Local myths in a global work: Merlinda Bobis' 'White Turtle'

If only we all had porous bones, and thinner skin, when listening to a tale. Such is one token offered by Merlinda Bobis’ prismatic short story, ‘White Turtle’, which harnesses the uncanny in an intercultural meeting of the ear1 and tongue.2 ‘White Turtle’ is a story inside a story, as Bobis’ character, the Filipina chanter Lola Basyon, sings in her native language to conjure a white turtle that ferries the dreams of dead children in the presence of an Australian crowd at a Sydney writers’ festival.