Spirits of the Sun

Spirits of the Sun by Sydney Philippe is a story of survival, love, soul searching, and family. This novel is a true testament to how far one will go to protect their loved ones. Below is a brief summary of this novel along with my recommendation.

Summary

Spirits of the Sun is based on genuine historical events in the tropical rainforests of Indonesia. The novel follows the Malay tribe as they seek to protect themselves from the Java. A neighboring tribe that causes destruction and pain when they are not given what they desire.

In this case, they desire the young Malay women as their brides. The Malay tribe is unwilling to agree to the Java's requests. Partly due to the fact the girls are merely 13 years old. Partly due to the violent reputation of the java and their abusive treatment told women.

With precious time left, the Malay rush to build a boat that will take them away from the threat of Java attack and save their women. Throughout the novel, the tribe meets new people, finds help in unexpected places, and finds out there is more value and strength among the women in their tribe than they had previously given them credit.

My thoughts

Spirits of the Sun by Sydney Philippe is a unique read. First, the novel describes the lives of a Malay tribe living in Indonesia. Thus far, none of the other novels I've read this year have had that setting. I am back and forth on the rating for this book. On one hand, it was unique, interesting, and I learned quite a bit. On the other hand, the story didn't flow as well as it could have and I would have liked the characters to be developed a bit more.

When I read the synopsis of Spirits of the Sun I was expecting the story to mostly follow Melati. However, this was not the case. While the story did start out from her perspective, it seemed to jump around from character to character never fully finishing a story.

I also found the lags between action and mundane periods throughout the book to be lagging. While I enjoy a descriptive read, I thought the level of detail Philippe goes into becomes tiresome as the novel progresses. It seemed like the novel had high highs and low lows. I would have liked the novel to move a bit more quickly however, that is my opinion and other readers may be a fan of the details.

I did enjoy how Philippe conveyed the yearning desires of most of the characters. Regardless of what they have grown up being told was true they still have questions, they still seek to find their own answers.

Lastly, one of my favorite moments in the books is when the men start to recognize the women as assets and not simply as helpless people that need protection from the men. I don't want to give anything away so you'll have to read the book and witness this awesome moment of women's power for yourself.

I would recommend giving this book a read for yourself. While there were parts of the story I wish were developed a bit more I did enjoy Spirits of the Sun by Sydney Philippe and encourage you to give it a read and draw your own conclusions.

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Thank you for reading!

Leah Lawrence