A new review of KALAPATINGLEON (Filipino translation of DOVELION) is offered by Angela Maria "Blythe" Tabios (yes, same last name) at The Halo Halo Review:
Excerpts from Review:
This is not your typical “historical novel” that marches neatly through dates and regimes. Rather, it unfurls like a patchwork quilt—stitched from fragments of documents, recollections, dreams, and poems, all held together by the trembling voice of a woman still trying to locate herself amid history, patriarchy, and displacement. Each fragment breathes, each silence vibrates. The novel’s rhythm oscillates between logic and lyricism, intellect and intimacy, chaos and structure—a delicate equilibrium so rare that it feels almost alchemical.
KalapatingLeon demonstrates that storytelling is not just entertainment or decoration—it is a weapon, a remedy, and the most extreme form of salvation for history and humanity.
In truth, KalapatingLeon is a difficult novel to categorize. It is not a simple political novel, nor is it purely about love or eroticism, and even less is it a personal narrative. It is like a kaleidoscope: each turn offers new light, each mirror reveals the fragmented faces of history, trauma, and personality. In this way, Tabios erases the boundaries of genre to show that the female experience, especially during times of oppression, can never be confined to a single form of narrative.
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