Michael David S. Sy (Author of Cries and Whispers)

Michael David rated a book Aguinaldo's Odyssey by Simeon Villa	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Unlike Jose Garcia Villa, one of the Philippines' most prominent writers, Simeon Villa, his father, had a dry and repetitious writing style, and half of the book covers his entries regarding Aguinaldo's escape from Americans. In other words, outside ...more
Oct 16, 2026 03:30AM · like · see review
Michael David rated a book really liked it The Moths by Ruben G. Basio	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I won't be dishonest: the foremost reason why I purchased this book was because of its intriguing title and cover. On the blurb at its back cover, it claimed that it was a "moving and soul-satisfying fiction." I had initially thought it would be a ho ...more
Oct 13, 2026 09:30AM · like · see review
Michael David liked justine's review of Men Explain Things to Me: "Had it been a different time, where the world didn’t have to witness the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the willful blindness of Cornell University, the popularity of the “tradwives” movement, or the rise of misogynistic right-wing world leaders, I woul" Read more of this review »
Oct 11, 2026 06:19AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Michael David rated a book Guide to Happy Retirement by Tomas D. Andres	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Although rather dated, its basic tenets of how to enjoy retirement remain accurate: 1) It's important to take good care of your physical condition. 2) Exercise is necessary, especially as one grows older. 3) If you can't afford the losses, you should ...more
Oct 11, 2026 02:33AM · like · see review
Michael David rated a book Games and Other Stories by Jesus Q. Cruz	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I didn't know that this book was published by my literature professor until he told me after I had bought the book, and it was unsurprising that most of this collection's stories were written in such fluid and limpid prose. According to sir Danton, t ...more
Oct 11, 2026 01:46AM · like · see review
Michael David liked justine's review of The Jasad Crown (The Scorched Throne, #2): "Sometimes I got a bit tired of being reminded about the same minuscule description every chapter, so I’d put the book down and have to recompose myself. However, same as the first one, the book was quite entertaining. At about 50%, I didn’t wanna sto" Read more of this review »
Oct 07, 2026 09:48AM · see review
Michael David rated a book Testament of National Grandeur by Erle Frayne D. Argonza	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I purchased this from Popular Bookstore, one of the few dedicated Filipiniana bookstores in the Philippines, and spent an hour poring over their collection. I deliberately opted for less-known authors (not because of any lack of competence), as their ...more
Oct 07, 2026 01:17AM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael David rated a book really liked it No Adam in Eden by Grace Metalious	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It’s rather peculiar but I have completed reading the entire oeuvre of Grace Metalious. No Adam in Eden is the final work of hers I haven’t read, and I just finished it. I also think that despite its occasional plot holes (i.e. Dr. Southworth appeari ...more
Oct 01, 2026 08:05PM · like · see review
Michael David is starting No Adam in Eden: Grace Metalious would probably rank as a peculiar author for someone like me, but with this novel I have essentially completed her oeuvre. She specialized in seedy and debauched small town characters, and got famous for her then-explosive Peyton Place. No Adam in Eden by Grace Metalious progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 01, 2026 07:40PM · like · see status
Michael David rated a book it was amazing A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) by Sarah J. Maas (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I don't like fantasy, and I generally dislike romances. Over the past decade, I had transitioned toward reading more philosophy and psychology, barring the occasional verbal thaumaturgy in authors like Nabokov or Gass. This novel, however, was recomm ...more
Sep 29, 2026 07:13AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Michael David rated a book

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Unlike Jose Garcia Villa, one of the Philippines' most prominent writers, Simeon Villa, his father, had a dry and repetitious writing style, and half of the book covers his entries regarding Aguinaldo's escape from Americans. In other words, outside ...more

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The Moths
by Ruben G. Basio

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I won't be dishonest: the foremost reason why I purchased this book was because of its intriguing title and cover. On the blurb at its back cover, it claimed that it was a "moving and soul-satisfying fiction." I had initially thought it would be a ho I won't be dishonest: the foremost reason why I purchased this book was because of its intriguing title and cover. On the blurb at its back cover, it claimed that it was a "moving and soul-satisfying fiction." I had initially thought it would be a horror story about an infestation brought about by moths, but discovered that it was, instead, creative nonfiction. The book is a treatise on the malaria epidemic, bolstered by creative examples from the author.

Viewed from this perspective, the author definitely wrote about what he knew: Ruben Basio was one of the foremost culicidologists in the Philippines, having published a monograph on Philippine mosquitoes in 1971. A significant portion of the book is expounding upon and discussing the epidemiology, symptomatology, treatment and prevention of malaria. These were well-sourced and properly referenced, and in this aspect is an excellent review of my classes in microbiology and parasitology. The different anophelids were discussed in depth - there was even insight regarding its pathogens, which are Entomophthora fungi (p. 53).

It is also from this perspective that I am ranking the book as a 4/5. Its discussion on the malaria epidemic was extensive, informative, and well-researched, and the book should be read as a monograph on malaria with a few creative excursions.
As a research writer, Basio is informative and comprehensive, and I appreciate the knowledge I gleaned from this work.

