Gunita

Nagpaalam kasabay ng paglisan ng araw
Init unti-unting nagyelo at pumusyaw
Ang mahalaga ay iginuhit ko
Ang langit sa iyong mukha

Pati aking anino ay nang-iwan
Nag-iisa sa gabi ng kataksilan
Higit kitang minahal
Iyon ang mahalaga

Ikaw ngayon kinumutan ng ligaya
Habang ako’y baog sa tuwa
Ang mahalaga ay iginuhit ko
Ang langit sa iyong mukha

Minahal kita, sa iyo hindi sapat
Alay mong pag-ibig rumupok, nagkalamat
Inakala ko naihandog ko ang lahat
Inibig kita higit pa sa sapat

Inukit mo sa hangin aking alaala
Ginunita ng bagyo biglang nawala
Mahal kita iyon ang mahalaga
Iginuhit ko ang langit sa iyong mukha

(Dec. 11, 2006 – 10:02 pm)

*Unang subok sa tulang Pilipino

Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

Mathilda Neumann drowned beneath the icy waters of Nagawaukee lake one winter evening of 1919, leaving behind her daughter Ruth, who then was only a toddler, to her older sister, Amanda. The tragedy caused grave depression to the family, including husband Carl. It took them years to cope and adapt with the loss, as well as the haunting memory of Mathilda. But how did she, a good swimmer, drowned? The answers remained repressed deep within their memories, as mysterious as the lake itself, until such time when everybody was ready for it.

Drowning Ruth is the mysterious death of Mathilda Neumann, told in various timelines by the narrator, Amanda, and Ruth. It was a bit dragging at first, but after the drama unfolded and the twists built up, it got really interesting. All the while I thought I understood the story, but I was wrong in the end.

Amanda is one of the main characters in the story. She was introduced as a troubled woman. The tragic death of her sister caused her to quit her job as a nurse because of somatic symptoms – in psychiatry, these are illness manifestations which have no physiologic relations, usually brought about by severe anxiety. Amanda was the only person who knew what really happened the night her sister drowned, but she kept it a secret. She tried to suppress the memory and decided to live a new life with her niece, Ruth. – both are known coping mechanisms exhibited after stressful events. Amanda experienced Post-Traumatic Stress disorder, manifested by her physical illness, nightmares, and flashbacks shortly after the event. She also had history of being admitted to a mental health institution. Keeping the secret safe was her only means of preservation.

Ruth was so young when her mother died, but she was there. She remembered running on ice, she even recalled drowning. But that was all her memory gave her. She grew up believing her mother drowned without any clear explanations on how it happened.

Mathilda, though already dead since the start of the story, was present in every chapter. As I have said, the book was told from different timelines. In a way, she was made alive in the book. Mathilda, as described by the author, was a very beautiful and charming lady. In fact, she was a better eye-candy than her older sister. There were lots of reasons why Amanda should envy her.

Though not explicitly said in the book, it was obvious that the sisters also underwent the “sibling rivalry” phase. I even assumed that envy killed Mathilda, apparently not.

As the author unfolded clues about the death of Mathilda, I made assumptions. At first I thought Mathilda drowned looking for Amanda and Ruth. Next, I thought she drowned trying to save Ruth. I also assumed Amanda left Mathilda drowning. But the ending was very different. I was surprised, and in a way pleased.

I admire how the story was written. The building-up of clues and characters pointed to various possible causes of death. Although the narration shifts from the narrator to and from Amanda/Ruth, which I found confusing during the start, it was vital in the building-up of the plot.

The story also involved 3 male characters: Clement Owens, his son Arthur, and Carl. All of them showed 3 different male personalities which highlighted the personalities of the female protagonists and how the story revolved. Clement was the love interest of Amanda. Arthur became the suitor of Ruth. Carl, as introduced, was Mathilda’s husband.

I also like the relationship that existed between Amanda and Ruth. They were not just aunt and niece living together. To compensate for their loss, a mother-daughter and sister-sister dynamic relationship existed.

I also like the idea of the lake being the central background of the story – quiet, calm, mysterious, and treacherous. The lake had been a big factor in the lives of all characters in the book.

I am not gonna spill the beans on how Mathilda died. I encourage you to read the book to find out. This book poses as a drama-suspense novel. If you hate the drama part, you might find it boring and dragging. But I could say that the death remained a mystery even until the very end.

Drowning Ruth was the first novel of Christina Schwarz. The book had been chosen by Oprah’s Book Club, the first I’ve read among their list. Initially I thought it was just some dramatic story, no more, no less. But the great suspense and storytelling of the author proved me wrong. I give it 4/5 stars.

I placed this book on my Bookmooch inventory before reading it. I never realized I'm gonna like it. Now I have to send it to somebody overseas. Well, I guess I have to share it with others.

Form 5

Albeit book reading delays and setbacks, it feels great to be a student again!

Yann Martel's Life of Pi

Piscine Patel or “Pi” was the son of a zoo-owner who grew up near the zoo. Though he did not have first-hand experience as an animal caretaker during his childhood years, he knew enough to understand zoo business and animal behavior.

Pi was also a God-loving kid. His faith was, for his family, unbelievable to the point of being unacceptable. Pi embraced and actively practiced 3 religions: Hindu, Islam, and Christianity. He believed in the concept of one God.

At 16, he found himself on board a Japanese cargo ship to Canada with his family and the zoo animals. The ship sank and Pi tried to survive aboard a lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger.

Pi extracted all his knowledge about animals and said thousands of prayers just to survive. But will he make it to land?

