Other Filipino Authors
Before anything else, allow me to list first the book which is close to my heart, because one of my pieces was included in it:
On a Bed of Rice: An Asian
American Erotic Feast edited by Geraldine Kudaka, Anchor Books, 1995.
From the book: On a Bed of Rice
is the
first book to display the richness of erotic literature by Americans of Chinese,
Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, East Indian, Pakistani and Amerasian
descent. With stories, essays, poems, and photographs, editor Geraldine Kudaka
features a kaliedoscope of erotic veiwpoints on such themes as sexual awakening,
identity and exploration, marital betrayal, and interracial love. Writen in styles
ranging from the lyrical to the lascivious, from the provocative to the explicit,
On a Bed of Rice is a feast for all lovers of fine literature - and the erotic.
"Exquisite tension ..." Far Eastern Economic Review.
Order On A Bed of Rice now.
So there, now that my bias is out of the way, let's go on and take potshots at other books -
The Tesseract
by Alex Garland
British author of the celebrated novel, The Beach, which was made into a motion picture starring
Leonardo DiCaprio
This one is set in Manila. Very fascinating but also very pretentious ---. It appears that the author has spent some time in the Philippines ---. Wrote this book set in the Philippines and peppers the book with lots of Philippine stuff which is ok but somehow he misses the nuances and thus falls flat when read by Filipinos. Of course I am sure that this book garnered or is garnering critical reviews especially of the depiction of scary and exotic Manila. But that's what it is really - it is an exotified Manila, close yet far from the truth. I didn't even finish the book - as soon as I was in the section where the the protagonist was instructed to go to Patay hotel, I put the book down. Who the hell in the Philippines would name a hotel that way? It's just makes a mockery of Manila which given, is a very tired, dirty city.
Biggest Elvis
by P. F. Kluge
Published by Viking Press Publication date: August 1, 1996
Ordering Information - hard cover
Ordering Information - soft cover
I have just read the first chapter of the book on the bus while going to work this morning. I can tell you right now that it is a very engrossing read, I almost missed my stop. So far as I can tell, it is about three Elvis Presley impersonators (one for each stage of his life: his youth, his middle age years and during his decline) working in a bar called Graceland in Olongapo City, just outside the Subic Naval Base a little before they were going to close it. It is a world that ordinary people seldom knew about ...
Many critics have hailed the book as a parable of American life, albeit, being lived outside America. According to the Los Angeles Time, this book is "a serious book as well as a very entertaining one ... Kluge has drawn a splendidly human portrait of the Olongapo townspeople ... His sympathetic stories of the bargirls who make dates with the Graceland custormers are a small Dickensian novel in themselves."
The New York Times of Book Review said: "Kluge writes lyrically, whether he's describing the gaudy onstage triumphs of his Elvis trinity or the crushing hardships of life around the Subic Bay naval base. And he links the stages of Big e's life to what he sees as the phases of America's identity - a descent from vigorous pioneer nation to aging, swollen colossus ... a dreamy, melancholic tale of economic and pop-cultural imperialism."
Many other newspapers and reviews hailed this book ... and judging from the first chapter alone, I know I will enjoy reading this. It is very easy to read, the writing is very lyrical so it just flows and flows ...
Scent of Apples by Bienvenido N. Santos, Washington University Press, 1979. I read this in high school and couldn't remember anything about it. It must have been a celebrated novel, or else, I wouldn't have not touched it. I will read it again and do a report here sometime. The late Bienvenido N. Santos was one of the Philippines' foremost man of letters. Meanwhile, you can order Scent of Apples through Amazon.com Books.
Ginseng and other Tales from Manila by Marianne Villanueva, Calyx Books, 1991. This is one of those books that I missed. I remember it having getting good reviews in trade publications. However, I couldn't find it at all (I didn't realize then, since I was new in the country, that you can order these things through the bookseller ...). I since have been in e-mail correspondence with Ms. Villanueva (she's on the net!) and hopefully, I will be able to get her to comment on her own work one of these days.
Order Ginseng and other Tales from Manila now.
Her Wild American Self
by M. Evelina Galang, Coffee House Press, 1996. This is a truly delightful and refreshing book. Like "Cebu," the
stories told here are about the Filipino American experience, a totally foreign
experience to me. The New York Times Book Review said "... a stirring debut collection
of short stories ... all told in an elegant, mesmerizing style ..." I particularly
liked the story called "Miss Teenage Sampaguita" about a teenager who is deprived
of everyday pleasures including dating or talking on the telephone by her father
because she is expected to be a doctor. The stories just says to me that Filipinos
in America sometimes are even more Filipinos than in the Philippines, i.e., while
Filipinos are generally shedding off traditional customs in favor of progress,
immigrants are preserving those customs, I guess to give them their identity. A must
read, really, even though a lot of the themes recur in many stories.
