of one of my favorite books, Love in the Time of Cholera. I encourage Filipino-americans to read this book and learn more about life in the Philippines during that time...
Rating:
Summary: I could put it down...
Review: I really wanted to like this book. The topic was fascinating to me. It seemed like such an interesting premise. I was sorely disappointed. Sophmoric at best relying upon shock value to attempt at keeping you hooked. This book is graphically violent. They don't warn you about that on the cover. If you aren't a fan of war films, I would say, this probably isn't the book for you. I am ten pages from the end and can't even force myself to pick it up to finish it. What finally pushed me over the edge was how one of the main characters escapes from a heavily guarded warehouse where all the other prisoners are being beheaded and dropped into a pit and burned, but he is able to get away because a lone guard sees that he is lame and decides to rape him so he takes him out back and the main character fights him and runs away to end up in another warehouse that his family is trapped in... Horrifying. Except that it happened to about twelve other characters already. When the story goes into the flashbacks and the characters tell their stories and legends, this book is beautiful and captivating. I could have spent three hundred pages enraptured in these stories. But the author keeps going back to the war and it is just shock shock shock to the point of absurdity. The number of ridiculous escapes and the way everything is twisted to try and bring us, as readers, to the height of the traaaagedy. I know this is a fictional book. But the author pushes the limits of reality so that what could have been very powerful just resulted in me rolling my eyes and muttering to myself, "Great. Another rape. And yet SOMEHOW the character escapes from their heavily guarded prison past soldiers with machine guns who are going to mow them down on the spot except the main character is able to pass as an enemy soldier due to their tricky cunning. AGAIN."
Rating:
Summary: I could put it down...
Review: I really wanted to like this book. The topic was fascinating to me. It seemed like such an interesting premise. I was sorely disappointed. Sophmoric at best relying upon shock value to attempt at keeping you hooked. This book is graphically violent. They don't warn you about that on the cover. If you aren't a fan of war films, I would say, this probably isn't the book for you. I am ten pages from the end and can't even force myself to pick it up to finish it. What finally pushed me over the edge was how one of the main characters escapes from a heavily guarded warehouse where all the other prisoners are being beheaded and dropped into a pit and burned, but he is able to get away because a lone guard sees that he is lame and decides to rape him so he takes him out back and the main character fights him and runs away to end up in another warehouse that his family is trapped in... Horrifying. Except that it happened to about twelve other characters already. When the story goes into the flashbacks and the characters tell their stories and legends, this book is beautiful and captivating. I could have spent three hundred pages enraptured in these stories. But the author keeps going back to the war and it is just shock shock shock to the point of absurdity. The number of ridiculous escapes and the way everything is twisted to try and bring us, as readers, to the height of the traaaagedy. I know this is a fictional book. But the author pushes the limits of reality so that what could have been very powerful just resulted in me rolling my eyes and muttering to myself, "Great. Another rape. And yet SOMEHOW the character escapes from their heavily guarded prison past soldiers with machine guns who are going to mow them down on the spot except the main character is able to pass as an enemy soldier due to their tricky cunning. AGAIN."
Rating: 
Summary: Great writing and captured a great amount of emotion
Review: I thought that this book captured a lot of the Filipino culture of it. My parents were both born in the Phillipines and I could see a lot of them in the people of this book. My parents NEVER talk about the experiences that my family had during this time in history. I have heard whispering of stories and I can see now why they are things that they never talked about. A descriptive and emotional book, well-written and engrossing.
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