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Lauriat: A Filipino-Chinese Speculative Fiction Anthology
Filipinos and Chinese have a rich, vibrant literature when it comes to speculative fiction. But what about the fiction of the Filipino-Chinese, who draw their roots from both cultures? This is what this anthology attempts to answer. Featuring stories that deal with voyeur ghosts, taboo lovers, a town that cannot sleep, the Chinese zodiac, and an exile that finally comes home, Lauriat: A Filipino-Chinese Speculative Fiction Anthology covers a diverse selection of narratives from fresh, Southeast Asian voices.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
"Two Women Worth Watching" by Andrew Drilon
"Ho-We" by Erin Chupeco
"The Chinese Zodiac" by Kristine Ong Muslim
"Pure" by Isabel Yap
"Dimsum" by Christine V. Lao
"August Moon" by Gabriela Lee
"The Captain's Nephew" by Paolo Chikiamco
"The Stranger at my Grandmother's Wake" by Fidelis Tan
"Chopsticks" by Marc Gregory Yu
"Fold Up Boy" by Yvette Tan
"The Tiger Lady" by Margaret Kawsek
"The Perpetual Day" by Crystal Koo
"Cricket" by Kenneth Yu
"The Way of Those Who Stayed Behind" by Douglas Candano
http://charles-tan.blogspot.com/2012/...
Table of Contents:
Introduction
"Two Women Worth Watching" by Andrew Drilon
"Ho-We" by Erin Chupeco
"The Chinese Zodiac" by Kristine Ong Muslim
"Pure" by Isabel Yap
"Dimsum" by Christine V. Lao
"August Moon" by Gabriela Lee
"The Captain's Nephew" by Paolo Chikiamco
"The Stranger at my Grandmother's Wake" by Fidelis Tan
"Chopsticks" by Marc Gregory Yu
"Fold Up Boy" by Yvette Tan
"The Tiger Lady" by Margaret Kawsek
"The Perpetual Day" by Crystal Koo
"Cricket" by Kenneth Yu
"The Way of Those Who Stayed Behind" by Douglas Candano
http://charles-tan.blogspot.com/2012/...
234 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2012
8 people are currently reading
507 people want to read
About the author
Charles Tan
16 books8 followersCharles Tan is a Filipino author and editor of speculative fiction.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 27, 2022
Oof, was this anthology evocative as fuck. Full thoughts to follow.
Recommended!
Recommended!
August 9, 2012
(copied from my LJ review)
Charles Tan, a Philippines-based member of the speculative fiction writing and blogging community, has brought together a wonderful buffet of spec-fic stories in this collection, the third that he’s compiled (the earlier two are The Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction 2009 and Philippine Speculative Sampler ).
This time, he’s focused on stories by Filipino-Chinese writers. As is true throughout Southeast Asia, people of Chinese ethnic origins are integral to the history of the Philippines. Some came to the Philippines centuries ago and intermarried with Spanish colonists and members of the local population; others came during the first half of the twentieth century, when the nation was an American protectorate. And people continue to emigrate from China to the Philippines today.
In his introduction, Tan brings up the issue of who’s considered Filipino-Chinese:
“Pure,” by Isabel Yap, addresses precisely this issue: teenaged Arrie drinks a “purifying” syrup from shady shop in Binondo (which Wikipedia will tell you is the oldest Chinatown in the world) when the boy she’s crushing on tells her his family doesn’t want him to date anyone who isn’t pure Chinese. The outcome is unsurprising, but I enjoyed all the details of modern adolescent life in Manila--habits, fashion, family relations, and friendships.
Erin Chupeco takes up the theme of who’s suitable dating material in “Ho-we” ("boyfriend"), but puts a hilarious spin on it, as the narrator’s Achi (oldest sister) and father spar over who Achi can date. Dad is not keen on Achi’s choices. Why can’t she find a nice minotaur from mainland China, like Di-chi, or a Taiwanese half-dragon, like Sa-chi? Dad’s trying to foist Gary Cheng on Achi--Gary’s father is a business colleague--even though Gary is a zombie. The story is excellent; I read it out loud to the teenagers in my family, who appreciated it thoroughly.
Many of the stories take place during or around funerals; my favorite of these was “The Stranger at my Grandmother’s Wake,” by Fidelis Tan, about a mysterious mourner. Others are about ghosts, including the stunning first story, “Two Women Worth Watching,” by Andrew Drilon. Faye is a TV star, but Mia has an even larger fan base . . . among the dead:
Feeling inadequate when you contemplate your number of Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or website page views? Never mind: maybe you’re really big among the dead!
