Stories of the Islands by Clar Angkasa (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Stories of the Islands by Clar Angkasa April Spisak Angkasa, Clar Stories of the Islands; written and illus. by Clar Angkasa. Holiday House, 2023 [176p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780823449781 $22.99 Paper ed. ISBN 9780823455737 $14.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780823457281 $11.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-7 Three Indonesian folktales each get a chapter in this graphic novel that focuses on and celebrates female characters. In an author's note, Angkasa describes how these stories were familiar parts of her childhood but also expresses her dismay at their representation of girls and women. This collection is her response to that, and readers can compare her reinterpretations with the brief, traditional versions of the stories that are part of the backmatter. While the stories are well-told with a lyrical brevity that is reminiscent of oral retellings of folktales, Angkasa's illustrations are the most memorable element. Though they share a jeweled vibrancy, each story [End Page 89] has a different color palette, and the drawings tell much of the stories through the choices in panel size, positioning of the characters within them, and the facial expressions and posture of the protagonists. In "Keong Mas" (Golden Snail), for example, an older princess must face her own choices after her younger sister has her transformed into a snail. The snail is small on the page and unable to speak but still has significant presence: it is surprisingly easy to recognize the princess' haughty sense of privilege in the snail's eye stalks that used to be her raised eyebrow and crossed arms of her human self. This inspiring trio of stories encourages readers to look with a mindful eye at folk or fairy tales that they may have heard for years to see whose story is actually being told and ponder what the tale would look like from an entirely different perspective. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois