Anting-Anting Stories, and Other Strange Tales of the Filipinos

Kayme, SargentProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2
Word count
213K words
Chapters
22

Tags

English Originals Folk Literature Adventure JourneyShort StoriesExotic CultureFolk CustomsFolk LegendFilipino Folklore

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Anting-Anting Stories, and Other Strange Tales of the Filipinos by Sargent KaymeAuthor: Kayme, Sargent,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 26, 2008

Editor's review

Anting-Anting Stories, and Other Strange Tales of the Filipinos is an English-language short story collection set in the Philippines, written by Sargent Kayme. The title's "anting-anting" refers to objects in Filipino folk belief that carry protective significance, signaling the book's rich folkloric and mysterious atmosphere. The stories revolve around local customs, legends, and exotic imagination, with the typical tone of early twentieth-century American writers tackling overseas subjects: plots built on suspense and twists, brisk narration, and value as a sample of how popular English-language fiction of that era portrayed the Philippines. Its strengths lie in atmosphere and the use of folk elements, offering readers a pleasure that sits between travelogue, legend, and strange tale. A caveat: the depiction of local culture carries the limited perspective of its time, and today's readers should read with a critical eye, enjoying the stories while noting the cultural stance behind the narration. Best read in installments as a short story collection; do not expect systematic ethnographic knowledge.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read each story independently, pausing briefly after each to note folk elements and narrative patterns.
  2. Pay attention to the narrator's attitude toward local culture, distinguishing storytelling pleasure from period prejudice.
  3. Consult basic reference material on Philippine geography and folklore to aid understanding of the settings.
  4. Use the book as English extensive reading material: read for plot first, then revisit stories of interest for language details.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22

FAQ

What does "anting-anting" mean in this book? It refers to an object in Filipino folk belief that carries protective or mysterious power, often associated with amulets and incantations. The title borrows this concept to signal the book's mysterious atmosphere, and the stories spin imaginative tales around such folk elements. Its specific meaning varies from story to story, and readers can understand it in context.
Is this book written by a Filipino author? No. The author, Sargent Kayme, is an English-language writer, and the book belongs to early twentieth-century American popular fiction about the Philippines. The portrayal of local customs therefore reflects an outsider's perspective, and readers should note its period and cultural stance rather than treat it as a representative native voice.
Are the stories connected? Do they need to be read in order? The stories are relatively independent and usually need not be read in strict order. Readers can start with any story and pick by interest. To grasp the overall atmosphere and range of subjects, reading through in the original order is more complete, but skipping around will not affect understanding of individual stories.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Kayme, Sargent Author

Sargent Kayme is an author about whom very limited public information is available, with only one confirmed work to date: Anting-Anting Stories, and Other Strange Tales of the Filipinos. Judging from the title, this work is set in the Philippines and centers on the "anting-anting," a local folk talisman or charm, while also collecting other short stories with a strange flavor. Such material typically blends folklore, local beliefs, and supernatural narrative, carrying a strong exotic and mysterious atmosphere. Although nothing can be verified about the author's nationality, life, writing career, or the background of the work, the existing book suggests that the author had some knowledge of Philippine folk culture and oral tradition and was skilled at presenting weird tales in short form. Given the limited sources, the author's literary standing and influence await further study.