However, as a novel, which I think the book believes itself to be, it is poorly written. Basio seemed to create composites of people he knew, assigned one of them as the "novel's" protagonist, but failed to flesh out these doctors and epidemiologists. Outside of Victor Alino, I couldn't tell the other characters apart.

Second, the book is rather dishonest with its title. It doesn't feature moths outside a forced insertion of these in the novel's denouement. The "novel" focuses on facts regarding malaria. While the "novel" is ostensibly a race to develop the world's first malaria vaccine (and it was prescient on that regard, as the vaccine was completed six years after this book's publication), there is none of the suspense and even the tragedy that permeates the novel isn't really affecting: the reader is merely told that Alino's wife and family have succumbed to malaria, but the reader is barely introduced to them.

Third, the text's narrative drive (proairesis) is fragmented by multiple pages of scientific exposition. While I appreciated it, as someone who is involved with medical sciences, most readers would fail to appreciate the importance of cell-mediated immunity in an epidemic. Sadly, Basio was unable to change his writing style to befit fiction in general. He remained highly technical and scientific, which detracted from the reader empathizing and commiserating with the plight of the novel's characters.

Fourth, the "novel's" structure is inchoate, and I don't believe that Basio intended to write a postmodern text. Despite that, half of the book really is a treatise on malaria. It seemed to me as if he were unsure of what he wished to write about, and merely congealed multiple concepts even though these lacked cohesiveness.

Overall, it is an informative review of malaria (4/5) but fails as a novel (0/5). ...more

Michael David liked justine's review of Men Explain Things to Me:

Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

"Had it been a different time, where the world didn’t have to witness the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the willful blindness of Cornell University, the popularity of the “tradwives” movement, or the rise of misogynistic right-wing world leaders, I woul" Read more of this review »

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Guide to Happy Retirement
by Tomas D. Andres

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Although rather dated, its basic tenets of how to enjoy retirement remain accurate:

1) It's important to take good care of your physical condition.
2) Exercise is necessary, especially as one grows older.
3) If you can't afford the losses, you should ...more

Michael David rated a book

Games and Other Stories
by Jesus Q. Cruz

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I didn't know that this book was published by my literature professor until he told me after I had bought the book, and it was unsurprising that most of this collection's stories were written in such fluid and limpid prose. According to sir Danton, t I didn't know that this book was published by my literature professor until he told me after I had bought the book, and it was unsurprising that most of this collection's stories were written in such fluid and limpid prose. According to sir Danton, this was actually his thesis (whether for his master's program or doctorate, I do not know).

There were two stories I deemed as weaker when compared to the rest of the collection, and these were "Angel of Darkness" and "Games."

In "Angel of Darkness," the antiheroic Polon, which may have been an allusion to the performative and treacherous Polonius of Shakespeare's Hamlet, goads his "friend," Miguel, to commit a theft so that the favored child in their music class, Juanito, would be punished by their music teacher.

"Games" on the other hand, features an immature, insensitive, and callous manchild in Roy, who after he crashed his car into a lamppost, left his girlfriend because she relieved herself in the car out of fright. When an equally capable adversary in his friend, Toto, plays his games on him, he becomes close to the catharsis of realizing that, perhaps, he was the problem all along.

These weren't bad stories by any means, but these two pale in comparison with the other three. Of those, "In These Hallowed Halls" is perhaps Cruz's masterpiece: he dovetails the profiles of five faculty members in dealing with the case of Phoebe Mendez, a fille fatale of sorts. Jim Castro stands as the hopeful novice in contrast to the others calcified by their tenure, age, or both. Although initially in support of Mendez, he finally pieces together her true character when she sexually caricatured her teacher, Mrs. Tobias, while mocking their school. In spite of staying quiet and allowing himself to become similar to his seniors, he crosses his Rubicon by standing his ground even despite this being against his future prospects and tenure.

Cruz's portrayals of different types of faculty members were both incisive and well-wrought, borne of his own experience in the academe. "Hallowed" possesses a cohesive mix of wit, sarcasm, creativity, and heart that makes it Cruz's best work.

This is a collection that is worth reading and immersing oneself in. ...more

Michael David liked justine's review of The Jasad Crown (The Scorched Throne, #2):

"Sometimes I got a bit tired of being reminded about the same minuscule description every chapter, so I’d put the book down and have to recompose myself. However, same as the first one, the book was quite entertaining. At about 50%, I didn’t wanna sto" Read more of this review »

Michael David rated a book

Testament of National Grandeur
by Erle Frayne D. Argonza

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I purchased this from Popular Bookstore, one of the few dedicated Filipiniana bookstores in the Philippines, and spent an hour poring over their collection. I deliberately opted for less-known authors (not because of any lack of competence), as their ...more

Michael David rated a book really liked it

No Adam in Eden
by Grace Metalious

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It’s rather peculiar but I have completed reading the entire oeuvre of Grace Metalious. No Adam in Eden is the final work of hers I haven’t read, and I just finished it. I also think that despite its occasional plot holes (i.e. Dr. Southworth appeari It’s rather peculiar but I have completed reading the entire oeuvre of Grace Metalious. No Adam in Eden is the final work of hers I haven’t read, and I just finished it. I also think that despite its occasional plot holes (i.e. Dr. Southworth appearing to help Angelique despite his acrimony with Monique), it’s her thematically strongest work.