M. Evelina Galang, according to the book, was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin. She teaches creative writing at Old Dominion University.
Order Her Wild American Self now.
The Man Who Thought He Looked Like Robert Taylor by Bienvenido N. Santos, Cellar Bookshop, 1983. Here is another celebrated novel by Santos. Unfortunately, I haven't read it, so I can't say anything about it. But you can order it now so you can send me a review.
Almost History
by Christopher Bram, Plume, 1993. A very intriguing period novel (from 1960s to
the Martial Law era) considering that the author probably has not lived in Manila
and based everything through second hand experiences. But he was able to capture
the tension that was going on during the repressive years, including what went around
Imelda. Considered to be one of the finest gay novels that came out in recent years.
I particularly don't consider it a gay novel, it just so happens that the main
character is gay.
Order Almost History now.
But for the Lovers by Wilfredo D. Nolledo. Dalkey Acrchive Press, 1994. I haven't read this book but Wilfredo D. Nolledo is one of the more readable Filipino author. Ordering information.
Sugarland by Philip Finch, St. Martin Press, 1991.
A mystery/thriller novel by SCF
regular Philip Finch (if I remember correctly, he is the one who suggested that
we do an SCF webpage) set in the island of Negros. I believe New York Times gave it
a favorable review (and probably was in the bestseller list of the genre). I finally
read this book and all I could say is that, THIS BOOK ROCKS! Just like any other
thriller, everything is there, from the sympathetic main character, to sinister
villains, shadowy figures and a love interest. But what makes this stands out is the
locale: it is largely set in Negros Island, among the fields of sugar cane of
haciendas, a setting even an ordinary Filipino would have no idea. The setting
is
not only exotic, but it is also fresh, and it is described in the most vivid and lushest
of terms.
A teach-in in the middle of NPA country in Negros ca 1980s, photograph courtesy of Philip Finch
The main protagonist is catapulted into the political and social turmoil of Negros (the communist New People's Army, the hacendero warlords, poverty of the sacadas, the plantation workers, the corruption of the government) in the 1980s, to solve an insurance fraud. His adventure is taut, the events surrounding him are gory and chilling but they feel very real. Sometimes he is involved, choice or no choice, sometimes, he is detached. But involved or detached, what is extraordinary is that the author through his character, has captured the nuances of Filipino life while he was roaming the stark and gruesome locale.
I heard from the grapevine that Mr. Finch is writing a screenplay for a big Hollywood outfit for his latest thriller set on the Internet.
Order Sugarland now.
When the Rainbow Goddess
Wept by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Plume Penguin, 1993. One of my favorite books
of the moment. I still haven't finished it, I am reading it slowly because I am
thoroughly enjoying the magic that another net regular, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, is
weaving. The story is set during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, in a
magical but real island of Ubec.
"A deeply moving novel ... destined to become a classic ..." - Aram Saroyan, author of The Street and Friends int he World: The Education of a Writer
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard was born in Cebu City. Her published works include Woman with Horns and Other Stories and Philippine Woman in America. She teaches creative wrting at the Writers' Program of UCLA Extension. She divides her time between the Philippines and Santa Monica, California, where she lives with her husband and three sons.
Cecilia Brainard also just came out with an anthology called Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America published by Anvil in the Philippines in which another story of my creation is included. This will be available here soon!
Order When the Rainbow Goddess Wept - softcover - now!
Order When the Rainbow Goddess Wept - hardcover - now!
F2F by Philip Finch. This has nothing to do with the
Philippines, but since the author has some connection to the Philippines, I might as
well include this on the list. As mentioned in Sugarland above, Philip Finch is
an SCF regular and has lived in the Philippines for sometime. F2F is another
taut thriller, this time set on the Internet. I read this book straight to the finish
without putting it down,
because you just can't. If you're an Internet junkie just like me, you just have to read
this. It is so seamless, it reads like a movie - which will probably be.
The Language of Love (Love Stories) by Kate Emberg. Barton Books, 1996. Ordering Information.
The Ghosts of Manila, a novel by James
Hamilton-Paterson, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1994. I just started this book. Like Sugarland
and Almost History, it is set in contemporary Philippines. This has received accolades from
critics. Filipino friends who have read this either hated it because it paints Manila
as the arm pit of the world or loved it because it paints Manila precisely that. The writing is very vivid and describes Manila as its most violent. I'm
just in page 15 as I write this, and already, I've read a most harrowing description of
a ramshackle factory near the international airport where they process human skeletons for
export - victims of salvaging. It was hard to get into this book, but once you get going,
it just sucks you in.
Ordering information.
The Blue Afternoon by William Boyd. Knopf, 1995. I don't know what this is all
about. I've been looking for this book but my local bookstores don't have it. It's probably
another one set in the Philippines. Ordering
Information
