Ermita: A Filipino Novel by F. Sionil JoséMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"I can see... my country dying slowly... the fissures that divide us, isolate us from each other, are insidious and deep -- a government of men who in their greed think only of themselves, a people grown obsequious and pliant, vegetables without a sense of outrage. How then can we protect ourselves from our leaders and most of all, from ourselves?"
I was born in Ermita. There is a hospital there that I've frequented ever since early childhood, so it sort of feels like home. I thought I'd read this book while waiting for a doctor's appointment.
Ermita is an amazing place. Where else can you find that heady mix of beauty and corruption? One can inhale history, along with Manila air pollution, in every breath.
So it was with this book. There's much to love, but also some things to dislike.
I loved the historicity of it... the raw, bare naked truth of it. The city and its people were painted in harsh, unforgiving terms. The intellectuals, the users, the greedy conmen (and con women!), the sinners and the virtuous nuns. They seemed so real to me! Especially the protagonist, Ermita Rojo, a woman forced to earn her keep in a less than honorable way.
The first half of the novel was especially strong! F. Sionil Jose captured this reader's complete attention with the swift narration of traumatic events in World War II. Boom bam boom, MANY IMPORTANT THINGS HAPPENED! I had to catch my breath at certain moments, I was unprepared for that much drama, that fast, that early on! I was so caught up in this other world that I had to be called several times before I could mentally break away (with much anguish!!) and go inside the doctor's office when my turn finally came. Haha!
That being said, I confess I disliked the male gaze when it came to describing the women's bodies... perhaps because it was written in an earlier time (1988)? It's just that... well, with the subject matter of the book being what it is, there were so many scenes that infuriated me! And I suspect, other female readers.
"What is being destroyed now is not just a place but a nation, because its people have lost their beliefs and all they have now is a price."
The novel reminds me of the plot of GONE WITH THE WIND, but it is ever so much more complex. And don't go into this novel expecting a Hollywood, romance-novel Disney-film happy-ever-after conclusion.
By choosing the "ending" he did, I think the author wanted to show how Ermita Rojo's story is like that of our country's... it's still going. It hasn't ended. We are still being asked to choose, like Ermi Rojo had to choose: patriotism or comfort? Ideals or luxury?
There are no easy answers. And ERMITA is no easy read. But I'm glad I read it (finally!!), and it won't be my last F. Sionil novel, that's for sure!
Have you read any books of F. Sionil Jose's? Which one was your favorite? Let me know!
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment