“Delightful” is perhaps a weird adjective to use when describing a collection of horror stories, but Kenneth Yu’s book is truly a joy to read, in a genre-expanding work redefining the possibilities of this reader’s Halloween treat.

Mouths to Speak, Voices to Sing is a collection of fourteen short stories and a one-act play, and while all feature fantasy/horror elements, each one is full of optimism and light, a rare find in the horror genre. Yu has a gift for distinctive dialogue in the service of characterization, and it makes leafing through the stories so effortlessly fun. This is a book both parents and teens can read at night, without the literary jump scares and the overwhelming gore. And each story holds a lesson for facing the real world.

The ingredients for horror are indeed present. The expected ghosts mingle with possessed porcelain, and yet the stories are suffused with tenderness and cheer. Yu’s stories deliver that familiar frisson associated with other horror writers, but also make one think and take heart. He seems to say, ‘This is a really scary problem in the real world. Now let’s go and do something about this, together.’

The book takes its title from Mouths to Speak, Voices to Listen, a tale of obsession with china (the breakable kind). Yu’s protagonist starts to collect ancient Chinese vases ever since he hears one sing to him from a bank lobby. But what happens when he comes across a particular vase in a museum, that does not sing?

Time For Rest is this reader’s favorite. I suspect it refers to Xavier School, and as with any esteemed institution with venerable and loving Jesuits, there are urban legends of mentors who continue to watch over their charges from even beyond the grave. Incredibly moving despite the nostalgia and sentimentality, it includes advice well worth repeating: “You each have a mission in life! Faces forward, keep moving forward!” One senses that this is a tribute, as love and respect practically overflow from the pages.

Perhaps the darkest story is Controller 13, which features a human blend/bred with a super computer, used for nefarious purposes by a mercenary who spies on people for greater government control. We have a very realistic portrayal of how our privacy is raped by profit, how our very minds and hearts are captured and twisted by algorithms and social media giants for hire, even as we speak. Reading it on the eve of a high-stakes US presidential election made it hit particularly hard.

Two stories and a prose-poem were about the very real problems of global warming / climate change. The Sparrows of Climaco Avenue feature birds doomed to dive into a corpse-filled, endless lake. Meanwhile, A Sampaguita Breeze is a more fully fleshed out vision of Manila after an apocalyptic flood. In such a world, a girl will dare anything to catch the scent of a flower so ubiquitous that we take it for granted. Continuing the theme, Storm Song is a poem written in prose form, chilling in the aftermath of Bagyong Kristine to read.

Other memorable stories include Cherry Clubbing, a particularly distasteful conversation between two Caucasian tourists in Manila, highlighting the inhumane, rapacious appetites of some men that no monster, real or imagined, can ever compare with. A Boy and His Bat poses a moral dilemma: if you saw someone else’s child act out in a particularly brutal and mean manner, should you speak up about it?

The collection ends with Exit Plan, a short play with a similar theme to the first story in the book (House 1.0). Both feature benevolent A.I. in charge of human homes. Exit Plan‘s house computer desperately tries to get its owner out of the building, making the ultimate sacrifice to do so.

For this reader, the best time to enjoy this book is with the accompanying golden tendrils of the morn. It is a radiantly hopeful book. Instead of focusing on what’s dark and dreary in the world, Yu uses the shadow to emphasize the light. The ending of Storm Song says it all: “She is the dawn. The dawn breaks over the city. She lights the day with all that it could be.” Yu might as well have written it to describe his terrific collection, one that illuminates and educates.

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The reader purchased Kenneth Yu’s book Mouths to Speak, Voices to Sing from National Bookstore for P845. It is also available in Fully Booked for P1,032.00.

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ABOUT THE REVIEWER:

Gabi Francisco is a classically trained soprano who now performs in the English / Music / Drama classroom. On weekends she soaks in as much art and literature as she can, so she can pass her love for the arts on to her students. She passionately believes in the transformative role of arts education in nation-building. (IG: teacher.gabi.reads )