Gabriella Lee’s “August Moon” is a ghost story with a more traditional sort of twist; the viewpoint character wakes up, amnesiac, beside a coffin, and gradually the events that led to this outcome are revealed. In Kenneth Yu’s “Cricket,” a talking cricket has unwelcome words for Richard Chuang on the occasion of his mother’s death at “a venerable one hundred eight.” The narrator in Douglas Candano’s “The Way of Those Who Stayed Behind” has an equally disturbing experience when he comes from Canada to Manila upon the occasion of his grandmother’s death, though in his case it relates to discovery of a mysterious book expounding the tenets of a secret family religion.
And speaking of grandmothers, they’re another common element in these stories, whether as mourned matriarchs, as in Candano’s story, or as wise advisers, as in “Two Women Worth Watching.” In “Chopsticks,” by Mark Gregory Y. Yu, the purchase of a pair of porcelain chopsticks prompts all kinds of memories and stories from the grandmother in the family, including the story of a special pair of chopsticks the grandmother received when she emigrated to the Philippines in 1950.
Two of the stories have an erotic horror tinge to them: Christine Lao’s “Dimsum” (in which the roles of blood and milk are confused) and Margaret Kawsek’s “The Tiger Lady” (where it’s blood and semen). In both cases, young men, beware!
Two draw explicity on Philippine history. The first is the “The Captain’s Nephew,” by Paolo Chikiamco, in which Captain Paua tries to enlist a tikbalang--a creature from Philippine folklore--to fight against the Spanish in the Philippine Revolution. The second, Yvette Tan’s “The Fold Up Boy,” features the ghost of a boy who died in the Sangley Rebellion of 1603, in which some 20,000 Chinese were massacred. That second story tries to do perhaps a little too much, addressing not only the present-day focal character’s disconnection from her heritage, but also her family, while also throwing in the hint of a romantic element. I’d love to see it expanded into a YA novel, where all the themes and plot elements could receive their due.
Although none of the stories is exceptionally experimental in narrative style or language use, Chrystal Koo’s “The Perpetual Day,” which imagines a world suffering a pandemic of incurable insomnia, conveys the febrile, unfocused, semi-hallucinatory experience of chronic sleep deprivation, all the while developing a cast of characters and the personality of a neighborhood, which impressed me, and Kristine Ong Muslim uses the device of descriptions for the signs of the Chinese zodiac as a launch point for twelve micro-flash vignettes.
I highly recommend the collection.
Charles Tan, a Philippines-based member of the speculative fiction writing and blogging community, has brought together a wonderful buffet of spec-fic stories in this collection, the third that he’s compiled (the earlier two are The Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction 2009 and Philippine Speculative Sampler ).
This time, he’s focused on stories by Filipino-Chinese writers. As is true throughout Southeast Asia, people of Chinese ethnic origins are integral to the history of the Philippines. Some came to the Philippines centuries ago and intermarried with Spanish colonists and members of the local population; others came during the first half of the twentieth century, when the nation was an American protectorate. And people continue to emigrate from China to the Philippines today.
In his introduction, Tan brings up the issue of who’s considered Filipino-Chinese:
Heritage is always a tricky subject--my family being a good example of Chinese purity and prejudice: whenever I’d bring a friend to the house, the first thing my parents would ask was whether they were Chinese or Filipino, and would speak about the latter with contempt. A lot of Filipino-Chinese families I know even forbid their children from marrying someone that wasn’t of “pure” Chinese blood (i.e. someone whose parents are both Chinese), even if they themselves had broken that taboo by marrying a Filipino.
“Pure,” by Isabel Yap, addresses precisely this issue: teenaged Arrie drinks a “purifying” syrup from shady shop in Binondo (which Wikipedia will tell you is the oldest Chinatown in the world) when the boy she’s crushing on tells her his family doesn’t want him to date anyone who isn’t pure Chinese. The outcome is unsurprising, but I enjoyed all the details of modern adolescent life in Manila--habits, fashion, family relations, and friendships.
Erin Chupeco takes up the theme of who’s suitable dating material in “Ho-we” ("boyfriend"), but puts a hilarious spin on it, as the narrator’s Achi (oldest sister) and father spar over who Achi can date. Dad is not keen on Achi’s choices. Why can’t she find a nice minotaur from mainland China, like Di-chi, or a Taiwanese half-dragon, like Sa-chi? Dad’s trying to foist Gary Cheng on Achi--Gary’s father is a business colleague--even though Gary is a zombie. The story is excellent; I read it out loud to the teenagers in my family, who appreciated it thoroughly.
