Blue Angel, White Shadow by Charlson Ong

Nostalgia for a Manila slowly ebbing away lies at the heart of Blue Angel, White Shadow, the newest offering from one of the Philippines’ most renowned novelists, Charlson Ong. With references to Marlene Dietrich, John Coltrane, Old Binondo, World War II, dogfights and summary executions, his foray into the mystery genre results in a symphony about the constant push and pull between the old and the new, the artful and the brutal.

The story begins with an iconic noir image: the beautiful woman in a red dress. Rather than a seductive shift, however, singer Laurice Saldiaga was wearing a red cheongsam when she died in the upstairs apartment of the Blue Angel, a decrepit jazz bar in the middle of Chinatown. A Hokkien-speaking mestizo policeman named Cyrus Ledesma is brought into the investigation because of its delicate nature, even as he comes to terms with his own dodgy past. He encounters a list of people with motives and opportunities to kill Laurice. The implication even goes as high up as the Mayor of Manila himself, Lagdameo Go-Lopez.

Halfway Through Mantel’s Wolf Hall

1st Diary Entry – Wolf Hall

I really need to buckle down if I am to finish reading this book by Tuesday. A big chunk of this post is full of spoilers so consider this a warning, though I’m not sure how I can possibly spoil a novel based on 400-year old historical events….

Halfway through Wolf Hall, Cardinal Wolsey is dead and Thomas Cromwell’s star is on the rise. The very people who orchestrated his patron’s downfall–the Boleyns and the Howards–have all turned their flowery attentions on to him. Even the king himself is intrigued by his seemingly foolhardy loyalty towards Wolsey, though Henry VIII gradually starts valuing him for his shrewd mind and candid attitude. From being a mere blacksmith’s son, Cromwell is now one of the most admired men within the king’s court.

The First 100 Pages – Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

(Not the cover of my copy but I like this one a lot more!)

While I’ve known the basics of Henry VIII/Anne Boleyn saga, I have to confess that I only know of a few major players such as Cardinal Wolsey from what I’ve seen on the Bravo TV show The Tudors, which is wildly inaccurate to say the least. So Hilary Mantel’s depiction is informed and contradicted by what popular culture tells me about this historical moment. That Anne Boleyn is a seductress that almost brought an empire to its knees. That Henry will forever be known for having six wives and disposing of them in horrific ways. This is something that Wolf Hall takes into account without addressing it overtly.

Wolf Hall is surprisingly modern, but I don’t quite know how to convey that through textual evidence. It just feels that way to me. Part of it is the prose–it does away with leisurely sentences that writers often use to signal that a novel is historical. The juxtaposition of the pomposity and machination within the king’s court with the clipped, precise sentences that describe them can be jarring, but I find it incredibly effective.

Reading List for 2012: Doorstoppers

I still have a ton of book reviews to write and post! .-.

In an attempt to improve my stamina when it comes to reading long novels, I’ve decided to focus on reading one doorstopper every month. That doesn’t mean I won’t be reading other books but sufficed to say, these twelve are my focus. To make this project more interesting I will also try to write journal-like commentary every 100 pages or so. I was inspired by what Angus of Book Rhapsody is doing when he reads large tomes. It’ll be interesting to note the difference in writing reactions as they happen versus my usual modus, which is to procrastinateruminate on a book after it is finished and encapsulating my thoughts in 500 or so words. The list is mostly set since I own most of these, but they are not listed in chronological order.

1. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel (653 pages) – Diary entries: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
2. Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie (647 pages) – Diary entries: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th
3. The Pillars of Earth, Ken Follett (976 pages – Not purchased yet)
4. The Tree of Smoke, Denis Johnson (613 pages)
5. The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu (1182 pages)
6. The War at the End of the World, Mario Vargas Llosa (750 pages)
7. The Mandarins, Simone de Beauvoir (736 pages)
8. Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes (1072 pages)
9. Life Mask, Emma Donoghue (650 pages)
10. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky (974 pages)
11. Drood by Dan Simmons (771 pages)
12. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (613 pages – haven’t purchased yet)

I’ll be typing up my thoughts on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall either tonight or tomorrow.

Trip to Quiapo by Ricky Lee

“Hindi ka tuturuan ng librong ito kung paano magsulat. Buhay ang gagawa n’on” – Ricky Lee

Sana maraming bumasa ng Trip to Quiapo, kahit walang balak maging scriptwriter o manunulat. Magkahalong manual ng screenwriting at collection ng iba’t ibang anekdota at materyales na konekatdo sa Philippine Cinema, bumuo si Ricky Lee ng isang sincere at kahanga-hangang larawan ng industriyang pinaglaanan niya ng buhay sa mahigit tatlumpung taon.

Importante ang librong ito hindi lamang para sa mga cinephile kundi para sa mga naghahangad ng isang oral history tungkol sa Pinoy Cinema. Marami akong nakuhang insight tungkol sa paggawa ng kwento, at malamang ay babalikan ko uli ang librong ito kung sakaling magbabalak akong magsulat uli ng fiction.

Tongues on Fire by Conrado de Quiros

Conrado de Quiros is among the country’s most articulate and widely-read political voices. His weekly column called There’s the Rub consistently causes pundits and politicians to either lionize him or accuse him of persecution. To put his influence in perspective, he is one of the very first people who called for Noynoy Aquino to run for the presidency, writing “Noynoy for president” in August 2010, following the death and funeral of Former President Corazon Aquino. Noynoy was not even contemplating the bid at this point, but the phenomenal outpouring of grief during Cory’s funeral and the call of people such as de Quiros snowballed into a movement and eventually became the state of Philippine politics today.

Tongues on Fire do not contain materials from his columns but are either speeches or longer essays that are not necessarily political in nature. However, many of the pieces allude to different administrations–from Marcos to Macapagal-Arroyo–and the scandals and indignities to which they have subjected the country. De Quiros is a political animal and it shows, with even speeches about the Boy Scouts of the Philippines containing jibes about corruption. In one essay (“A real book”), he talks about well-meaning friends and usiseros telling him that his talents can be better showcased in other ways, since writing about Philippine politics is an ultimately doomed endeavor. He blithely tells them to get lost.

Philippine Speculative Fiction 6, editors Nikki Alfar and Kate Aton-Osias

Something peculiar happens to stories when they are housed in the same anthology, especially when an overarching theme or rubric comes into play. Aside from the sensibilities of the editors informing the curation process, the stories themselves cease to become autonomous units of narrative. Difference in writing styles become sharper by contrast, premises are either reinforced or disputed by the stories that come before or after it.

In Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology Volume 6, editors Nikki Alfar and Kate Aton-Osias continue the annual tradition of gathering short fiction in with a speculative vein, with works of publishing newbies mingling with those by seasoned, award-winning authors. Kapres, supervillains, galactic warship captains, and (alleged) cannibals are among the archetypal characters featured this time around. The stories that stand out for me explore the unease that is often overshadowed or glossed over by the flashier aspects of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.