Lalani of the Distant Sea

‘Humans make the mistake of believing they know best, but nature is there to remind you, at precisely the wrong time, that nature knows best’. Lalani is respectful of the nature about her Sanlagitan island home,  listening to and sharing the stories upon which she has been raised. Stories of the monster within Mount Kahna who would scratch out your eyes, and thereafter, the ghost of Ziva said to take vengeance upon sailors who set course toward the legendary northern waters around Mount Isa.

Of all of the stories, it is the one of Ziva that Lalani holds closest. She speaks to Ziva when she paddles at the sea edge. There are rumours that Ziva’s hair has been caught in the rocks. So what will Ziva make of Lalani when she escapes Sanlagita in a small ship, alone, heading to Mount Isa? It seems as though Lalani has no other option. Her mother has caught the dreaded sewing sickness, while her stepfather and stepbrother are malicious. Furthermore, the islanders blame Lalani’s journeys to Mount Kahna, seeking shek and healing plants for Toppi. Yet Lalani’s path was seen. Now, she’s on a more perilous journey, where her motives, reactions and soul will be read and known by unseen, story-bound creatures. What is her future? ‘There are invisible shadows in Lalani’s house and charged air’. Can Lalani change this possibly, and maybe something so much more?

Award winning US author, Erin Entrada Kelly, has created something lyrical and magnificent from a setting and stories we imagine as/ from the Philippine Islands. Lalani of the Distant Sea is rich and unique, confident, nature-born and magical.