Author: ex.libris.philippines

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First Love, Last Love: PBC’s Twin Bill is Social Commentary Masked as Rom-Coms

(Photo credit: The Playbook Club) To watch a show both written and produced by young theater artists mostly in their twenties is a refreshing theatergoing experience. There’s that fearless idealism, which is the hallmark of college plays, merged with the growing awareness of the callous, grown-up world beyond the walls of sheltered universities. But then… Read More First Love, Last Love: PBC’s Twin Bill is Social Commentary Masked as Rom-Coms

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Yñiga: A Literary Crime Novel that Tackles the Past and Future of Being Filipino

“The status quo did not mean peace.” Glenn Diaz’s 2022 novel about a middle-aged teacher fleeing her violent past has been picked up by Tilted Axis Press, as well as shortlisted for the Novel Prize in 2020. It is many things: a literary crime novel, a concise history of Philippine contemporary history from the time… Read More Yñiga: A Literary Crime Novel that Tackles the Past and Future of Being Filipino

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The Greatest Fight of Sunny Granada: Speculatively Hopeful Filipino Fiction

Sunlight and dust motes flooded the air as I cracked open the pages of Kenneth Yu’s sophomore short story collection. His earlier book featured a lot of stories that would comfortably be classified as horror. As a result, this reviewer purposefully read this second collection of stories during the day, expecting that it would have… Read More The Greatest Fight of Sunny Granada: Speculatively Hopeful Filipino Fiction

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Rajah Versus Conquistador: Humabon and the Why of History Resurrected

“This too is a kind of law… not their rigid codes carved in stone, but the fluid law of power that shapes all things like water wearing away rock. You are what every rajah must be – friend and strategist, brother and player of the great game.” Rajah Versus Conquistador by Kahlil Corazo is that… Read More Rajah Versus Conquistador: Humabon and the Why of History Resurrected

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Insect Hag: Creepy Crawlies and Cultural Preservation

If you’re lucky, you get treated to a tarot reading when you have your book signed by Yvette Tan, whom fans are calling “The Queen of Philippine Horror.” Tan then explained what the three cards meant, then inscribed the book with the message of the fates, accompanied by her red stamp. (In this reader’s case,… Read More Insect Hag: Creepy Crawlies and Cultural Preservation

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Accidents Happen: Angry Stories that Thirst for Justice

F.H. Batacan’s newest book comes 26 years after she wrote the award-winning novel Smaller and Smaller Circles, which was hailed as a crime classic and turned into a 2017 film starring Nonie Buencamino and Sid Lucero. Set in the same Manila as her previous book, the short story collection manages to be both very similar… Read More Accidents Happen: Angry Stories that Thirst for Justice

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Five Business Lessons: Interviews with Folks Who Struck Gold

FIVE BUSINESS LESSONS is a selection of twenty-one interviews by financial analyst Henry Ong, who has been writing for publications such as the Inquirer and Esquire Philippines for the past decade. These interviews are culled from Ong’s Esquire Philippines column Financial Adviser , but also feature two brand new ones found at the very start… Read More Five Business Lessons: Interviews with Folks Who Struck Gold

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Rampage: When Manila’s Streets Ran Red with Blood

“In a way, we were all massacred. Only, some of us were fortunate to have lived through it.” Crimson as arterial blood, the cover of the nonfiction book Rampage : MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila by James M. Scott gives an idea of the extremely graphic violence depicted inside. It’s an unputdownable weighty… Read More Rampage: When Manila’s Streets Ran Red with Blood

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