review 1: It's a good thing I kept reading this book. In the beginning I was afraid it was a "You know you're Filipino If" compilation of anecdotes being passed off as a novel but after the first few chapters I started to find it amusing and interesting. I don't often read Filipino literature but I'm glad I took the time to read this. I'm not one to take offense at people who portray the Philippines in a negative light - especially since most of the time it's the truth. So I found this quirky novel as a funny, spot-on take on the Philippines. review 2: beautifully written, moving from fabulous to witty to hilarious to outrageous (in the sense of causing outrage) to philosophical. this book takes wordplay to the next level, the puns aren't just there to draw attention ... moreto themselves, they really are reshaping language, intervening in dominant narratives, opening up possibilities. there is also an awareness of history here which is incredibly smart, which really does show the dis/connection between the "capital H" and the close-up view of a life. you feel like you could be reading the work of a rigorous postcolonial academic but then there's also tenderness and style and endless delight, and this is kind of an inspiration for fiction writers with a theory habit (or vice versa)....at least i feel that way ;) also this is the first novel i have ever seen that uses postcards (both images and text) as epistolary narrative devices, which is cool. less
