People Are Strange

by Eric Gamalinda

Here are stories by one of the Philippines' most enigmatic writers. Sliding from reality to magical realism with ease, Eric Gamalinda creates his own world in these works.

Genres: Short Stories

150 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2011

About the author

Born and raised in Manila, Eric Gamalinda first published in the Philippines four novels: Planet Waves, Confessions of a Volcano, Empire of Memory, and My Sad Republic; a short story collection, Peripheral Vision; and a collection of poems, Lyrics from a Dead Language. All were written and published in the last decade of the twentieth century to literary acclaim and recognized with National Book Awards and the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards many times over, on top of his nonfiction and plays. His fifth novel, The Descartes Highlands, was shortlisted for the Man Asian Prize. His other US publications include the poetry collections Zero Gravity, winner of the Asian American Literary Prize, and Amigo Warfare; and a short story collection, People are Strange.

Reviews

[K. Jarboe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Gamalinda's short stories are really fun and refreshing, but not for everyone. If you like the dry humor with heart of Lorrie Moore but want a little Gabriel García Márquez magical realism and maybe a little gritty realism too, this thin volume is perfect for a few commutes or a rainy afternoon. I bought this directly from Black Lawrence Press at the Boston Book Fair-- the woman working their table sold it to me by saying, "There's a story where a woman gets emails from her dead ex-husband". It's touching without getting the fringes of melodrama that Moore sometimes skates along, and when it's funny its often in the way that political struggles often weave into the every day interactions between people from different kinds of lives. Almost done with this one, love it.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title "People Are Strange" is also a Doors song
The picture on the cover is of a man in a tub of water. Morrison drowned in his bath tub
I started this book (unintentionally) on the anniversary of Morrison's death.

Perhaps this is part of the reason for an unusually good rating for a book of short stories.

[Becky Robison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I encountered the title story of this collection in a body horror writing class taught by Julian K. Jarboe, so I assumed the rest of the stories would follow suit. Not so—and I’m glad they didn’t. This collection is so weird, and weirdly funny, too. It’s not magical realism so much as weird realism. Surrealism, I suppose. The title tells you everything you need to know. Many of the stories take place in Manila, or deal with Filipino immigrants to the United States, and I get the impression that much of the collection’s sense of unease comes from characters straddling cultures or coping with the long-term impacts of U.S. imperialism and the political chaos that results. I still think the title story is my favorite though—it’s deeply paranoid. I’d give this book a try if I were you.

This review was originally published on my blog.

[ebag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bionic Boy and Elvis of Manila are standouts. So far Gamalinda has become the literary parallel for my sentiments on Raya Martin: interesting approaches I admire but find none of it sticking.

[Genevieve L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surely a wonderful writer, with stories peppered with cuss words and Tagalog, and (not but) made me wonder how come Filipino-Americans have yet to earn a Junot Diaz status, or something like that. I have some theory but guess I'll keep it for now.