It's been a while since the last time I updated this blog. I tried so many times to resurrect this, proved by the various unfinished drafts here and in my Google Docs, but to no avail. With this new year, I promised myself to update this more often, and since there's no new story ready in hand, it wouldn't be bad to start by making a list of five six contemporary Filipino books that I recommend to every bookworm out there who wants to see how our local writers fare in literature (and in case the only Filipino books you know are Noli and Fili) or, you know, you're looking for more books to read for 2016.
A staple favorite of teenagers and young adults, this book touches on the life a typical Filipino student. Reading it now is like life pressing all the nostalgia buttons. I was in High School when I first saw this, and this is the first Filipino book I've read that is not written by Rizal and is not a romance novel. (technically, I've read Ang Paboritong Libro Ni Hudas first but I'm trying to make a point; and yes, I've read romance novels when I was younger) It was the first book I've seen that had the appeal for the younger audiences, it's filled with humor and is not buried in archaic words that no modern Filipino could understand. At a time when the only Filipino authors I knew aside from Rizal were N.V.M. Gonzales, F. Sionil Jose and Nick Joaquin, it was pleasant to know that there is a contemporary writer out there who thinks like me, speaks like me, and writes like me.
This book came to my attention when I was at the lowest point of my, uhm.. how should I put this... "romantic life". I just came from a break-up and I felt horribly, horribly, depressed, and so what book is better to read that you empathize with? Starting off with a statistics that says for ever 5 person who falls in love, only one ends up happy, Para Kay B is Ricky Lee's first novel. A veteran of screen-writing, helming a number of award-winning films, Lee, through the voice of Lucas, tells the story of five individuals who finds love in different places. In the end, only one of them will be happy, thus proving the point of the made-up statistic. Similar to Aba, Para Kay B is written in Filipino, sprinkled with English phrases, and gives a modern "Pinoy" voice to the universal theme of love.
There are no serial killers in the Philippines. That's what I observed among the myriad of crimes I've read about in the local papers. But in this book, Batacan tells the story about what is probably the first Filipino serial killer in fiction. A Palanca winning piece, Circles follows Catholic Priest Augusto "Gus" Saenz and his protégé, Father Jerome Lucero as they solve a string of murders happening at the slums of Payatas dumpsite. This book is also the first Filipino mystery novel I've read, a brilliant contemporary piece that sheds light to the inefficiency of our local police enforcement and the NBI. The two priests, with the help of a journalist, risks their lives as they take matters into their own hands in solving the mystery and in bringing justice to the families of the murder victims.
I'm not a fan of the supernatural and the occult, whether in real life or in fiction. But with this book, I made an exception. Trese: Book of Murders is a compilation of all 13 issues of the award-winning comic series Trese. The series features the eponymous Alexandra Trese, a private detective that deals with solving crimes that involve creatures from the underworld. Together with her sidekicks-slash-bodyguards, the Kambals (literally twins), they hunt down otherworldly beings and unfold mysteries that brings to life various urban legends every Filipino are familiar with. Being a comicbook geek, I regret not knowing about this series very early on, but catching up is not a hard time to do. Also, I'd commend the wonderful artwork by Baldisimo that fuses traditional Filipino "komiks" art with Japanese style manga.
This is one of the most surprising books I've read so far. I found this one by accident during the National Book Store sale. A Time for Dragons is an anthology, containing various stories about dragons, written by various contemporary writers. Simbulan is part of the same team that brings the annual Philippine Speculative Fiction anthologies, and this one is no different. But it's the topic at hand that got me really interested, being a huge geek when it comes to dragons in fiction. Aside from the stories it contains, this book also brings to light creative name, some of which I've only heard for the first time, and successfully providing their needed exposure.
If a Filipino mystery novel took me by surprise, imagine my reaction when I first saw this book. Naermyth is a young adult novel set in a post-apocalyptic Philippines. Years after the world succumbed to various creatures from legends and mythologies, Athena "Aegis" Dizon, is one of the survivors hiding out in Manila, but not as a fearful damsel in distress, but a brave and independent warrior. Littered with a dark and mysterious past, she meets a kindred soul in the form of Dorian, and together they cross the country from the ruined flyovers of EDSA to the fortresses of Baguio as they find answers and help end the raging tyranny of the Naermyths.
