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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Fourteen Love Stories - Jose Dalisay Jr. & Angelo R. Lacuesta (editors)
Fiction; ISBN 971-542-412-0; Flipside Publishing, University of the Philippines Press; 2004.

"Which is why, perhaps, the love story is a strange affair. As affairs go, there are good ones and bad ones, the ones we forget and the ones we remember, over and over again. But the well-written love story is an enigma, a strange beauty. Like any story, a path is laid out, but like any affair, the outcome of that journey depends on many circumstances. One reads it and wonders how and why it works, why one is unspeakably drawn to an obscure unknown. One relishes it while it is being discovered, uncovered, but knows with absolute certainty it will end."

I'm glad that the editors of Fourteen Love Stories chose to present the stories chronologically because this gave me a chance to appreciate the changing regard of Filipinos on love and relationships over the decades. But in the end, I can't help but group the stories according to what I'd felt about them (not a good way to review a book, I know, but I'm not aiming for a proper critique =P).

The first group are the ones I had appreciated and enjoyed like artworks in a museum. Indeed, I found myself connecting some stories to certain artists: "Dead Stars" is Luna's "Tampuhan", "Midsummer" is a sensual Amorsolo,"Wedding Dance" reminds me of Botong Francisco's murals, "Tanabata's Wife", to Bencab's sculptures, and Polotan's "The Virgin" to a Manansala jeepneyscape.

I very much enjoyed reading this next group because they reminded me of friends or people I know. This lot includes Ford's "Love in the Cornhusks" (reminded me of one of my parent's kasambahay), Gonzales' "Breathe" and de Jesus' "In Her Country" (a college friend), Fres-Felix's "Alma" (my boss' mistress), and Cordero-Fernando's "The Dust Monster" (a book club friend).

Not surprisingly, the two stories I've identified with  the most were those by writers of my generation. Sitoy's "Weight" is about the subtle pressures of life that chips away one's idealism. It also made me miss the Quezon City of my college and post-graduate life, as well as the naive enthusiasm I had then. My favorite story in the anthology is Katigbak's "Passengers". It is a story of love and loss, told through bus rides. I connected with a lot of things: the girl's fondness of commuting in dingy buses, the narrator's horror of being a new driver stuck in the hellroad called EDSA with suicidal bus drivers, Metro Manila bus routes, the 'techno-dreck' which are the official soundtrack of these buses, and even that infinite parallel universe thing.

There were two I couldn't relate that well: Melvin's "A Normal Life" and Villanueva's "How Could You Smile". The latter is a story of infidelity, something I had no personal or familial experience. The former is about a love affair between an older, more sophisticated woman and and a much younger man. I don't really know what to feel about these two stories. Do I sympathize? Or maybe abhor? But I still enjoyed reading them, though with a certain detachment.

Considering that the wealth of Filipino stories written in English spanned eight decades, I’m amazed that the editors, Butch Dalisay & Sarge Lacuesta managed to choose only fourteen stories. That they limited the pick to only those about romantic love probably didn’t help much, as the Filipino is race that is in love with Love – one just have to flip the local channels or browse through the thousands of Pinoy romance pocketbooks to realize that. But chose they did, and they chose well. 

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