Christina "Tine" Klein, originally from the Philippines, lives in the US. She is presently going through a divorce and wants some space to think and get away from the drama. She decides to write about the government of the Philippines focusing on one of their leaders and goes back to her homeland. Her family is upper class so they enjoy some privileges. While there, she reconnects with one of her best friends who is a professor and an
old flame who is married and may be involved with some shady dealings. She also gets caught up with an American who is about to marry her cousin. Her research is going nowhere and she gets involved with trying to find out about the murder of her friend's lover, the involvement of her ex-boyfriend's in shady dealings, the disappearance of the American and of course, with the family dynamics..She has a lot going on and her husband keeps contacting her about the divorce.
A good look into the dealings of another country and the corruption that goes on.

The Human Zoo is the title and topic of the novel within a novel. Our protagonist, Ting, a successful Filipino-American author returns to Manila on the cusp of a divorce to visit with family and friends, reconnect with herself, and work on a novel surrounding the early 20th century Coney Island exhibition of the Bontoc tribe.

Ting has her hands full on the professional front stemming from her editor’s demand for a first draft while suffering from a serious lack of motivation, creativity, and source material; and on a personal level dealing with the stress from her philandering husband who does not want a divorce. Understanding a need for a reprieve, I still found her to a bit too distracted and aloof -- she spends a considerable amount of time lunching with her professional colleagues, connecting with old college friends, and allowing herself to be seduced by an old (but now married) boyfriend/lover. However, it is within these casual exchanges, the reader glimpses the impact on the Filipino people from the controversial political policies and stifling regime, globalization, and legacy of colonialism and fall-out of war(s) resulting in the current class stratum - the nouveau riche, the ‘old guard,’ the intelligentsia, etc. - and the socio-economic divisions and limitations that affect the masses.

Despite a very dramatic and rushed ending and I enjoyed learning aspects of Filipino history, culture, and cuisine which included a glimpse at the breadth of political ideologies and the depth of (police/government) corruption (reminiscent of the Duterte presidency), the strength of familial bonds and reverence of traditions.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to provide an honest review.

This was a page turner from the start. The author captured the ties to two places that makes some feel they truly belong nowhere. I enjoyed reading about the Philippines’ political issues and cultural issues related to visiting extended family. I recommend this to anyone interested in developing countries, life as an immigrant American and/or redefining oneself at midlife.

The story follows the main character, who, on the cusp of divorce visits her extended family in the Philippines. She seeks to write a book but lacks focus. She researches a European colonist who captured native Filipinos from a remote tribe to parade around the west as part of the Human Zoo. As the main character digs into her research, she encounters the heavily stratified Filipino society and political corruption in the modern day Philippines.

A fascinating story with well developed characters and ties to current events made me enjoy this one thoroughly.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Human Zoo is a surprising novel, one that I feel is needed to shine a spotlight on the current state of the country’s broken political system. The main character, Ting, is researching and writing about Timicheg and the Igorot people who were brought to the United States as part of a human zoo. The Philippines’ long and horrendous history of colonization provides context for Ting’s story in present-day New Manila. I loved this book because it was both charming and uncomfortably real, many of the characters felt like I was reading about my actual friends and family.

I had wondered about the choice of the narrator with Ting, but by the end, I realized that it couldn’t be anyone else. Ting is a likable yet frustrating character, she passionately condemns the horrible injustices taking place because of the current war on drugs, yet is apathetic toward the politics that run the country. She comes from a family of privileged elite, where she can comfortably float from one family event to the next, not caring about responsibilities after the implosion of her marriage. Her place of privilege is what allows her to be apathetic and even judgmental toward the people around her, including Filipino Americans despite being one herself. She is the perfect representation of the rich socialite families that hold immense power yet do nothing beyond living a life of luxury, comfortably ignoring the glaring issues that continue to plague the Philippines.

The Human Zoo is a powerful condemnation of the corruption found in the upper levels of Philippine society, directly confronting the inaction of the privileged elite and the ever-increasing disparity of wealth. It is a timely novel that dares to ask complex questions about Duterte’s current tenure as president beyond his notorious drug war.

I greatly enjoyed this novel, thanks so much for the copy. It is very well-written, the pace is good, the plot is exciting and eventful but I especially loved the atmosphere and the fact it is set in the Philippines. All I knew of the Philippines was its strange Spanish-American colonial history and its authoritarian leader. But this book teaches a lot about contemporary society, daily life, class, food and the apparently horrible traffic.