Many of the stories take place during or around funerals; my favorite of these was “The Stranger at my Grandmother’s Wake,” by Fidelis Tan, about a mysterious mourner. Others are about ghosts, including the stunning first story, “Two Women Worth Watching,” by Andrew Drilon. Faye is a TV star, but Mia has an even larger fan base . . . among the dead:
Mia is quite content with where she is right now. At ten years old, she had a total of fifty followers. The number grew as she got older, in ones and twos each year. She lucked out in high school, when she dated a third-generation legacy celebrity and managed to hijack his 1,562 viewers. They had been trailing him out of loyalty to his grandfather, and were growing bored anyway. Mia attended a concert in Araneta Coliseum and nabbed another couple thousand by getting arrested in front of a camera. She took a dance class in Malate, enchanted a hot gay barkada and picked up over three thousand deceased homosexuals . . . Mia is now pushing 60k.
Feeling inadequate when you contemplate your number of Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or website page views? Never mind: maybe you’re really big among the dead!
Gabriella Lee’s “August Moon” is a ghost story with a more traditional sort of twist; the viewpoint character wakes up, amnesiac, beside a coffin, and gradually the events that led to this outcome are revealed. In Kenneth Yu’s “Cricket,” a talking cricket has unwelcome words for Richard Chuang on the occasion of his mother’s death at “a venerable one hundred eight.” The narrator in Douglas Candano’s “The Way of Those Who Stayed Behind” has an equally disturbing experience when he comes from Canada to Manila upon the occasion of his grandmother’s death, though in his case it relates to discovery of a mysterious book expounding the tenets of a secret family religion.
And speaking of grandmothers, they’re another common element in these stories, whether as mourned matriarchs, as in Candano’s story, or as wise advisers, as in “Two Women Worth Watching.” In “Chopsticks,” by Mark Gregory Y. Yu, the purchase of a pair of porcelain chopsticks prompts all kinds of memories and stories from the grandmother in the family, including the story of a special pair of chopsticks the grandmother received when she emigrated to the Philippines in 1950.
Two of the stories have an erotic horror tinge to them: Christine Lao’s “Dimsum” (in which the roles of blood and milk are confused) and Margaret Kawsek’s “The Tiger Lady” (where it’s blood and semen). In both cases, young men, beware!
Two draw explicity on Philippine history. The first is the “The Captain’s Nephew,” by Paolo Chikiamco, in which Captain Paua tries to enlist a tikbalang--a creature from Philippine folklore--to fight against the Spanish in the Philippine Revolution. The second, Yvette Tan’s “The Fold Up Boy,” features the ghost of a boy who died in the Sangley Rebellion of 1603, in which some 20,000 Chinese were massacred. That second story tries to do perhaps a little too much, addressing not only the present-day focal character’s disconnection from her heritage, but also her family, while also throwing in the hint of a romantic element. I’d love to see it expanded into a YA novel, where all the themes and plot elements could receive their due.
Although none of the stories is exceptionally experimental in narrative style or language use, Chrystal Koo’s “The Perpetual Day,” which imagines a world suffering a pandemic of incurable insomnia, conveys the febrile, unfocused, semi-hallucinatory experience of chronic sleep deprivation, all the while developing a cast of characters and the personality of a neighborhood, which impressed me, and Kristine Ong Muslim uses the device of descriptions for the signs of the Chinese zodiac as a launch point for twelve micro-flash vignettes.
I highly recommend the collection.
July 29, 2012
The back cover of LAURIAT proclaims that "Filipinos and Chinese have a rich, vibrant literature when it comes to speculative fiction." I have to admit: other than some familiar folk-tales (and reiterations of such by modern authors), I am woefully ignorant of the history of either nation's speculative fiction. So when the back cover goes on to ask "What about the fiction of the Filipino-Chinese, who draw their roots from both cultures," I find myself wondering if I'll be lost in attempting to understand the cross-cultural, or combi-cultural, nuances of the stories written to answer that question.
I needn't have been worried. Charles A. Tan has put together a wonderful collection of short speculative fiction that manages to feel both familiar and new to this particular American reader. The characters in these stories deal with the same issues of family history, interpersonal relationships and societal expectations that most of us deal with, but the stories also allow a glimpse into the way those concerns play out on what seems a potentially volatile field. And of course because we're dealing with speculative fiction, nothing is quite what it seems.
