Suddenly Stateside

by Marivi Soliven Blanco

How does a Filipino immigrant survive the freezing winters in America? Or live high on the cheap? Or cope with garish Las Vegas? Find out how through this hilarious and insightful collection of short essays on immigrant life in the U.S. of A. Laugh till your sides split. Delight in really good writing. And, among other things, learn how

baby sit a pet rat
put down flashers
battle racists
pass strict driving tests
get a green card

Think and feel with immigrant communities across the vastness of America as they struggle to create their identity by maintaining their country’s traditions while surviving in their new home.

Genres: Short Stories

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Marivi Soliven is a Filipina author based in America where she works as an interpreter. Her background as a writer includes having taught creative writing at the University of the Philippines, the Ayala Museum, and the University of California in San Diego. The Mango Bride has earned her a Hedgebrook writing residency last August 2012, and in 2011, garnered the Grand Prize for the Novel in English at the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. Soliven has authored other works, namely Suddenly Stateside and Spooky Mo.

Reviews

[Sasa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked that it wasn't all "I'm proud to be Pinoy" throughout the book. I'm always grateful whenever I read a Filipino author that is capable of seeing our Filipino community in the US and in the Philippines they way it really is. I like how she criticized someone's wrong doing and didn't sugar coat the situation. I wasn't really that thrilled reading this book. It was a bit boring for some parts.