Three novellas--including Obsession, Platinum, and Cadena de Amor--examine the Philippine experience through the lives of three female characters, a prostitute, a student activist, and a politician. 10,000 first printing.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Until now, the work of Jose, an author ( My Brother, My Executioner ), editor and head of the Manila PEN center, has been all but unavailable in the U.S. The novellas in this collection purport to explore the character of a Filipina and, by extension, the nation: Narita in "Cadena de Amor," who rises to power from provincial origins; Ermi in "Obsession," who leaves her career as an expensive call girl to marry a rich American; and Malu in "Platinum," who dares to live up to her ideals as a political activist. More vivid than the women, however, are the men who tell their stories, hard-edged characters who take for granted the tangles of personality and sexuality permeating modern-day Manila's politics-and business-as-usual. Nontheless, each hopes for a transcendent experience with the woman who fascinates him--but cannot escape the sense of his own corruption, "the onslaught of the malaise that had battered most of us, the dishonesty, the deceit that pervaded public life." Unable to connect except sexually, the men regard the women like children before a candy store, alternately tantalized and frustrated. Readers, in turn, will be tantalized by these glimpses of lives led on the margins of the elite. Jose's elegiac tone complements his narratives of the loneliness and loss that accompany disillusionment.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In these three novellas, which deal with life's harsh realities, Jose reminds us that capitalism has not solved all the world's problems. Manila could be Detroit--only worse--and familiarity with urban living does not breed contentment. Jose's heroines--a high-class prostitute, a student activist, and an ambitious young girl from the provinces--encounter power, wealth, and disillusionment. Though each is an exception to society's rules, both socially and personally, all quickly discover that love survives in a late 20th-century skin and that it is too late to salvage the past. Stringent honesty saves these stories from abject cynicism, and the clear, easy-to-read prose demonstrates how connected the world really is, both in its problems and in its possibilities. For all libraries aimed at multicultural understanding.
- Susan M. Olcott, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Susan M. Olcott, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
nice one! try this!,
By admin (Makati, Philippines) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Three Filipino Women (Paperback)
This book really touched my heart especially the second novel entitled Obsession. I don't really love books and reading, I just made it for our book report which is usual in schools. It is about three women who resemble the Philippines, very beautiful and almost perfect. I don't know what was in that book for me to love it but maybe because I am a Filipino, and I know what really is happening. Jose pointed things out indirectly and in a very creative manner. You can relate everything in the story in our real life, only if you take a second look at it. It's really nice even though some of my classmates do not understand its importance but I sure do. So, I am recomending it especially to those who love their country and at the same time, has a creative and beautiful mind. This book changed my way of thinking towards literature, books and novels.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent writer, strong female stories,
By
This review is from: Three Filipino Women (Paperback)
The author has been mentioned as possibly the foremost Filipino writer, of Nobel consideration, and this book is a good indication why.
This book was well written, consisting of three short novellas, each of a strong woman in decidedly different circumstances. A political leader, a prostitute and a socially conscious liberal, they all share common attibutes of inner strength and drive, of purpose that the male narrator in each story is overwhelmed by. I think I would have gotten more out of these if I was more familiar with the circumstances that took the country to martial law, but they were well done and worthy of reading regardless.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Listmania!
|
|