1. ABNKKBSNPLAko? by Bong Ong
A staple favorite of teenagers and young adults, this book touches on the life a typical Filipino student. Reading it now is like life pressing all the nostalgia buttons. I was in High School when I first saw this, and this is the first Filipino book I've read that is not written by Rizal and is not a romance novel. (technically, I've read Ang Paboritong Libro Ni Hudas first but I'm trying to make a point; and yes, I've read romance novels when I was younger) It was the first book I've seen that had the appeal for the younger audiences, it's filled with humor and is not buried in archaic words that no modern Filipino could understand. At a time when the only Filipino authors I knew aside from Rizal were N.V.M. Gonzales, F. Sionil Jose and Nick Joaquin, it was pleasant to know that there is a contemporary writer out there who thinks like me, speaks like me, and writes like me.2. Para Kay B by Ricky Lee
This book came to my attention when I was at the lowest point of my, uhm.. how should I put this... "romantic life". I just came from a break-up and I felt horribly, horribly, depressed, and so what book is better to read that you empathize with? Starting off with a statistics that says for ever 5 person who falls in love, only one ends up happy, Para Kay B is Ricky Lee's first novel. A veteran of screen-writing, helming a number of award-winning films, Lee, through the voice of Lucas, tells the story of five individuals who finds love in different places. In the end, only one of them will be happy, thus proving the point of the made-up statistic. Similar to Aba, Para Kay B is written in Filipino, sprinkled with English phrases, and gives a modern "Pinoy" voice to the universal theme of love.
3. Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan
There are no serial killers in the Philippines. That's what I observed among the myriad of crimes I've read about in the local papers. But in this book, Batacan tells the story about what is probably the first Filipino serial killer in fiction. A Palanca winning piece, Circles follows Catholic Priest Augusto "Gus" Saenz and his protégé, Father Jerome Lucero as they solve a string of murders happening at the slums of Payatas dumpsite. This book is also the first Filipino mystery novel I've read, a brilliant contemporary piece that sheds light to the inefficiency of our local police enforcement and the NBI. The two priests, with the help of a journalist, risks their lives as they take matters into their own hands in solving the mystery and in bringing justice to the families of the murder victims.
4. Trese: Book of Murders by Budjette Tan (art by Kajo Baldisimo)
I'm not a fan of the supernatural and the occult, whether in real life or in fiction. But with this book, I made an exception. Trese: Book of Murders is a compilation of all 13 issues of the award-winning comic series Trese. The series features the eponymous Alexandra Trese, a private detective that deals with solving crimes that involve creatures from the underworld. Together with her sidekicks-slash-bodyguards, the Kambals (literally twins), they hunt down otherworldly beings and unfold mysteries that brings to life various urban legends every Filipino are familiar with. Being a comicbook geek, I regret not knowing about this series very early on, but catching up is not a hard time to do. Also, I'd commend the wonderful artwork by Baldisimo that fuses traditional Filipino "komiks" art with Japanese style manga.
5. A Time for Dragons: An Anthology of Philippine Draconic Fiction edited by Vincent Michael Simbulan.
This is one of the most surprising books I've read so far. I found this one by accident during the National Book Store sale. A Time for Dragons is an anthology, containing various stories about dragons, written by various contemporary writers. Simbulan is part of the same team that brings the annual Philippine Speculative Fiction anthologies, and this one is no different. But it's the topic at hand that got me really interested, being a huge geek when it comes to dragons in fiction. Aside from the stories it contains, this book also brings to light creative name, some of which I've only heard for the first time, and successfully providing their needed exposure.
6. Naermyth by Karen Franciso
If a Filipino mystery novel took me by surprise, imagine my reaction when I first saw this book. Naermyth is a young adult novel set in a post-apocalyptic Philippines. Years after the world succumbed to various creatures from legends and mythologies, Athena "Aegis" Dizon, is one of the survivors hiding out in Manila, but not as a fearful damsel in distress, but a brave and independent warrior. Littered with a dark and mysterious past, she meets a kindred soul in the form of Dorian, and together they cross the country from the ruined flyovers of EDSA to the fortresses of Baguio as they find answers and help end the raging tyranny of the Naermyths.
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