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Fish-Hair Woman
Winner of the Most Underrated Book Award 2013
How much can the heart accommodate? Death and love, an enemy and a sweetheart, war and an impassioned serenade, and more. Only four chambers, but with infinite space like memory, where there is room even for those whom we do not love.
Fish-Hair Woman is a novel of many rooms running between love and war. In 1987 the Philippine government fights a total war against communist insurgency. The village of Iraya is militarised. The days are violent and the nights heavy with fireflies in the river where the dead are dumped. With her twelve-metre hair, Estrella the Fish Hair Woman, trawls the corpses from the water, which now tastes of lemongrass. She falls in love with the visiting Australian writer Tony McIntyre who disappears in the conflict.
Ten years later, his son Luke is reading this story in a mysterious manuscript sent to Australia with love letters. Tony left Australia when Luke was six. Now at nineteen, he travels to the Philippines because his father is supposedly dying. On arrival he is caught in a web of betrayal that spins into the dark, magical tale of the manuscript. What is fact, what is fiction? Luke meets Stella, who could be Tony’s lover — or the Fish Hair Woman? But where is Tony? Whose story is being told? Who is telling the story?
Poetic and eclectic in style, this epic tale threads a multitude of voices and stories from the Philippines to Australia, to Hawai’i, and to the reader’s world. The pool of grief, and of joy, is yours, mine, ours.
How much can the heart accommodate? Death and love, an enemy and a sweetheart, war and an impassioned serenade, and more. Only four chambers, but with infinite space like memory, where there is room even for those whom we do not love.
Fish-Hair Woman is a novel of many rooms running between love and war. In 1987 the Philippine government fights a total war against communist insurgency. The village of Iraya is militarised. The days are violent and the nights heavy with fireflies in the river where the dead are dumped. With her twelve-metre hair, Estrella the Fish Hair Woman, trawls the corpses from the water, which now tastes of lemongrass. She falls in love with the visiting Australian writer Tony McIntyre who disappears in the conflict.
Ten years later, his son Luke is reading this story in a mysterious manuscript sent to Australia with love letters. Tony left Australia when Luke was six. Now at nineteen, he travels to the Philippines because his father is supposedly dying. On arrival he is caught in a web of betrayal that spins into the dark, magical tale of the manuscript. What is fact, what is fiction? Luke meets Stella, who could be Tony’s lover — or the Fish Hair Woman? But where is Tony? Whose story is being told? Who is telling the story?
Poetic and eclectic in style, this epic tale threads a multitude of voices and stories from the Philippines to Australia, to Hawai’i, and to the reader’s world. The pool of grief, and of joy, is yours, mine, ours.
303 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
32 people are currently reading
713 people want to read
About the author
Merlinda Bobis
17 books101 followersMerlinda Bobis is an award-winning contemporary Philippine-Australian writer who has had 4 novels, 6 poetry books and a collection of short stories published, and 10 dramatic works performed. For her, ‘Writing visits like grace. Its greatest gift is the comfort if not the joy of transformation. In an inspired moment, we almost believe that anguish can be made bearable and injustice can be overturned, because they can be named. And if we’re lucky, joy can even be multiplied a hundredfold, so we may have reserves in the cupboard for the lean times.’
Born in Tabaco in the Philippines province of Albay, Merlinda Bobis attended Bicol University High School then completed her B.A. at Aquinas University in Legazpi City. She holds post-graduate degrees from the University of Santo Tomas and University of Wollongong where she taught Creative Writing for 21 years. She now lives and writes on Ngunnawal land (Canberra, Australia).
Her literary awards include the 2016 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction NSW Premier's Literary Award for her novel 'Locust Girl. A Lovesong'; three Philippine National Books Awards (2016: 'Locust Girl', 2014: 'Fish-Hair Woman', 2000: 'White Turtle'); 2013 MUBA: 'Fish-Hair Woman'; 2000 Steele Rudd Award for the Best Published Collection of Australian Short Stories: 'White Turtle'; 2006 Philippine National Balagtas Award for her poetry and prose (in English, Filipino and Bikol); 1998 Prix Italia, 1998 Australian Writers' Guild Award and 1995 Ian Reed Radio Drama Prize for her play 'Rita's Lullaby'; three Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in Literature Poetry Category (2016: Second prize, 1989: Second, 1987: First). Her poetry collection, 'Accidents of Composition' was Highly Commended for the 2018 ACT Book of the Year.
