Book Review: BECOMING by Michelle Obama

Becoming by Michelle Obama

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"What I won't allow myself to do, though, is to become cynical... We all play a role in this democracy... I continue to keep myself connected to a force that's larger and more potent than any one election, or leader, or news story -- and that's optimism. For me, this is a form of faith, an antidote to fear."

I've read and loved both of Barack Obama's books, but I enjoyed reading Michelle's more! I suppose a great deal of it has to do with her being a woman. I loved reading about her childhood, the lessons that she learned from her parents, the struggles and joys of being the life partner of someone who would later become the POTUS.

I admire her candour, I guess I wasn't expecting a lot of it. She gets REALLY personal with the not-so-glamorous parts of her life (her struggle to become pregnant, for example). Hers is by no means a charmed life, but I just admire her all the more for this. She became who she is by working hard.

In a world turning more cynical and mean with each day, Michelle reminds us to always choose kindness and hope.



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Book Review: THE GREAT PASSAGE by Shion Miura

The Great Passage by Shion Miura

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"A dictionary is a ship that crosses the sea of words... Without dictionaries, all any of us could do is linger before the vastness of the deep."

I will be forever thankful to a certain Professor for lending me this treasure of a book! It is something I would never have read on my own, but she spoke so convincingly about it that I felt I had to borrow it.

(And guys, if you have a choice between "BORROW" and "BUY," go for BUY! It's a keeper!)

Simply put, it is the story of how a dictionary is made.

You would think it's boring, right? Since dictionaries are often associated with less-than-pleasant required reading in English classes? But did you ever wonder what kind of people would spend their lives making one?

"Majime looked easygoing, but his soul was on fire."

This book made me realize just what a dictionary is: a symbol of hundreds of people's passion, perseverance, and prowess. Making one is a testament to human enterprise; it can take decades! And the definitions need to match the changing times, as language is fluid and never static.

The book tells of the dictionary's creators and champions... people who obsess over the specific type of paper required (waxy enough so that only one page at a time is turned with ease... thin enough so the volume won't be too bulky... but thick enough that the ink does not bleed through...there's SO MUCH to consider, it boggles the mind!! And that's JUST THE PAPER!!!!!)

Surprisingly, I had tears in my eyes at the end. I never expected I'd cry over a book about a dictionary, but there you go!

This book also made me realize how little I've read of Asian literature, which I shall seek to remedy. I mourn how I'm unable to read the great poems of Saigyo, except in translation.

Another thing to treasure about this book is the unforgettable love letter at the end!

"All I ask would be to walk my path sensing your gaze upon me. And if I might be allowed to do so, I would want nothing more than to watch over you from the shadows."

It's a testament to how well-loved this novel is, that it has been turned into both an anime series and a film! And now I can't wait to watch them and compare them with the book! (The trailer for the film : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlTjg... )

And gosh darn it, now I badly want to eat Nupporo Number One noodles!!! Thank you so much, Professor Or!



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Book Review: STRANGE THE DREAMER (Book # 1)

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Beautiful and full of monsters. All the best stories are."

This is one of those books that make you want to shove it in the face of all your bookish acquaintances, frothing at the moth, shouting "READ THIS OR ELSE WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS!!"

I'm so glad I read this for Valentine's! It's not your typical romance, in fact, I'm loath to classify this book as a romance novel because it violates some of the commandments of romance novel-hood.

Don't get me wrong. I was (and am, and always will be) a romance novel lover, having been brought up on Judith McNaught and Susan Elizabeth Philipps. My sister and I have been reading them for so long, we experienced the genre change from bodice rippers to more feminist-friendly fare.

However, there are rules for it to qualify as a romance, and Laini Taylor breaks them. I'm pretty sure she breaks several other rules of different genres as well, but in the most thrillingly beautiful way.

For one, the Prologue gives away the ending. Except that, by the time you read it again in the end, you're weeping. I shan't say anymore about the ending, but romance novel readers will already be acknowledging the point, since HEA's and HFN's don't make people WEEP.

And speaking of Weep... that's the setting of this beyond awesome tale. It's a forgotten city, whose name has been lost to memory, because of traumatic events in its past.

It's a city with another one floating above it.

It's a city that has been liberated by men who rose up against Gods, but killed off their own humanity in the process.