It starts off with the matriarch, Monique Bergeron, who uses her frigidity to destroy the life of her husband, Armand. Metalious assiduously provides the background of Armand Bergeron’s working class family and Monique’s poor background to lead the reader toward understanding why Monique identifies that the solution to her problems is marriage.

As cliché as it sounds, however, the best laid plans, of mice and women, ended in a bitter marriage. Armand, despite trying, resorts to drink as Monique would not even allow herself to be touched. After her rape from Arthur’s melange of anger, frustration, and desperation, Angelique was born.

In Angelique, the antipodean pair described in Frost’s poem was completed: “some say the world will end in fire; others say in ice … I think that I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also great and would suffice.”

Angelique would later on be the complete opposite of her mother in sexual matters: she became a whore, who nevertheless also could not love. Her marriage to Etienne would echo Monique’s marriage to Armand, where rape was the only method where unloved children would be created.

She would be the centerpiece of this novel, where her history and cloaked Electra complex would manifest through conversations with her deceased father. Sadly, she would remain incorrigible and bequeath her mercurial, alcoholic self to one of her children, Alana.

The only respite, however, is Lesley, who fully embraced motherhood and a loving, committed relationship. Alana, despite her spiraling, is also more self-aware, trying her best to protect Lesley in spite of their mother.

I think No Adam in Eden is Metalious’s best work. Thematically, it is the most salient, showing that one bad apple can poison an entire family tree. She also wrote limpidly and embodied the text’s proairesis well. One of its issues is its ending, which didn’t seem to land perfectly, but was decent enough: did Metalious imply that conservatism is the answer to unbridled feminism? Her conclusion didn’t seem convincing to me.

I also have umbrage with the blurb at the back, because Monique’s stepmother didn’t seem evil. She just wanted Monique to work because they were a large family but she didn’t seem iniquitous when compared to the actions of Monique or Angelique. Alana’s destruction even seemed belated, as if apologetically added simply to drive home the generational trauma brought forth since Monique’s.

Despite these issues, this is more thematically cohesive than Peyton Place, and the generational trauma that started with Monique and damned the Bergeron family was well-written. ...more

Michael David is starting No Adam in Eden: Grace Metalious would probably rank as a peculiar author for someone like me, but with this novel I have essentially completed her oeuvre. She specialized in seedy and debauched small town characters, and got famous for her then-explosive Peyton Place.

No Adam in Eden
by Grace Metalious

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Michael David rated a book it was amazing

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)
by Sarah J. Maas (Goodreads Author)

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I don't like fantasy, and I generally dislike romances. Over the past decade, I had transitioned toward reading more philosophy and psychology, barring the occasional verbal thaumaturgy in authors like Nabokov or Gass.

This novel, however, was recomm I don't like fantasy, and I generally dislike romances. Over the past decade, I had transitioned toward reading more philosophy and psychology, barring the occasional verbal thaumaturgy in authors like Nabokov or Gass.

This novel, however, was recommend by my two sisters and my girlfriend, so I read it. As far as an introduction to fantasy goes, this was excellent, and it is excellent for a singular reason: Rhysand. In ACOTAR we were introduced to Feyre and her protector, Tamlin. Tamlin, however, is rather bland as a "good guy." He fights to protect what is his, but is rather impotent by the novel's end.

ACOMAF thrusts Tamlin further into the inimical aspect of his personality's continuum: after dealing with Amarantha, he cloisters and entraps Feyre and limits her freedom. Feyre, on the other hand, is plagued by the sacrifices and blood she spilt to protect Prythian, and her being immured in the Spring Court causes her to spiral further.

In my previous review of ACOTAR, I mentioned that Rhysand was the one best characterized, as his personality is rather nuanced. He and Feyre play a tug-of-war between concern and hatred that culminated in him dealing Amarantha the coup-de-grace.

Thankfully, Maas observed this and built ACOMAF on the relationship between Rhys and Feyre. Her skill in allowing the gradual transformation of their aloofness toward passionate love was excellently written and thrusts the story forward. Unlike Tamlin, Rhys allows Feyre to make mistakes and even leaves her to her own devices when dealing with problems: this was the case with the Weaver.

Most importantly, Rhysand provides Feyre the one thing that Tamlin could never give her: freedom. I recall Sartre's often-cited comment: "Man is condemned to be free," and Rhysand manifests it. When after they confessed the mutuality of their feelings for one another, Rhys tells her that "You are not expected to bear me anything," (p. 542) I thought that he was one most well-written character.

Through their shared guilt and tragic pasts, Feyre and Rhysand forged a transcendental trust between each other that showed when the King of Hybern finally appeared during the novel's final pages. Though the whole is less than the sum of its parts, Rhysand embodies the excellence of ACOMAF. ...more

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	Cries and Whispers: The Philippine Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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