The story is told by a 49-year old half-American, half-Filipino woman called Ting, who comes back to her very rich family in Manila after separating from her American husband. I liked her very much. She is a very open yet passive and somewhat ironic character and she sounded so real to me that I often wondered if there were autobiographical elements.

4,5

Sadly, it did not work for me. I'm not the target audience, I guess. It's obviously a take on the Duterte/Marcos regime. We appreciate the effort, sure. But there's just nothing new this book offers to us, mainland Filipino readers. Reminds me of The Patron Saint of Nothing travesty.

Writing: 4/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot: 4/5
An unusual (and engaging) book — the narrative felt so real I had to remind myself it was fiction, not memoir.

Filipino-American writer Christina Klein (Ting) travels back to the Philippines — ostensibly to write a book about an episode in Filipino history featuring a headhunter tribe’s role in Coney Island’s “human zoo.” A short year after the election of a dictatorial leader, Ting experiences the new Manila superimposed on the remembered culture and practices of her youth, which in turn are layered on stories and experiences from a more distant past as told through her historical research and the stories of her many elderly Titas and Titos.

The writing is fluid and provides fascinating linkages over time and class — her interactions span people with varied backgrounds, living conditions, and political opinions, from her aristocratic family to earnest socialists to those in the current circles of power. The dialog perfectly distills different perspectives and her ongoing reflection gives us insight into her personal journey to understand and evolve her sense of morality in a situation where nothing at all is perfectly clear. It’s masterfully done, IMHO.

As an aside, I learned a lot about Philippine history, although it is a backdrop to the story rather than a comprehensive presentation — 7,000 islands and 182 non mutually intelligible languages!


Some good quotes:

“Morality is the spine of fiction, even if it is most often twisted and deformed.” <— my fav

“They liked microphones and Spam. America’s streets and classrooms had instilled in many a sense of inferiority and in some a seething resentment at being brown in a white world. The Fil-Ams suffered from the shame of otherness, while Filipinos born and educated in the Philippines struggled with disdain for gauche American culture. In the States, we were all seen as being of the same tribe, but it was, at times, a flawed taxonomy.”

“This was to illustrate the colorful ways of the backward Filipinos and justify American’s occupation of the islands. Why exterminate all the brutes when you could display them and make a profit?”

“Inchoy watched me watching the children, and I felt my perspective slowly shift from mine to his: from my joy at the beauty of the children to Inchoy’s perception of forced child labor. He flicked his eyebrows at me to drive home the point.”

“Tita Rosa’s ambush resolved itself quickly: this was Manila and duty presented itself in clear, direct ways. Resignation was the backbone of survival here. Resistance only created anxiety.”

“The results of Gumboc’s presidency are that the poor live in fear for their lives and with reason. Gumboc’s army of assassins operates in a price per head economy and there is no due process. These people are murdered for money as part of a government-sanctioned program.”

I was really excited to read this book since very rarely do I find a book with Filipino representation. Also, the critique on a tyrannical government intrigued me since these are things that I am experiencing myself as a Filipino. The concept of the "human zoo" also intrigued me and was something that I was not familiar with. I really liked how much research the author put into this book in relation to the history of the Philippines. There are things I did not know beforehand and was interesting to read about. Additionally, the portrayal of Filipino culture was accurate and well-done. However, I found that the book was painfully slow-moving and there was really nothing I could find that would urge me to continue reading. I found reading about the everyday life of the main character in the Philippines quite boring and mundane. Regardless, I think fans of "The Patron Saints of Nothing" by Randy Ribay would enjoy this since they have similar themes and a similar execution.

This is well researched book and I loved reading about the Philippines. However, I found it difficult to get stuck in this book as it was slow moving and the ending left me a bit puzzled.

I really loved the writing style of this one. I did find it was slow moving in the beginning, but the descriptions of the Philippines and the food and Ting's family were detailed and beautifully written, so the story held my attention long before the plot took a turn to the more dramatic events.

It may have been slow moving in the beginning, but once it picks up, wow, do things ever start to happen.
First Bibo, then Laird, then Inchoy. Ting's escape for her life. Wow. A lot to process in a short span. The reasons for the four star rating other than five: that ending. Way too up in the air for me. I still have so many questions, and it ended basically five pages after the significant tragic event. I like my endings to be a little more wrapped up. Inchoy's death seemed needless to me; I know he just lost Bibo but why would he try and shoot the president. The other reason is I didn't really like Ting. You don't get to know anything about her personally, she is apathetic and seemingly blind to her surroundings, she causes stress and problems for the people around her and doesn't seem to process that she's doing it. Her lack of accountability for anything drove me crazy.

All in all a really great read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC! :)