It's a city where the hero meets the heroine only half-way through the book. So the first part is world-building, and character build-up, and Laini Taylor does an excellent job, to be sure.

But the second part is about falling in love with another's mind, another's soul... about searching for a way to save another's way of life... with heartpounding action and bone-melting descriptions of what it means to meet in dreams, and of how easily prejudice and ignorance can tear the loveliest dreams apart.

I thought nothing could make me "kilig" (the Filipino word for extreme excitement that makes one shiver with the most pleasurable frisson of joy), given that, well, I've read far more romance novels than I'd care to admit. Haha. But Laini Taylor writes so poetically, yet so simply... her kisses and touches and glances have redefined those actions for this fan!! And oh gosh, her dialogue is a rich treasure-trove for Valentine's Day cards.

"I think you're a fairy tale. I think you're magical, and brave, and exquisite. And I hope you'll let me be in your story."

She has other descriptions likening a kiss to a book ("It's like finding a book inside another book. A small treasure of a book hidden inside a big common one... That's what a kiss is like...no matter how brief: It's a tiny, magical story, and a miraculous interruption of the mundane."), and the fact that the hero is a librarian just makes me love this incredible book all the more.

I am counting down the days until I get Book 2 in my hands!!!

Until then, I shall re-read Book 1 and re-live the magic.

"The beauty he sees in the world, and in me. It can change things."

Recommended for everyone, guaranteed to touch even the most stone-cold of hearts. This will make you believe in Love.



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Book Review: THE PORTRAIT by Iain Pears

The Portrait by Iain Pears

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"People cannot tell the truth about themselves, for they do not know it."

"You command, and it comes to pass. You lift your finger and a reputation is made, shake your head and the hopes nurtured for years in the ateliers, worked for and so desperately desired, are dashed forever. So, you do not move armies, do not wreak destruction on faraway lands like our politicians and generals. You are far more powerful than that, are you not? You change the way people think, shape the way they see the world."

The novel starts with two old friends meeting. One of them is an artist, commissioned to paint a portrait of his comrade.

Only one of them walks out alive at the end... but which one? And what could possibly drive a man to wreak the destruction of a beloved?

This novella is an enormously tense read, short yet heavy, packed with profound meditations on the meaning of art, the role of a critic versus that of the artist, the tension between objective truth and compassionate humanity, and what it means to choose between success and integrity.

Iain Pears is a revelation! I will look for his other works, I extremely enjoyed this one. He is a fine, intelligent writer, and every page, every paragraph, feels NECESSARY. (Kudos to his editor, too!)

Best read in one sitting! And it will make you re-think the purpose of triptychs. *shudders uneasily at the remembrance of the last fifteen pages*



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Book Review: NIGHT'S MASTER (Tales from the Flat Earth # 1) by Tanith Lee

Night's Master by Tanith Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"Hate fed on hate, and now perforce it fed on love, and love choked it."

I'd been hearing a lot about Tanith Lee from my Creative Writing/ English major twin and other book club pals, so I FINALLY gave in and read Book 1 of her "Tales from the Flat Earth" series. And WHOOOAAA the hype is real!

First page in, I knew I was in the hands of a master wordsmith. After the first couple of paragraphs, I realized that Lee's writing evoked the same sense of wonder and magic that Oscar Wilde's fairy tales did. Even the rhythm of the sentences seemed very similar!

"East and west he flew, beating with his vast wings, north and south, to the four edges of the world, for in those days the earth was flat and floated on the ocean of chaos. He watched the lighted processions of men crawling by below with lamps as small as sparks, and the breakers of the sea bursting into white blossoms on the rocky shores. He crossed, with a contemptuous and ironic glance, over the high stone towers and pylons of cities, and perched for a moment on the sail of some imperial galley, where a king and a queen sat feasting on honeycomb and quails while the rowers strained at the oars; and once he folded his inky wings on the roof of a temple and laughed aloud at men's notions of the gods."

The difference lies in their definition of taboo, and morals. What I loved about Oscar Wilde's stories were the lessons they imparted.

