Pinoys on Paper and Pen
June 17, 2003 | 12:00am
Quick, in ten seconds, name at least five Filipino novelists! Ok, Rizal, Balagtas, Nick Joaquin…and then what? Yup, it’s sad to say that more often than not, the Filipino novel has become a niche market for the academics, nationalists, the writers themselves in support of each other. It’s even sadder to see foreign novels getting all the attention in most popular book chains. Well, there is more to Filipino literature than just the tabloid, the local glossy and those countless badly laid-out covers of Romance. Yes, there is more to the Filipino novel than just Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and Florante at Laura. Finally, there are more literary masterpieces outside the teacher’s list of "to read" books. The five books here barely even lay a scratch on the depth of our very own local talent pool. On the table, we have five diverse award-winning novels, which have not only that well-timed cliché "depth of message" but diverse in ways you can only imagine.
Manila’s old mystic, beer swillin’ Nick Joaqin sees what everyone sees. The Ramon Magsasay Awardee and National Artist poignantly observes his surroundings like a hawk, his keen awareness of individuals make sure of the reality of his characters. The novel, his first by the way, clinches you with his lyrical prose transmogrified into sentences forming a novel. In it, the hero, as do many Filipinos rich or poor, struggles with what else? –A woman with two navels while grappling with his own demons. Here, he explores in symbolical fashion the Filipino psyche. The Woman with Two Navels may become tedious reading toward the end, but reading this can confound you more than Gabriel Garcia Marquez can.
Recently named National Artist and recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, F. Sionil Jose is just now getting the recognition of his countrymen more. His observation and quest for moral and social justice are well reflected, and during earlier times, Filipinos somehow found his portrayal too honest. And so his legend grew abroad, a huge critic of the dictatorship back then but the left-inclined Sionil Jose pursues through all ages. In his short stories collected under Platinum, three of many intertwined short stories give a hint of dictatorship, thematic rags to riches technocrats. All told in a serious but sarcastic tone and a great command of the English language to boot.
Jessica Hagedorn is Filipino-American. Hey, if the Chinese have Amy Tan, then we deserve someone like her, too. She writes like an impudent Westerner knowing too much of Filipino migrants. Well, of course she is Filipino, and the western thought and approach to the novel, a dysfunctional lose or yearning, has not alienated her from her people. Almost having bagged the National Book Club of the year and winner of the Before Columbus Book Award in the US. Dogeaters posses the Filipino’s natural talent to be lyrical with words, but the words she uses to accomplish this novel is a MUST READ!
Alfred Yuson was no commie running afoul of the law, although nowadays who cares if you are a communist. He doesn’t strip for a living too. His novel, a 1998 Palanca Winner, is far from boring. Great Philippine Jungle Energy Café, put mildly, is a bold move. From Leon Kilat putting on his pants, the mountains nearby of all things, to endless words and sentences that resemble prison carving, the novel is a ball! Just do not expect a straight up narrative or go looking for a twist. Yuson always had a purpose in this creation and that is what separates him from a drunk’s incoherence.
Lualhati Bautista’s novels shows the psyche of a common person, yet has an intellectual gait one cannot deny. The only Filipino language novel in this short collection, Dekada ‘70s, now a major motion picture hit (Belt that cliché out! Whew!), revolved around the life of a mother amidst the growing of her family during Martial Law. Not that Bautista consciously conceals her opinions; it’s just that she would rather show them through the eyes of a common person. This is what she did with Dekada ‘70s and a whole load of her novels that have been turned into blockbuster hits usually starring Vilma Santos. Vilmanian or not, a shot at history is what this novel has in store
So there. Five novels. It doesn’t take much seeking and these novels are just around the corner, never mind if a Jew is selling it to you, unlikely as it is. If you plan on reading this summer, try these picks for size.
Manila’s old mystic, beer swillin’ Nick Joaqin sees what everyone sees. The Ramon Magsasay Awardee and National Artist poignantly observes his surroundings like a hawk, his keen awareness of individuals make sure of the reality of his characters. The novel, his first by the way, clinches you with his lyrical prose transmogrified into sentences forming a novel. In it, the hero, as do many Filipinos rich or poor, struggles with what else? –A woman with two navels while grappling with his own demons. Here, he explores in symbolical fashion the Filipino psyche. The Woman with Two Navels may become tedious reading toward the end, but reading this can confound you more than Gabriel Garcia Marquez can.
Recently named National Artist and recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, F. Sionil Jose is just now getting the recognition of his countrymen more. His observation and quest for moral and social justice are well reflected, and during earlier times, Filipinos somehow found his portrayal too honest. And so his legend grew abroad, a huge critic of the dictatorship back then but the left-inclined Sionil Jose pursues through all ages. In his short stories collected under Platinum, three of many intertwined short stories give a hint of dictatorship, thematic rags to riches technocrats. All told in a serious but sarcastic tone and a great command of the English language to boot.
Jessica Hagedorn is Filipino-American. Hey, if the Chinese have Amy Tan, then we deserve someone like her, too. She writes like an impudent Westerner knowing too much of Filipino migrants. Well, of course she is Filipino, and the western thought and approach to the novel, a dysfunctional lose or yearning, has not alienated her from her people. Almost having bagged the National Book Club of the year and winner of the Before Columbus Book Award in the US. Dogeaters posses the Filipino’s natural talent to be lyrical with words, but the words she uses to accomplish this novel is a MUST READ!
Alfred Yuson was no commie running afoul of the law, although nowadays who cares if you are a communist. He doesn’t strip for a living too. His novel, a 1998 Palanca Winner, is far from boring. Great Philippine Jungle Energy Café, put mildly, is a bold move. From Leon Kilat putting on his pants, the mountains nearby of all things, to endless words and sentences that resemble prison carving, the novel is a ball! Just do not expect a straight up narrative or go looking for a twist. Yuson always had a purpose in this creation and that is what separates him from a drunk’s incoherence.
Lualhati Bautista’s novels shows the psyche of a common person, yet has an intellectual gait one cannot deny. The only Filipino language novel in this short collection, Dekada ‘70s, now a major motion picture hit (Belt that cliché out! Whew!), revolved around the life of a mother amidst the growing of her family during Martial Law. Not that Bautista consciously conceals her opinions; it’s just that she would rather show them through the eyes of a common person. This is what she did with Dekada ‘70s and a whole load of her novels that have been turned into blockbuster hits usually starring Vilma Santos. Vilmanian or not, a shot at history is what this novel has in store
So there. Five novels. It doesn’t take much seeking and these novels are just around the corner, never mind if a Jew is selling it to you, unlikely as it is. If you plan on reading this summer, try these picks for size.
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