Born in Tabaco in the Philippines province of Albay, Merlinda Bobis attended Bicol University High School then completed her B.A. at Aquinas University in Legazpi City. She holds post-graduate degrees from the University of Santo Tomas and University of Wollongong where she taught Creative Writing for 21 years. She now lives and writes on Ngunnawal land (Canberra, Australia).
Her literary awards include the 2016 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction NSW Premier's Literary Award for her novel 'Locust Girl. A Lovesong'; three Philippine National Books Awards (2016: 'Locust Girl', 2014: 'Fish-Hair Woman', 2000: 'White Turtle'); 2013 MUBA: 'Fish-Hair Woman'; 2000 Steele Rudd Award for the Best Published Collection of Australian Short Stories: 'White Turtle'; 2006 Philippine National Balagtas Award for her poetry and prose (in English, Filipino and Bikol); 1998 Prix Italia, 1998 Australian Writers' Guild Award and 1995 Ian Reed Radio Drama Prize for her play 'Rita's Lullaby'; three Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in Literature Poetry Category (2016: Second prize, 1989: Second, 1987: First). Her poetry collection, 'Accidents of Composition' was Highly Commended for the 2018 ACT Book of the Year.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 15, 2015
Change the rating into 4. I was talking about this to a friend and I realize how much I like the way the tangles unfolds through out the story. I like (but too painful) how Merlinda Bobis depicts the life during martial law specially if you are a civilian caugh inbetween a war (NPA, Gvt Army and Private Army).
I can't remember the last time I read a Filipiniana book with magical realism as it's theme (or if I read any). For me, it is hard to connect magical realism with historical fiction (that happened in my own country) so rather than analysing the story I just go with the flow.
I can't remember the last time I read a Filipiniana book with magical realism as it's theme (or if I read any). For me, it is hard to connect magical realism with historical fiction (that happened in my own country) so rather than analysing the story I just go with the flow.
June 1, 2025
Prachtig boek. Ik geloof dat het geïnspireerd is op de pogingen tot staatsgreep in de Filipijnen ca. 1986, maar het is wel pure fictie vol magisch realisme. Springt tussen verschillende vertellers en schrijfstijlen. Naar het einde toe werden de metaforen soms té vaag, maar over het algemeen behoudt het een goede balans tussen mysterie en verklaring/verhaal.
August 15, 2016
I was blown away by this book. There was magic realism, a study of a family caught within a revolution where the members adopt different sides, bodies dumped in a river at night, murder and mystery, Government cover-ups, corruption and young love. Entrancing.
The writing is very different and adopts different styles as it describes the images of Estrella and her 12 metre long hair, to Luke's search for his father, and the memories of the various characters.
The writing is very different and adopts different styles as it describes the images of Estrella and her 12 metre long hair, to Luke's search for his father, and the memories of the various characters.
July 2, 2018
"Ours is not the story of a war. It is the story of those whom we love and hate." Passion and poetry overflowed in Merlinda Bobis's elegantly woven novel of magic realism, high mythology and historical narratives. The story, actually, inspired one of my recent poems, "A Change of Heart". It was like having a river goddess reintroducing to us readers the realms of our ancestry: the richness of folklore, the passion of the dwellers and tillers of lands, and the complexity of our relentless search for peace and justice. This novel does not reduce itself to being a web of revenges and revolts. More importantly, the transnationally oriented author's magnificent use of language as vehicle of meaning, stirring the people's imagination, has testified to the fruits of discipline in the writing process and of deep love for the forgotten sectors of our consciousness. This, in short, is a remarkable oeuvre.
April 10, 2022
“‘Magdara ki balde sa danaw nin sakit
Siguraduhang ruloho ini
Magdara ki balde sa hararumon na danaw
Iwalat mo duman ini.’
Take a pail to the pool of grief
Make sure it has holes
Take a pail to the deepest pool
And leave it there.
This is the wake of the world: each of us standing around a pool that we have collected for centuries. We are looking in with our little pails. We try to fathom the depth of the pool until our eyes are sore. We try to find only what is ours. We wring our hands. Ay, how to go home with only my own undiluted pail of grief? To wash my rice with or my babies, to drink? But the water is my dead kin, an enemy, a beloved, a stranger, a friend, someone who loved me or broke my heart. How to tell them apart? How to cleave water from water?
Don’t query the water. Leave your pail and go home. The rice will still boil, the baby will crawl and walk, and you will drink your thirst dry, but without the burden of history.
