The House of True Desire: Essays on Life and Literature

by Cirilo F. Bautista

This book brings together some 115 essays from Bautista's weekly column, "Breaking Signs," which has been appearing in the Philippine Panorama, Sunday magazine of Manila Bulletin, for 17 years now. The subject is the interlink between life and literature, how one provokes the other for an interesting and fruitful dialogue. How far is life reflected in literature, and literature in life? Bautista speculates on books, people, events, and institutions, looking even for the most tenuous of answers, to bring us little reports with enjoyable freshness and insight. He studies human action with the view of explaining their irony or peculiarity, as in Mike Tyson biting off Evander Holyfield's ears in their boxing match in 1997; the grandeur of Kublai Khan; the commercialization of Christmas; the kindness of strangers; and the art of piano repair. He shows us how life refracts poetry and fiction and makes them significant concerns even in a society not known for literary patronage.

An author of several books of poetry, fiction, criticism and translation, Bautista proves in The House of True Desire that he can also handle the genre of short composition with expertise and style.

405 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Cirilo F. Bautista is Professor Emeritus of Literature at De La Salle University-Manila. A poet, novelist, essayist and critic, he has published books of poetry, fiction, criticism for which he has won such awards as the Philippine Centennial Literary Prize and Palanca Hall of Fame. He is a resident of Quezon City with his wife, Rose Marie Jimenez Bautista and together, they raised their three children.

Reviews

[Ayen · Rating 5 out of 5]

i dont know

[May Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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