Certain stories can only be appreciated when your mind is ready to receive them.

The Quiet is Loud sat on my shelf for a couple years, but every attempt I made to read it left me frustrated & confused. I’m glad I persevered, because this time everything clicked.

I found myself craving someone I could discuss this book with & recommended it to various friends who share an interest in similar themes… I’m really hoping they read this one.

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SYNOPSIS

When Freya Tanangco was ten, she dreamed of her mother’s death ten days before it happened. That’s when she realized she was a veker, someone with enhanced mental abilities and who is scorned as a result. Freya’s adult life has been spent in hiding: from the troubled literary legacy created by her author father, and from the scrutiny of a society in which vekers often meet with violence.

When her prophetic dreams take a dangerous turn, Freya finds herself increasingly forced to sacrifice her own anonymity—and the fragile safety that comes with it—in order to protect those around her.

Interwoven with themes of Filipino-Canadian and mixed-race identity, fantastical elements from Norse and Filipino mythology, and tarot card symbolism, The Quiet Is Loud is an intergenerational tale of familial love and betrayal, and what happens when we refuse to let others tell our stories for us.

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Highlight: […] Freya remembred the bird. She remembered it flying upwards in a shaft of light, the bright redness of its head, the horrible sound it made as it repeatedly hit the skylight, desperate to get out. / She hadn’t thought about the bird since she was five. She leaned forward in her seat, suddenly curious, / “Daddy,” she said. “Did you put the bird in your new book?” / “Sort of. You and your mom and the bird are there, but it’s not the same story. It’s more of a metaphor.” […]

REVIEW

The present tense threw me off at first, but I grew to love this writing style. The length of the chapters was nice and short, making it an easy book to pick up and put down.

The narrative alternating between timelines (1990/2000s and 2015) kept me intrigued & invested in Freya’s relationships with her family. I was born in a similar generation, so it made me nostalgic. I love that Freya’s father is an author and blurred fiction with reality.

There was so much to love in this book. I loved the gentle introduction to tarot, the internet chatroom scenes & the history created around vekers.

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Highlight: […] Freya flung her book down and flew down the stairs to the foyer where Dad was a crane, balancing as he slid off his shoes. […]

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