BEFORE EVER AFTER by Samantha Sotto
Despite its title, this novel by Samantha Sotto explores more than just a fairytale love story that ends ‘happily ever after.’ Shelley Gallus has been a widow for three years after her husband Max died in a Madrid train bombing. One day, a man knocked on her doorstep and introduced himself as Paulo, claiming that he is Max’s grandson, (and he looks a lot like Max, too). He shows her a photo of Max, his “Nonno,” and true enough, it is Max, and he didn’t seem to be ageing. How could this man be Max’s grandson when Max was only 27 when he died? More absurd than this claim, Paulo tells Shelley that Max is still alive and is currently living in the Philippines. Shelley and Paulo flies to the Philippines to find
Max. Along the way, Shelley recalls the European tour she joined five years ago where she met Max, and realized the connection of Max’s stories to the mystery of his real identity. This book will take you on a historical tour to the outskirts of Europe and will make you realize what really happens ‘before ever after.’
LECHE by Rinehart Zamora Linmark
NOYPI LITERATURE LETTERS TO MONTGOMERY CLIFT by Noel Alumit
by Lea Donna Divina
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his debut novel of Filipino-American author, Noel Alumit, puts together societal issues and oppression, sexual identity, an unending hope of reuniting with one’s family and a quest for oneself. Moreover, this book is a compelling story of loss. Bong Bong Luwad was eight years old when he was smuggled to the States to live with his abusive and alcoholic Auntie Yuna to get away from the oppressive regime in the Philippines. His Auntie Yuna tells him that the best way to pray is to write letters to dead relatives because they will easily do things for the people whom they already know. But not knowing any of his relatives, Bong Bong finds a saint of his
40 The MARIAN
September 2012
own in late night TV in the person of Montgomery Clift from the movie, The Search, a man who cares for a young boy until he finds his mother. Bong Bong expects Monty to do the same for him – how could he if he’s been long dead? Thus, Bong Bong starts writing a series of letters to Montgomery Clift. Bong Bong lived in various foster homes after his Auntie Yuna disappears on her way to a liquor store. Permanently cut off from his family, Bong Bong finds himself dependent upon Monty, he couldn’t afford to lose him too. He changed his name to Bob as he finally went to live with a wealthy Filipino-American family, the Arangans. But they too have their own issues to deal with, like a rebellious daughter and a dirty secret that led him to distance himself from them.
Yes, the title is taken from a Filipino swearword, not the Spanish translation for milk. After thirteen years of living in Hawaii, Vincent “Vince” delos Reyes returns to the Philippines, his birthplace, in an all expensepaid trip he won from a Hawaiian pageant for Filipino-American men. He comes home to a Philippines which he barely knows – far from the country he left when he was nine years old. This book portrays the political turmoil in the Philippines, celebrity pop culture, and a journey to self-discovery, to which modern-day Filipinos can relate to. In his return to his homeland, he feels out of place; too foreign to be a Filipino. He was culture-shocked as his only memory of the Philippines where
he can compare this experience is when he was nine years old. Linmark’s novel satirizes the present-day Philippines in a way that many people can relate to. How does Vince fit in on a hybrid culture, being a hybrid himself ?
The disappearance of his parents during the Marcos regime leaves a traumatic experience in Bob’s life. That event marked the series of ‘disappearances’ of people in Bob’s life. Through this he was drawn more to Montgomery Clift. But it turns out that Monty is more of a faulty role model, not the father figure, saint, mentor and friend that Bob assumed him to be. This false idolatry and illusionary relationship led Bob to self-destruct, as Montgomery Clift did. He however, helped Bob come into terms with his sexuality. Interestingly enough, Bob doesn’t have a problem about being gay, unlike his sexually-troubled role model. Monty fans a flame
in him that leads him to never stop hoping, yet also drives him to the brink of insanity. For the multitude of works written depicting the violence during the Marcos regime, this novel uniquely portrays the role of the regime in breaking up Filipino families and the lingering effect it has on the surviving members of that family. All alone, Bob was burdened with dealing with the loss of his family members. The novel depicts various facets of loss – loss of family, loss of political freedom and loss of human contact, but in the end, Bob remains resilient. M