Tanith Lee's tales (for that is what the Flat Earth series is... a Scheherazade-like collection of stories about ... Night's Master, in the case of Book 1) don't always contain lessons... at least, not any that school children ought to learn. And perhaps this is the give-away that this book was written in the 1970's, a more permissive time... the fact that this reader was quite shocked at the events portrayed ... so vividly! too. Nothing is taboo in Tanith Lee's Flat Earth. And thus, the series is MOST DEFINITELY for adult readers only.

(And yet... the penultimate tale spoke of how even an evil creature is capable of sacrifice and good.)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars because I'm a school teacher and I love books with morals, ahahaha. But gosh darn it, this is fiiiiiiine writing! You'd be hardpressed to find any better! Now, which one of my book club friends has Book 2?? :)



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Book Review: HOW LONG 'TIL BLACK FUTURE MONTH? by NK Jemisin

How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"if...
if a tree falls...
if a tree falls and there's no one around to hear it (but God)...
would it really bother with anything so mundane as making a sound?
or would it
dance"

I LOOOOVE Jemisin, having swallowed whole her Broken Earth trilogy (each book in the series won the Hugo in the year each was published!!!). I remember all the treks to the different branches of Fully Booked in order to complete the series, ahaha. And when I heard that she wrote a collection of short stories, I was thrilled!

HLTBFM contains 22 short stories, and each one has the potential for a future novel! Some are downright terrifying, while others were tributes to other authors that had gone before.

Standouts for this reader were "Stone Hunger" (set in the Broken Earth universe!), "Walking Away" (written as a reaction to Heinlein's "The Puppet Masters" and if TPM is anything close to as terrifying as WA then I MUST HAVE IT), "The Storyteller's Replacement" (quite possibly the most horrifying fairy tale ever), "The Narcomancer" (a very special love story) and "Valedictorian" (set in a world where the worst... and the brightest... are sacrificed).

Before reading this collection, I thought I understood what Jemisin's writing was. And now that I've read this collection, I am not sure I do. Each story was written in a different voice, and while some were excellent, some were difficult to understand (possibly by design) and had me re-reading them. I am struck with the theme that ties them together: Discrimination. By race, of course, which is something that hasn't been an issue in my country in modern times... until very recently. And also by gender.

"Underneath Meroe's contempt lurked fear. Underneath that lurked reverence. He never looked very deeply inside himself, however, so contempt remained foremost in his heart."

Certain comments made by my elementary students this past week made me reflect on how easily, how thoroughly hatred and intolerance (of other religions, other races) are inculcated in the very young.

And so, Jemisin's collection is most welcome, because the diversity of its stories matches the diversity of its characters... "where every soul matters, and even the idea that some might not is anathema."

Within stories are the power of creation. We keep telling each other the right stories, we help create a better world.



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Book Review: STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"What was lost in the collapse: almost everything, almost everyone, but there is still such beauty."
Well no wonder this novel won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award! I didn't notice that tears had been running down my face until I closed the book and had to turn in for the night, and noticed my pillow was wet.

It's THAT kind of book. The kind that will linger in your memory forever, because it portrays a reality that just might happen. But also, it gives us hope. It's a book that celebrates everything about the human condition... our pettiness, our hardheadedness... and the triumph of the human soul over Armageddon.

It starts with a famous actor dying onstage, during a performance of Shakespeare's King Lear. "Just now, he was doing the thing he loved best in the world," says an eye witness who tries to save him, but fails.

And on that night, a deadly virus ("The Georgia Flu") spreads all around the world, killing 99.99% of the population.

"Everyone else died, I walked, I found the Symphony."

The world collapses. And the remaining 00.01% struggle to survive. Others find shelter in supermarkets and towns. Others, with religious cults. But our protagonists are the members of the Traveling Symphony, who go all over North America, performing Beethoven and Shakespeare to all who would listen. "Because survival is insufficient."

Emily St. John Mandel shifts time, character with each chapter, but is always coherent, and weaves together all the loose threads in one magnificent sunburst of a masterpiece. Rarely are end of the world scenarios so horribly presented, and yet, so beautifully, too.

Yes, all things come to an end. But the biggest blessing of all is to be doing the things we love, surrounded by the people we love most, until the very last.



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Theatrical Review: A Staged Reading of Tom Kempinski's DUET FOR ONE

Michael Williams is a legend. I was a high school student many, many years ago when I first heard of him, and up to now, his role as the Stagehand in Terrence McNally's MASTERCLASS is the one I think of when telling students the old phrase, "There are no small roles..."

So you can imagine the state of excitement several audience members were in for the fourth and last play of CAST PH's third season of staged readings!

Director Andrei Pamintuan had Caisa Borromeo wheel herself in on a wheelchair, and our shock at seeing this was matched by the emotional jolt of witnessing her physical collapse and emotional breakdown, and the verbal bombs uttered in Act 2. Caisa Borromeo is Stephanie Abrahams, a famous violinist struck down by multiple sclerosis, the creeping paralysis disease. And she comes to see Dr. Alfred Feldmann (Williams), a psychiatrist, to treat her depression.

Although the play, "DUET FOR ONE" by Tom Kempinski, might seem offensive to some feminists, I think it's best taken in context, knowing what it was inspired by.

While watching the play, the thought crossed my mind that this seemed remarkably similar to what happened to the famous cellist, Jacqueline Du Pre, who had multiple sclerosis at 28 and died at 42. And after Googling the play, my suspicions proved correct. It was indeed based on Jacqueline Du Pre and her genius pianist/conductor husband, Daniel Barenboim.

I still remember how, a few years ago, I read the terrible biography written by Jacqueline's sister, "Genius in the Family," where the depths of suffering were revealed, and the sexual exploits of an artist struggling to feel alive reached the levels of the unthinkable and immoral. I remember closing the book with a sigh of relief, thinking, "If that's what genius entails, then thank heavens for being a mere mortal!"

Taken on its own merits, the play's first act was the strongest and left several of us tearful come intermission. The second act's script had descriptions of music's life-giving nature and the purpose of life which fell a bit flat and sounded cliche at times, but was vastly improved upon by the delivery of Borromeo and Williams.

And now I can't wait to see the 1987 film version starring Julie Andrews and Max von Sydow!!!

It's also worth noting that the fourth play tied together many themes present in the first three staged readings.

Like Mozart and Salieri in Play # 1, and Hank and Julian in Play # 3, the father-offspring relationship of Stephanie is analyzed and dissected, and makes one appreciate just how much our characters are formed (or deformed) by our parents. Like Mozart and Salieri, the theme of envy is discussed... a grim reminder that sometimes, one need not have done anything bad in order to be hated... that lack of misfortune is in itself reason enough for some to try to tear you down. Like Florence Foster Jenkins in Play # 2, Stephanie is dealing with a disease that threatens to kill the music in her, and both have to dig deep into themselves in order to keep making music, or find other ways of singing.

"We sing life itself, do we not? Is that not what we're doing?"

That's what music does. It teaches us to see events as notes that make up Life's chords... sometimes major, sometimes minor, but always with a cadence, a resolution.

"It's a journey. We make it together."

That's what being an audience member of CAST is all about. Featuring excellent plays, and actors... They take us on journeys into different times and places, and we emerge from Pineapple Lab better, richer people for having watched. Thank you CAST PH! Is it too early to reserve tickets for next season? Ahahaha. Congratulations Sarah Facuri and #castph!!!

Opera Review: Donizetti's LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR

Donizetti's LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (aka "That Italian opera with a Scottish accent" 😂 ) was everything a Romeo and Juliet story with an international cast and artistic team ought to be.

Beautiful. Over the top. As far away from reality as the heavens to earth.

And this is why we go to operas... Because the music is just. So. Darn. Beautiful. And yes, everything goes to Hades onstage (plot-wise), but operas teach us to look for the beauty in each moment of heartbreak or despair... And hey! Sing an aria or two, because if you've got to go, might as well hit a couple of high C's (or E flats) along the way!

Oh, to die that beautifully! To go mad, to that exquisite flute music!

It must be said, however, that in a stellar cast, the stand out star of the show was Filipino-born tenor Arthur Espiritu! His voice touched us deeply, and made audience members engage in fierce debates whether it was his last aria or Lucia's that was the best.

This was an opera to remember!!! Congratulations to the Filipino singers, you all sounded amazing and I can't wait to hear more!!! 

Bernice in the orchestra pit!

The view from our seats!

Hi Anna!

Wonderful pianists Michelle and Mika!

Spotted at the opera: Mamel and the Palaganases!