Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"As sharp and fast as a street boy's razor . . . a rich small feast of a book."--The New York Times Book Review
Welcome to Manila in the turbulent period of the Philippines' late dictator. It is a world in which American pop culture and local Filipino tradition mix flamboyantly, and gossip, storytelling, and extravagant behavior thrive.
A wildly disparate group of characters--from movie stars to waiters, from a young junkie to the richest man in the Philippines--becomes caught up in a spiral of events culminating in a beauty pageant, a film festival, and an assassination. In the center of this maelstrom is Rio, a feisty schoolgirl who will grow up to live in America and look back with longing on the land of her youth.
"Entertaining and compelling. . . . At the end, you emerge from its intense, dreamlike world feeling as if you've been to the Philippines."--The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Hagedorn transcends social strata, gender, culture, and politics in this exuberant, witty, and telling portrait of Philippine society."--The San Diego Union
Synopsis
"The definitive novel of the encounter between the Philippines and America and their history of mutual illusion, antagonism, and ambiguous affection." --Robert Stone Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction
Winner of the American Book Award
Welcome to Manila in the turbulent period of the Philippines' late dictator. It is a world in which American pop culture and local Filipino tradition mix flamboyantly, and gossip, storytelling, and extravagant behavior thrive.
A wildly disparate group of characters--from movie stars to waiters, from a young junkie to the richest man in the Philippines--becomes caught up in a spiral of events culminating in a beauty pageant, a film festival, and an assassination. In the center of this maelstrom is Rio, a feisty schoolgirl who will grow up to live in America and look back with longing on the land of her youth.
Synopsis
"An original, raw, and wild novel that has held its power and demands to be read."
--Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer
Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and Winner of the American Book Award Welcome to Manila in the turbulent period of the Philippines' late dictator. It is a world in which American pop culture and local Filipino tradition mix flamboyantly, and gossip, storytelling, and extravagant behavior thrive.
A wildly disparate group of characters--from movie stars to waiters, from a young junkie to the richest man in the Philippines--becomes caught up in a spiral of events culminating in a beauty pageant, a film festival, and an assassination. In the center of this maelstrom is Rio, a feisty schoolgirl who will grow up to live in America and look back with longing on the land of her youth.
About the Author
Jessica Hagedorn is the author of the novels Dogeaters and The Gangster of Love, Dream Jungle, and a collection of poetry and short fiction, Danger and Beauty.
Table of Contents
Dogeaters
Part One: Coconut Palace Love Letters
The King of Coconuts
The White Bouquet
Mister Heartbreak
Jungle Chronicle
His Mother, the Whore
Floating Bodies
Serenade
Tsismis
Sprikitik
Her Eminent Ascent into Heaven
President William McKinley Addresses a Delegation of Methodist Churchmen, 1898
Heroin
Her Mother, Rita Hayworth
High Society
Surrender
Avila Arrested in Human Rights Rally Dispute
Sleeping Beauty
One Christmas in a Mountain Lodge up in Baguio, Date Unknown
Epiphany
Breaking Spells
In the Artist's House
Excerpt from the Only Letter Ever Written by Clarita Avila
Jungle Chronicle
Part Two: The Song of Bullets
The President's Wife Has a Dream
Man with a Mission
Romeo Rosales
Paradise
The Weeping Bride
Last Chance
Dateline Manila
Movie Star
Golf
Insect Bounty
Hunger
Redemption
Jungle Chronicle
The Famine of Dreams
Bananas and the Republic
Terrain
Luna Moth
Pucha Gonzaga
Kundiman