My visit to this year's Manila International Book Fair is a restrained affair compared to the last few years.

My overall loot is just five titles

I bought locally published books for this year's haul. This was purely coincidental, as all five titles are tangential buys. The only book I had in my to-buy list is Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (for my book club's online discussion; I didn't find a copy though).

My first buys were from the UP Press:

Presenting America, Encountering the Philippines is a compilation of Fulbright lectures from American literature scholar Gerald Burns, on different literary and cultural topics relating to the Philippines, the US, or both. First impression is that it's like a more academic Pacific Rims, one that will probably give me nosebleeds. Target reading schedule: This year, after or while Howl's Moving Castle. Would be a nice complementary read before or while tackling Noli Me Tangere  for the December's discussion.

Memo Mulang Gimokudan: Aklat ng Tulang Tuluyan is a prose-poem collection from National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario (or if you prefer his pen name, Rio Alma). I bought this because of the beautiful language. Target reading schedule: None. One must digest this unrushed. Best read during quiet times, and while in transit (will be placing this in my backpack, until well worn).

From Anvil:

Sarap Pinoy: Mga Lutuing Pilipino by The Maya Kitchen Culinary Arts Center is a promising addition to my cook books. What I like about the recipes is that they are straightforward (no strange ingredients, no cuisine fusion of any kind). Plus, every entry has notes on the different regional/cultural takes of the same recipe. I found the addendum very useful, especially if I'm going to cook for visitors. Best of all, I love it that the book is in Filipino (I don't know if it's just me, but I find most Filipino recipes written in English confusing and awkward). Target reading schedule: None. I'll read as I cook along, and I intend to cook every recipe in the book.

From Tahanan books:

Three copies of the Super Boboy Adventures booklet for my three nephews. I bought them a copy each last year but they misplaced it somewhere. Too bad the sequels aren't available too.

Inside Manila with Kids: A Travel Companion for Parents by Didith Tan Rodrigo and illustrated by Robert Aguinaldo seems to be a nice little travelogue. I bought it to see if I can compare it with another Metro Manila travelogue I reviewed last year. It seems to be a good Christmas gift to expats or balikbayans who are planning to travel to the Philippines. Target reading schedule: Maybe next year. I'm assuming that the book will prompt me to visit the places listed in the book, and I'm anticipating that I'll have more free time next year.

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Letras y Figuras: Business in Culture, Culture in Business – Jaime C. Laya

Non-Fiction, Culture, History, Slice-of-Life, Filipiniana; ISBN 971-27-1143-9; Anvil Publishing, 2001.

(Thank you to Anvil Publishing for my complimentary copy. Thank you to Honeylein de Peralta for coordinating this. :))

“Ordinary people live through all these grand events, against the broad sweep of history. Their names do not appear in history books, but theirs was the labor (and much of the money) that built churches and convents, roads and public works… With all of these, one can say that a town’s history can be viewed through the eyes of its residents who were players in the events of the past.”

There is not one genre to firmly categorize Jaime Laya’s compilation of essays, Letras y Figuras, except perhaps under that rather too-encompassing word, Filipiniana. While he had roughly organized his articles in six chapters (Times & Places; Rituals & Celebrations; Past & Present; Artists & Craftsmen; Possessions; and People, Words & Numbers), the essays’ topics are very diverse. Many are about history, but there are also some about culture, about places, about people – let’s just say about everything that is Filipino. But some are also autobiographical; there are vignettes about the author’s life, his work, his hobbies, and even his ideas. It’s hard to believe that these multi-faceted pieces were written by a cut-and-dried accountant and businessman (although a very successful one) and, if one believes the blurb, a hobbist that only dabbles on the culture and arts in his spare time.

Although I ought not to, it is difficult to resist comparing his historical essays with my other favorite historian, Ambeth Ocampo. While Ambeth Ocampo writes history with the gossipy pizzazz of a teacher (which he is) that deftly knows how to grab today’s attention-deficient generation away from their cellphones, iPods and laptops, Jaime Laya writes history like a grandfather (the look-at-my-mole grandpa from a Bear Brand commercial in the 80s comes into my mind) who feigns exasperation and finally sits down to weave the stories of a younger, cleaner Philippines to his delighted grandchildren. This translates into the most entertaining and assorted Filipiniana trivia and miscellany I’ve ever read outside of an Ambeth Ocampo book. My favorite one is an entry about how people relieve themselves during the Spanish times and up to the turn of the century - apparently ladies, did the deed, when necessary and hidden under their saya (and need I say, free from any frilly impediments too?), standing up. Gross and tacky, yes, but it’s not something that Agoncillo or Zaide would insert in their texts, so I like it.

The heroes of Mr. Laya’s essays are the ones taken for granted: the common folk unwritten in books, the places and locations now ignored and suffocating in pollution and urban blight, the ordinary people’s rituals, traditions and heritages that are now slowly vanishing. The pieces almost lack the usual dramatis personae – Rizal, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo – except via passing mentions. Mr. Laya did feature known historical art personalities such as Luna, Hidalgo, Amorsolo, as well as a few lesser known artists such as Damian Domingo and Ang Kuikok. It is as expected, considering his work in various cultural, artistic and historical organizations, museums and collections. The pieces about bahay na bato and other traditional houses were delightful, and were begging to be read while touring that new historical resort in Bagac, Bataan (Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is the name, according to Google).

(Image: Malacanang of the North, Paoay, Ilocos Norte)

Indeed, the initial impression I’ve got reading the first chapter is that of a travelogue. His footnotes in his Intramuros and Malacañang essays inform us that these are abridged versions of lengthier guidebooks (of which I’m now hunting). The book is best read while traveling - I imagine myself consulting the essay in Malacañang, while walking from door to door of that palace (barring rooms unauthorized to the public, of course).

Perhaps Anvil can release two further editions of the book? The first one is an illustrated version, in full color, perhaps into one of those pricey coffee-table books (I’ll probably see it in a bookstore and then sigh in yearning). But the version I’ll appreciate more is of a pocketbook size, as I had decided to include in my new year resolution making time to (re)visit and (re)experience those places and celebrations mentioned in his articles.

His personal essays were the most lyrical. While the piece about his childhood home in Sta. Cruz was very vivid, my favorite is a short one about his wife, titled “A Valentine Story”, as this woke the romantic in me:

“The wind was in her hair, he remembers, as he pointed to the city, the bay and the ocean far below a high ridge. In the flood of his memories are a swan on a quiet pond, a balustraded terrace on a misty hillside, a meadow at dusk moments after a festival of fairies, startled, had fled, scattering millions of little white flowers in their haste. Later, in the chill of the evening, he could not tell where the city lights ended and the stars began.”

Needless to say, I highly recommend you read this book. It is my best book for 2010.

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