The focal character of Isabel Yap's "Pure" watches a friend end up in the situation she's in because of the lingering familial view that those of pure Chinese descent should only marry others of Chinese descent. You feel for both women: the one doing anything to become "pure" for her beloved and the one watching it all go wrong. In Erin Chupeco's "Ho-We," family approval of a girl's intended is also a road-block, although this family has bigger concerns than just "Chinese or Mixed." The daughter dates a number of supernatural types, including a dinner date with a zombie. Paolo Chikiamco's "The Captain's Nephew" brings war into the mix and deals with issues of servitude and mastery, slavery and free will that should ring true to anyone regardless of culture. Fidelis Tan's "The Stranger At My Grandmother's Wake" is a heart-breaking look at being alone at the end of a long life; Yvette Tan's "Fold Up Boy" gives a different view of the ravages of war (both physical war and emotional); Crystal Koo's "The Perpetual Day" shows us how the extraordinary can become commonplace (and the problems associated with becoming numb); and Kenneth Yu's "Cricket" is a disturbing take on household spirits.
The anthology starts and ends strong. It opens with Andrew Drilon's "Two Women Worth Watching," which gives a unique spin on the pervasiveness of reality television, and ends with Douglas Candano's "The Way of Those Who Stayed Behind," which addresses emigration for the sake of a 'better life' and not realizing what you've lost / left behind. (In fact, and I mean this as a compliment to Candano, the story reminded me quite a bit of Hugh Leonard's play "Da," which also deals with the ghosts of a life left behind in the 'old country' although Candano's first-person narration feels far more gothic than Leonard's play.)
I was fortunate to read an ARC of LAURIAT. I highly recommend spec-fic fans seeking the book out from publisher Lethe Press when it releases on August 15th.
I needn't have been worried. Charles A. Tan has put together a wonderful collection of short speculative fiction that manages to feel both familiar and new to this particular American reader. The characters in these stories deal with the same issues of family history, interpersonal relationships and societal expectations that most of us deal with, but the stories also allow a glimpse into the way those concerns play out on what seems a potentially volatile field. And of course because we're dealing with speculative fiction, nothing is quite what it seems.
The focal character of Isabel Yap's "Pure" watches a friend end up in the situation she's in because of the lingering familial view that those of pure Chinese descent should only marry others of Chinese descent. You feel for both women: the one doing anything to become "pure" for her beloved and the one watching it all go wrong. In Erin Chupeco's "Ho-We," family approval of a girl's intended is also a road-block, although this family has bigger concerns than just "Chinese or Mixed." The daughter dates a number of supernatural types, including a dinner date with a zombie. Paolo Chikiamco's "The Captain's Nephew" brings war into the mix and deals with issues of servitude and mastery, slavery and free will that should ring true to anyone regardless of culture. Fidelis Tan's "The Stranger At My Grandmother's Wake" is a heart-breaking look at being alone at the end of a long life; Yvette Tan's "Fold Up Boy" gives a different view of the ravages of war (both physical war and emotional); Crystal Koo's "The Perpetual Day" shows us how the extraordinary can become commonplace (and the problems associated with becoming numb); and Kenneth Yu's "Cricket" is a disturbing take on household spirits.
The anthology starts and ends strong. It opens with Andrew Drilon's "Two Women Worth Watching," which gives a unique spin on the pervasiveness of reality television, and ends with Douglas Candano's "The Way of Those Who Stayed Behind," which addresses emigration for the sake of a 'better life' and not realizing what you've lost / left behind. (In fact, and I mean this as a compliment to Candano, the story reminded me quite a bit of Hugh Leonard's play "Da," which also deals with the ghosts of a life left behind in the 'old country' although Candano's first-person narration feels far more gothic than Leonard's play.)
I was fortunate to read an ARC of LAURIAT. I highly recommend spec-fic fans seeking the book out from publisher Lethe Press when it releases on August 15th.
September 17, 2020
I only listened to the story Cricket by Kenneth Yu on LeVar Burton Reads from this collection. In this magical realism tale, the long-lived matriarch dies, leaving behind a large family that includes Richard the youngest son. It was his duty to take care of his mother and he looks bitterly at his older siblings whom he perceives as more successful as he. A magical cricket begins to speak to his family and says necessary truths to them all, especially about appreciating their life, but Richard in a rage kills it. A sad fable about how we need to not look outward for validation but try to improve the life we have in the here and now.
October 9, 2012
I enjoyed the stories in this anthology, with Kristine Ong Muslim's "Chinese Zodiac" (a series of flash fiction pieces directly or indirectly connected to each sign of the Chinese Zodiac) and Crystal Koo's "The Perpetual Day" (a story of a Binondo that literally cannot sleep) as my definite favorites. These are the stories that I wanted to discuss with everyone immediately after I read them.
