Four samples from F. Sionil José’s cache of books

If one were to ask us what our favorite F. Sionil José book would be, we would quickly answer without batting an eyelash “all of them.” From an archive of 14 in our possession, we are hard put to pick a single favorite. What would we do if requested to comment on the hundred others we had not read? In going through Viajero, we found the history of the Philippines, “of these islands and their people long before the Spaniards came. It is also a story of the Filipino diaspora as seen by an orphan, Salvador de la Taza, who is brought by an American captain to the US in 1945. Through the eyes of Salvador unfolds the epic voyage of the Filipino, from the earliest contact with China, through (Ferdinand) Magellan’s tragedy in Mactan, onto the heroic voyages of the galleons across the Pacific…”

Sionil José has written many books, each of them having unique qualities. We would read and re-read them for differing reasons — for entertainment, lessons in history and the proper use of grammar. We find ourselves answering our own questions, each book we pick up to read, an adventure in itself.

From a compilation of 13 short stories in Puppy Love, our personal favorite is Walking on Fire, which tells a tale that can make one’s hair stand on end. A man driving his car experiences a flat tire in the middle of the night, with his jack missing. Almost by accident, he hears the sound of men chanting and laughing to the light of a bonfire. They are dancing on the fire in bare feet, and signaled for him to join them, which he does also on bare feet.

Sherds tells of the Golangcos from Fookien who are land grabbers except for the young Peter Gregorio, an artist and potter whose interests are far from those of his relatives. After years in the US, Peter goes back to the Philippines to accept a teaching job. One student Guia Espiritu stands out from the rest and Peter gets her to be his assistant. Their constant working together changes their relationship. He becomes addicted to her since it is obvious that she has many secrets she can’t reveal. What complicates the situation is the existence of another woman who has always expected to be his one and only love. If this sounds like a teleserye, it is one with a surprise ending.    

A favorite is Gagamba (so-called for looking like a two-legged spider), which deals with happenings and personifications of people we might have known. After an earthquake, a cripple Tranquilino Penoy who should have perished is spared. It is through his eyes and ears that the story is told. Gagamba reads like a lesson in Philippine history, set in an environment we are most familiar with like San Andres Bukid, Roxas Boulevard adjacent to the US Embassy, Intramuros, Pasig, Parañaque, Padre Faura and the original Aristocrat restaurant on Roxas Boulevard. It also helps set the pace that Sionil José named his characters Rizal and Mabini because they happen to share similarities with our national heroes.

So far, Sionil José has dealt with Philippine history and its various periods, strange happenings that could jumpstart a horror movie, a love story with the usual male caught between two warring women, a story of friendship, an affirmation of faith in a greater being and four children’s tales from The Molave and the Orchid wittingly disguised as a coloring book. Obviously, there is nothing that will stop Sionil José from reaching his desired destination.

(E-mail your comments at [email protected] or text me at 0917-8991835.)