I found Life of Pi an amazing story of living, surviving, and having great faith. The story is very entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking. It touched some issues which are, up to now, considered debatable.

The book discussed religion, and Pi practicing 3 way different religions is something which I found absurd. I grew up a Catholic and one of its common teachings is “one can’t serve 2 masters; one could be more loved than the other.” However, I do believe in the existence of a universal God – the God who created everything; the God worshiped by all believers of various faiths. In the book, it seemed as if Pi gave equal treatment to his 3 beliefs – something that is very difficult to achieve and master.

The book talked about zoo life – how it is similar with life in the wild. The debate for and against caging animals, in my opinion, would not be resolved. I enjoyed reading the author’s description about zoo life. I never saw animal territoriality could be viewed that way. While zoo life could be viewed as a minute and contained jungle, the issue about instincts in domestication still is a big question.

I tried putting myself in Pi’s position as I went through the story. Surviving more than 300 days of being a castaway is close to impossible. Having a tiger as a companion is simply unimaginable. Yet, author Yann Martel played with my imagination well, and as I flipped the pages, I also tried to picture everything as described. I found it hard to stop flipping the pages.

Life of Pi has an outrageous scenario – Pi’s faith, the tragic sinking of the ship, living with a tiger on a lifeboat, eating uncooked fishes and turtles, Pi bumping into a blind castaway when he turned blind, finding a patch of acidic land – yet the storytelling is disarmingly brilliant.

5 stars for this Man Booker Prize winner.

Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara

Lui, a 19-year old “barbie doll”, got attracted to one of Tokyo’s punk – Ama. But this guy was not just any ordinary punk. Ama had serpentine tongue and Lui dreamt of having one. The teenage lovers lived together, drowned beer bottles every night, and shared passionate sex. But they hardly knew each other.

On the other hand, there was Shiba-san, Ama’s friend and tattoo designer. Shiba did Lui’s tongue piercing, and more. He agreed to design Lui’s tattoo for sex. Their first was dangerous, a sadist-masochist sexual play, and Lui did not resist. Soon, they shared a sexual relationship without Ama knowing it.

How well did Lui know Ama and Shiba? As Lui dealt with the pain of making the hole of her tongue-piercing bigger, she also got deeper into the realization of her emotions and did unimaginable measures to make things right.

I did not like this book. But I don’t hate it as well.

I like the book because the plot had twists that would make you stop and ponder. As I went through those twists, I had to stop and think of the possible reasons for the actions of the characters involved. I looked for signs and symbols that made the story dynamic. Truly, one could ask loads of thought-provoking questions, probably without definite answers. The book is as mysterious as its title "Snakes and Earrings".

Worry not, fellow bookworms. The mystery is not hard to decipher. I’m just trying to make a point that this book is deeper that what is literally written. I could say that the author – Hitomi Kanehara – is really a genius. She deserved the Akutagawa Prize.

I hate the book for being open-ended. I did not like it for its “sex stories”, which some of it, I found irrelevant to the plot.

The book is thin and simply written, thanks to its translator: David Karashima.

I am giving this book 3/5 stars not because I like it but because it is the whole number between 1 and 5. I really can’t decide if I like it or not.

BookMooch Craze

Last week I went to the Quezon City Post Office (QCPO) to get my mooched books. Yes, the arrival of mail notices got me hell-excited to visit the post office. The irony here was there is nothing really exciting in QCPO. It has no AC system. The air is humid and smelled of dust and heat combined. But the situation did not prevent me from grabbing my packages.

I decided to open the packages at home. Upon arrival, I immediately went to my room and deliberately tore open the envelopes. I was like a boy opening gifts on Christmas day. I got a hardbound copy of Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate and a trade paperback copy of Paolo Coelho’s The Zahir. Both books are in excellent condition, especially the former. I am so pleased with these “gifts”.

How did I stumble upon BookMooch? I’ve been thinking about it but my memory failed me. One reason could be Shelfari.com; the Filipinos there are also engaged in mooching. Another could be Blooey’s blog entry about Bookmooch. I don’t know and I don’t really care. I’m happy with mooching and that’s what really matters.

BookMooch is a venue for persons who want to share their books, locally or internationally. All book lovers could say that there are books in their shelves that they don’t want to keep. Some of them opt to sell their books for a cheaper rate. Why not just share them with others? It isn’t a bad idea.

I started by making an account. For me to be able to ask or mooch books from others, I needed to earn points. I placed in my inventory folder all of my books that I am willing to send to anywhere here or abroad, including magazines. My inventory started with 12 books. I realized it wasn’t enough to get the books that I really want, especially if those that are available outside the country. So I built contacts. I took note of the bookmooch IDs of the active members of Flips Flipping Pages (FFP) and added them up. I had only one thing in mind: “Add more people.” It did not matter if they would reject my invites.

Bookmooch Angels Czar and Blooey responded by mooching from me. BM Angels are persons willing to help you get books from other persons, especially if you don’t have enough points. They are also more-than-willing to give advices on how to package your book better and how to send them cheaper. That was how I earned more points. Then I leveled up by sending books internationally.

I am now a bit familiar with postal services. I am still learning and the good thing is I enjoy it.

Here are some links you might want to read should you decide be part of BookMooch:

A love affair… with Bookmooch by Blooey
BookMoochers Pilipinas
Tips for BookMooch Newbies by Patti

Quoted from Sedaris

“Real love amounts to withholding the truth, even when you’re offered the perfect opportunity to hurt someone’s feelings.”

- David Sedaris in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim