"Writing landscape thus becomes constitutive of the process of selfhood. This Phillipines, as represented by the women in this volume, is a distinctly plural phenomenon constructed out of the comparison and intersection of past and present, of colonizations and immigration, of the cohabitation of different races and cultures."
- Foreward by Rocio Davis
Phew!! It's a good thing that the poetry and prose in this collection contain NONE of the academica-graduate-degree-speak contained in this foreward, which is nearly drowning in its own jargon. Yet this foreward is also something to be proud of, because it represents the achievements Filipino writers have made in the past 5 years. When I was an undergraduate in 2001, one of my classmates was working on creating a pretend anthology of Filiipino authors, just like this one, because she couldn't find anything like it out there!!
Still, you might want to skip the foreward, and jump right into the introductions by its two editors, for an introduction into the book's design and to Filipino literature in general.
This collection is all about discovery. Villanueva's introduction says that for Filipino women, maintenance of "the internal landscape" is vital, and this image (theme?) unites all the works. The book moves through five phases:
I. Las Dalagas (the time between girlhood and adult womanhood)
II. Landscapes
III. Traveling over Water
IV. Testament
V. Another Day
VI. Roots
The variety of voices is astounding! And it's quite refreshing, making this a fun read. None of the selections repeat, yet they are all actually connected. I am mid-way through the second part, but I'd like to share a few clips to show you the different voices I'm talking about:
april is the month of asparagus / of old uncles with bent backs and tired eyes / of hot sun on my back and shoulders / in april / my father greets the sun / and stays in the fields long after sunset / in dirty flannel and worn Dickies / for more than forty years he has cut and packed / a detestable vegetable / white people love to eat
--- "April in Stockton"
oh yeah, well check this:
my mama's hella brown,
a teacher/artist in da Flip nation
don't got an accent
'cause she's second generation!
-- by the Pinay M.A.F.I.A.
You think I am all mountain and valley, your mouth probing forests, your tongue climbing peaks.
I am small, a landscape defined by the space within your arms. Your palms journey and memorize me.
-- "Cartographer"
some women color their lips red.
not me, i like to color mine with good words instead.
--- "Some Women"
At 2:00 in the morning, the patients who are not unconscious drift in morphine-induced bliss. The events of the evening drift across Caridad's mind like the patients' cardiac tracings on the screen. She hates losing her composure in front of doctors, but she couldn't help herself, she thought. When she and Nita were wrapping Mang Tomas's body in that plastic shroud, she remembered words her father had spoken that summer long ago: "Over the years I built walls around my mind so nothing could hurt me."
--- "Mang Tomas"
I am really enjoying this reading. It is not at all work, though my motive to jump in was partially work-related, given the number of Filipino students in our school. I will update as I read more.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
interpreter of maladies / stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER... WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE... PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD WINNER... NEW YORKER "DEBUT OF THE YEAR".... it declares on the front and back covers. I am not typically one to be swayed by such awards, since artistic merit does not always translate into a good read. Still, I am not above placing them in capital letters at the beginning of my book review, in a pitiful attempt to entice my readers to continue onward.
I have read 56% of this book, which equals the first five of its nine short stories. I read them about a month and a half ago, and when I just now picked up the book in my hands, I had forgotten if I'd even read the story "Sexy." The details came back slowly... not a good sign, when you consider that my memory for fiction typically lasts years.
Still, the first story, "A Temporary Matter," is brilliant. It is not brilliant in the "shiny and happy" sort of way, but in the "piercingly accurate and moving" sort of way. I read this entire story with a fierce look upon my face... A young married couple receives notice that their electricity will be turned off every night, beginning at 8pm. And in the private darkness of their home, every night, they play a simple game that helps them speak what they could not communicate otherwise. They explore their relationship, reach blindly for a way to move forward. Eventually, they grasp the truth of the situation. To me, these characters feel real. In a scene when the husband brushes his teeth, I think the author captures the occasional mundanity of daily life.
The title story, "Interpreter of Maladies," once again portrays a cast of frail, hopeless characters who are trapped in an existence of suffering, due primarily to the overpowering influence of their unfulfilled desires. Hindu overtones abound here, made especially apparent when the family of American tourists visit an ancient holy site. The tourists are sick, almost grotesque, due to their own lack of discipline, which is highlighted in sharp contrast to their disciplined Indian tour guide... or so we think. There are some surprising, provocative moments in the story and the story really picks up in the middle when the conflict finally reveals itself. The English teacher in me really enjoyed the irony that the interpreter in this story is both immensely powerful, yet at the same time completely powerless.
Overall, I would say this is a well-crafted collection of stories about India and her people, including those who stay at home and those who move abroad.
This collection contains characters who struggle to manage their desires -- especially sexual desire -- in their personal relationships and daily life. It is filled with characters who question their choices, doubt their fate, and yearn for a truer sort of existence. Sadly, some are hurt by their dangerous passions. And honestly, the book left me a little depressed.
I have read 56% of this book, which equals the first five of its nine short stories. I read them about a month and a half ago, and when I just now picked up the book in my hands, I had forgotten if I'd even read the story "Sexy." The details came back slowly... not a good sign, when you consider that my memory for fiction typically lasts years.
Still, the first story, "A Temporary Matter," is brilliant. It is not brilliant in the "shiny and happy" sort of way, but in the "piercingly accurate and moving" sort of way. I read this entire story with a fierce look upon my face... A young married couple receives notice that their electricity will be turned off every night, beginning at 8pm. And in the private darkness of their home, every night, they play a simple game that helps them speak what they could not communicate otherwise. They explore their relationship, reach blindly for a way to move forward. Eventually, they grasp the truth of the situation. To me, these characters feel real. In a scene when the husband brushes his teeth, I think the author captures the occasional mundanity of daily life.
The title story, "Interpreter of Maladies," once again portrays a cast of frail, hopeless characters who are trapped in an existence of suffering, due primarily to the overpowering influence of their unfulfilled desires. Hindu overtones abound here, made especially apparent when the family of American tourists visit an ancient holy site. The tourists are sick, almost grotesque, due to their own lack of discipline, which is highlighted in sharp contrast to their disciplined Indian tour guide... or so we think. There are some surprising, provocative moments in the story and the story really picks up in the middle when the conflict finally reveals itself. The English teacher in me really enjoyed the irony that the interpreter in this story is both immensely powerful, yet at the same time completely powerless.
Overall, I would say this is a well-crafted collection of stories about India and her people, including those who stay at home and those who move abroad.
This collection contains characters who struggle to manage their desires -- especially sexual desire -- in their personal relationships and daily life. It is filled with characters who question their choices, doubt their fate, and yearn for a truer sort of existence. Sadly, some are hurt by their dangerous passions. And honestly, the book left me a little depressed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)