When he has thrown in the last shovel of earth at each funeral, the gravedigger begins his feeble attempt to tell the story of the pail and the pool. But the kin of the dead are not yet ready to hear, so he bites his tongue. He cannot be disrespectful or presumptuous. But today the story must be told. The book of incantations feels light in his palms. The villagers outdo his chant with their protests. Outside the rain does not let up. It is drowning all their voices.”
Read this amazing review by Dolores Herrero: Merlinda_Bobis%27s_Fish-Hair_Woman_Showcasing_Asian_Australianness_putting_the_question_of_justice_in_its_place/links/60ab7faa45851522bc112579/Merlinda-Bobiss-Fish-Hair-Woman-Showcasing-Asian-Australianness-putting-the-question-of-justice-in-its-place.pdf
Siguraduhang ruloho ini
Magdara ki balde sa hararumon na danaw
Iwalat mo duman ini.’
Take a pail to the pool of grief
Make sure it has holes
Take a pail to the deepest pool
And leave it there.
This is the wake of the world: each of us standing around a pool that we have collected for centuries. We are looking in with our little pails. We try to fathom the depth of the pool until our eyes are sore. We try to find only what is ours. We wring our hands. Ay, how to go home with only my own undiluted pail of grief? To wash my rice with or my babies, to drink? But the water is my dead kin, an enemy, a beloved, a stranger, a friend, someone who loved me or broke my heart. How to tell them apart? How to cleave water from water?
Don’t query the water. Leave your pail and go home. The rice will still boil, the baby will crawl and walk, and you will drink your thirst dry, but without the burden of history.
When he has thrown in the last shovel of earth at each funeral, the gravedigger begins his feeble attempt to tell the story of the pail and the pool. But the kin of the dead are not yet ready to hear, so he bites his tongue. He cannot be disrespectful or presumptuous. But today the story must be told. The book of incantations feels light in his palms. The villagers outdo his chant with their protests. Outside the rain does not let up. It is drowning all their voices.”
Read this amazing review by Dolores Herrero: Merlinda_Bobis%27s_Fish-Hair_Woman_Showcasing_Asian_Australianness_putting_the_question_of_justice_in_its_place/links/60ab7faa45851522bc112579/Merlinda-Bobiss-Fish-Hair-Woman-Showcasing-Asian-Australianness-putting-the-question-of-justice-in-its-place.pdf
December 21, 2018
I initially started reading this for a Filipino paper, but didn't finish it in time for the deadline. I read the whole book anyway, and I loved it. The subject matter was definitely heavy, and the stories in the novel were inextricably weaved with heartache, but I loved it. Bobis' writing is truly one of my favorites. I love how immersed this is in Philippine culture. Definitely one of my favorite reads this 2018!!! I think this is a great novel for anyone who's looking into exploring the magical-realist genre.
November 7, 2017
If you love happy endings, I can tell you one thing: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
If you love an excellent, well-written piece of fiction which reflects Philippine culture using English as a medium, then read it.
If you love an excellent, well-written piece of fiction which reflects Philippine culture using English as a medium, then read it.
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September 5, 2022I want to read it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2025
I LOVE LOVE LOVE MERLINDA BOBIS!
dnf
July 29, 2025i'm annoyed because i feel like i could really enjoy this; instead, i spent the whole time confused. hopefully i can live vicariously through others' enjoyment
March 6, 2017
Ecstatically surreal and politically relevant
January 27, 2025
Apparently the book is not set during Martial Law, because that’s what Bobis said during her talk in DLSU years ago (and she appeared quite annoyed and she even said she can’t understand why people thought it was) which I think came as a surpise to most readers, but nobody dared raise a hand and ask her about it, which I thought was pretty funny. Anyway, if you’re a fan of magic realism you might enjoy it, but don’t expect to totally understand it. I find her writing quite boring, incoherent, and repetitive at times.
August 22, 2012
Okay random plot questions (spoilers)
****
I'm confused: did everyone basically have dual identities? And how did Estrella end up leaving and living in Hawaii?
When was Mayor Reyes and Alvarado the same person? HUH?
****
I'm confused: did everyone basically have dual identities? And how did Estrella end up leaving and living in Hawaii?
When was Mayor Reyes and Alvarado the same person? HUH?
November 7, 2021
We all have our own pools of sadness, and how does one surface from such tragic ordeals? This is just one of the questions that Bobis in this amazing book, which skillfully weaves in and out of the political turmoil in Bobis' hometown, tries to answer.
May 7, 2014
Grace, yes. But I couldn't understand much of anything.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews