By Gel G. Galang

Between sci-fi fantasy series, chick lit, vampire collections, and foreign bestsellers, our local books seem to have started collecting dust even in our own bookstores.

Though you’d be hard-pressed to find shopaholic journalists, glittering vampires, or traveling hobbits, those three to four shelves labeled “Philippine publications” hold more fascinating creatures than you’d ever imagine.

From essays of a future world dominator, an epic story of a farm boy-heiress-gold digger love triangle, to the woes of a woman with two navels, Juice gives you ten local pieces that will keep you glued to your seats, flipping the pages and hungry for more.

(Find a bookstore near you. Let EYP help you out.)

1. GAGAMBA by F. Sionil Jose

Why you should read it
Almost 10 years after its release, the stories of poverty, prostitution, and injustice still resound in our society today. Aside from the critical observations of societal affairs and the upper class, there’s also the jab at God, religion, and the ultimate question, “Why?”

The Bida
Journalists, landlords, politicians—basically the “beautiful people” killed in the earthquake. Their stories take centerstage in the eyes of Gagamba, the storyteller.

The Badass
Tranquilino Penoy a.k.a. Gagamba, a cripple who sells sweepstakes at the entrance of Camarin and a survivor of the earthquake.

2. THE TWISTED SERIES by Jessica Zafra

Why you should read it
If you’re a ‘90s baby, an Eraserheads fan, a tennis fan, a cat lover, or a true cynic with a sharp taste for zing and snap, Jessica Zafra’s Twisted series will surely make you take off your rose-colored glasses and opt for her thick-rimmed ones.

The Bida
Everything. Everyone. Anything, especially world domination.

The Badass
The author, who else?

3. ILUSTRADO by Miguel Syjuco

Why you should read it
An ambitious novel that prods into the Philippine history, lifestyle, and society. Its being awarded the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize grand winner is practically just icing on the cake, but justly given.

The Bida
Miguel—namesake of the author, but a name that he insists is purely fictional. As the student of Crispin Salvador, Miguel takes it upon himself to uncover the mystery of his mentor’s death.

The Badass
Crispin Salvador, literary lion, womanizer turned recluse, who stays in New York to finish his final masterpiece.

4. MY SAD REPUBLIC by Eric Gamalinda

Why you should read it
Passion and the Filipino-American war didn’t seem to make an interesting read—until this novel came along.

The Bida
A love triangle between a rich girl, a poor boy, and a tisoy gold digger, minus the cliché of your typical telenovela.

The Badass
Asuncion Madrigal, rich, sugarcane hacienda heiress with an attitude. Even when she’s caught in a fierce love triangle with farm boy Isio Magbuela and the rich Tomas Agustin, she’s hardly the damsel-in-distress who’d get swept off her feet. If anything, she swept them off theirs.

5. SOLEDAD'S SISTER by Butch Dalisay

Why you should read it
Dalisay’s prose. Succinct, powerful, muted, restrained, vulnerable, simple, classic.

The Bida
Aurora Cabahug. While the casket labeled with her name arrives from Jeddah and opens the story, Aurora is, in fact, very much alive as a singer in a nightclub.

The Badass
SPO2 Walter Zamora, the cop tasked to reunite the deceased sister with her only living family. Instead of the pot-bellied, ticket-waving, megalomaniac officers that we immediately think of, Walter comes as a mild but pleasant surprise.

(See a list of book dealers.)

6. MONDOMANILA by Norman Wilwayco

Why you should read it
If you’re a fan of transgressive fiction, but want to see how Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club or Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting would read in the context of Philippine society, this novel reveals the least expected, but most probable, place to find a cesspool of violence and obscenity—in one’s self.

The Bida
Tony de Guzman, the antihero in search of enlightenment.

The Badass
Tony’s thoughts and ramblings—the things he easily admits about himself—are those that most people would only say out loud on their deathbeds, if they ever would at all.

7. IN THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS by Michelle Cruz Skinner

Why you should read it
A follow-up to Balikbayan and Mango Seasons, this collection captures the essence of Filipino speech and chatter—even though it’s written in English.

The Bida
Choose from the characters of the 16 stories of migrant workers, families in the suburbs, teenage life, and more.

The Badass
Of all, Virgie in “Beautiful” stands out. Despite her fondness and affections for older foreigners that have a price, she does not think of herself as a prostitute.

8. NEWS OF THE SHAMAN by Karl de Mesa

Why you should read it
If you think you’ve seen the dirtiest, most fetid and putrid parts of our beloved city, these four novelas will take you for a ride with fading rock stars, druggie photographers, puppeteer politicians, and otherworldly creatures to a different Manila.

The Bida
Lucas the tripped-up photographer in “Faith in Poison” and “Angelorio.”

The Badass
Joaquin, the vocalist of Shadowland who committed suicide in “Bright Midnight.” Before you say “Kurt Cobain,” make sure to take in the unusual trips, the talking cars, and personal demons that come his way.

9. THE SKY OVER DIMAS by Vince Groyon

Why you should read it
It’s a story about a family straight out of a Jerry Springer episode—crazy dad, klepto mom, one dead brother, and another estranged one—but with the distinct flavor of Filipino craftsmanship.

The Bida
Rafael Torrecarion, the son who goes back to his hometown of Bacolod to bring his father out from his self-confinement in Dimas.

The Badass
George Torrecarion is the labeled local nutcase now rumored to be living with another girl in their hacienda. But he’s also the bearer of stinging truth about his family’s past.

10. THE WOMAN WHO HAD TWO NAVELS by Nick Joaquin

Why you should read it
A tragic story of a family where the mother and the daughter are constantly at muted war with each other, with only their men as their point of agreement and, ironically, disagreement.

The Bida
Connie Escobar, the woman who claims that she has two navels.

The Badass
Concha Vidal, if only for the fact that she got to her daughter’s husband first, and then gave her the spoils later on.

(See a list of book and magazine publishers around the Metro.)

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