philippine literature

[kevzspeare750]

wow didn't realize there was a modernized cersion of the old classic *cough: headache*

didn;t have the chance appreciate florante at laura. ibong adarna i didn;t get to really maximize; same with noli.. the reason for all of this being the language barrier; yes i'm pinay and i grew up here but i started speaking filiino in only first year (high school) so i didn;t get the lessons in school. el fili i really got to appreicate though, since we had a really good teacher and i was reading an english translation, which was well-written: The Reign of Greed, Charles Derbyshire. i felt like i was reading Les Mis, Victor Hugo. Derbyshire also has a version of Noli, The Social Cancer, which i havent really had the opportunity to crack open (let alone find).

Whew. I am currently making a modern version of el filibusterismo, which will be either a film or a blog story. If you want to contribute. please state the modern counterparts of the characters (including the places, vehicles, events and even objects), include the modernized versions of the names if necessary. Thank you.

[settie]

hi there! it's my first post here.. and I intend to make it useful.. I stumbled upon your post. and I think that I can share my ideas to you..
I think that the two famous authors did a good job in writing those novels. IT clearly depicts mostly about the Philippine history and culture. There are several life lessons which I learned from these books. The glory of finding true love, honesty, fairness, justice, the fruit of vengeance, etc.
I will surely recommend these books to others, all of them were really good! Especially El Filibusterismo. Once you get the chance to read it, you'll also feel the hate that Simon felt during those times when the country is being oppressed.

[MANICHAEAN]

Kaya mo yan!
Patunayan mong isa kang Pinoy tulad ni Manny Pacquiao ipaglaban mo ang iyong katwiran.
Lolo M.

[crystalmoonshin]

Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are compulsory reads in HS but I graduated without finishing those two novels. They're great ones but I think I have problems when it comes to the translations. These two novels (for the sake of non-Filipinos) are written in the Spanish language. (Being a Spanish major, I have tasked myself to read these two in Spanish but I have yet to find copies.)

Of the two, I must say that I like Noli better, with the tragic ending and all. (I read summarized versions and I listened well to my teachers that's why I know the story, despite not being able to read the two in their entirety.)

Just a brief summary of Noli and El Fili:
Crisostomo Ibarra returns home from years of study in Europe, and learns that his father was branded as a heretic, jailed, and was not given a Christian burial in death despite his being a decent and upright man. The reason was because of a dispute with a Spanish Friar, Padre Damaso. This friar would turn out to be the true father of Maria Clara, the love of Crisostomo's life, thus the two never married. (Of course I left out many important events...) Anyway, Crisostomo meets Elias, another unfortunate soul who suffered from the Spaniards. The two become friends. Because of the dispute between Damaso and Ibarra, the latter would be imprisoned on false charges. He escapes with the help of Elias who died.

The second novel begins with Ibarra, his name changed to Simon, on the ship bound to the Philippines. Now a bitter and disillusioned man, he plans on having revenge against those who made his life miserable, even willing to take the lives of the innocent people. He plans a revolution but ultimately fails and dies after confessing to a priest.

These are very brief summaries of the book. It would be best to read them to get to know all the hateful characters like Doña Victorina, a Filipina who pretends to be a of Spanish descent, Doña Consolacion, a fat ugly woman who covers her face with thick makeup making her look uglier and who mocks Sisa the crazy and of course Padre Damaso.

With these two novels, Rizal aimed to portray what he calls social cancer, the ills of his society during his time, as well as the abusive Spanish authorities, with special focus on the clergy.

[crystalmoonshin]

Does anybody here read Bob Ong? He's the only Filipino writer whose works I read more than willingly. I like his style; he writes as though he were just narrating past experiences to a friend with a non-formal style. I like his funny comments on just about anything in the Philippine society, he's witty and satirical, not afraid to voice out his opinions.

I've read ABNKKBSNPLAko, which made me laugh so hard that my sisters thought I was going crazy, and Stainless Longganisa. Will be reading more of his works if I have the time.

ABNKKBSNPLAko is actually "Aba nakakabasa na pala ako???" ("Wow, so I can read now???") written in popular SMS Filipino style. It recounts Bob Ong's experiences as a student, told in a humorous way.

Stainless Longganisa (longganisa is a local sausage.) is about Bob Ong's life as a writer.

[mahilig_sa_akla]

Yes, Jose Rizal is a classic. Much more profound and far reaching than one might expect. Noli inspired much of Benedict Anderson's early notions of formative nationalism in his outstanding book Imagined Communities. Check out also Vicente Rafael's book Contracting Colonialism. Write the paper! If your interested in more recent literature, there a great new collection of short stories out on the Philippines and the Diaspora called While the Blanket is Short, Learn to Curl Up, good, edgy stuff.