There are a lot of weird/horror tales in this collection. Other stories that I liked: Andrew Drilon's "Two Women Worth Watching", Isabel Yap's "Pure", Tin Lao's "Dimsum", Fidelis Tan's "The Stranger at my Grandmother's Wake", and Erin Chupeco's "Ho-We".
There are a lot of weird/horror tales in this collection. Other stories that I liked: Andrew Drilon's "Two Women Worth Watching", Isabel Yap's "Pure", Tin Lao's "Dimsum", Fidelis Tan's "The Stranger at my Grandmother's Wake", and Erin Chupeco's "Ho-We".
October 12, 2019
3-3.5 Stars
Lauriat was a fun and definitely very speculative piece of work. It made me think about many different concepts (some i hadn’t ever fathomed beforehand) all the while keeping me entertained for the majority of the anthology. It was also quite horrifying at times, stories from Kristine ong Muslim and Isabel yap had a very eerie atmosphere. Others were informative and took the idea of speculation and made it something tangible for our own lives. I loved the cultural aspects as well, all the stories were quite unique. I must admit there was a mixed bag for me within this anthology, but for the most part I had a great time reading and would highly recommend if this has caught your attention, super fun !
Two Women Worth Watching
Andrew Drilon
3 Stars
I really enjoyed this story, exploring the notion that there is a rather ‘physical’ element to death. The exploration of life beyond this physical reality. This was a fun one.
Ho-We
Erin Chupeco
2 Stars
This was a great insight into how Chinese Filipino parents have much say In their children’s lives. And how young people are starting to break those normalities. The whole paranormal aspect was interesting but it wasn’t completely gripping.
The Chinese Zodiac
Kristine Ong Muslim
3 Stars
A bunch of horrifying mini stories based on Chinese zodiac animals and their characteristics. My favourites were the Rabbit, the rat and the Ox.
Pure
Isabel Yap
3 Stars
A very interesting concept and that ending ! Had a really ominous vibe which I always love.
Dimsum
Christine V. Lao
4 Stars
That one was so entertaining, and speculative. A rich concept and I enjoyed the way it was executed. I also really loved this specific choice for representation of Filipino Chinese culture.
August Moon
Gabriela Lee
2 Stars
Although I didn’t see any relation to anything Filipino Chinese, I still enjoyed the premise of this one as well as the imagery, spooky.
The Captains nephew
Paolo Chikiamco
Not Rated/ DNF
Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one and because I have been in a reading slump for many moons now I decided to just move on with this story, sorry I know it was an important one.
The Stranger At Grandmothers Wake
Fidelis Tan
4 Stars
A very well developed and entertaining story that delves into the subject of death. What that might be like, who might be there. Was super interesting and a concept I actually, surprisingly never thought of. Also I enjoyed the Filipino Chinese aspect, their traditional funeral practices.
Chopsticks
Marc Gregory Yu
3 Stars
I mostly enjoyed this one for the historical Chinese concept as well as the insight into migration to the Phillipines. I don’t necessarily understand the speculative part of this one, with the woman and her chopsticks. Nevertheless I liked this :)
Fold Up Boy
Yvette Tan
4 Stars
Really liked this short story, it was very well developed and I appreciated the character growth and dynamic.
The Tiger Lady
Margaret Kawsek
3 Stars
The tiger lady was super immersive and fun. Definitely had a vibe that I enjoy in my stories. The speculative aspect was really interesting and had a very angry female atmosphere and energy (which I personally really appreciate). The ending wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have guessed but I still enjoyed the story as a whole.
The Perpetual Day
Crystal Koo
Not Rated/DNF
Unfortunately just didn’t like this one, I felt the writing style was very choppy, nothing gripped me at the start of the story, and far too many characters.
Cricket
Kenneth Yu
2.5 Stars
Good development and had some intriguing parts I wasn’t a massive fan of the plot but it was okay.
The Way of Those who stayed behind
Douglas Candano
4 Stars
A very interesting take on speculative fiction, this story personally resonated on a deeper level for me because I am already very curious about the way of life represented.
Quotes
Two women worth watching
“everyone is obsessed with fame these days. They say attention is the global currency of the twenty-first century.”
The tiger lady
“Sex. Yin and Yang, the balancing of the two between male and female.”
“His body wants to cover itself in her breaths.”
Lauriat was a fun and definitely very speculative piece of work. It made me think about many different concepts (some i hadn’t ever fathomed beforehand) all the while keeping me entertained for the majority of the anthology. It was also quite horrifying at times, stories from Kristine ong Muslim and Isabel yap had a very eerie atmosphere. Others were informative and took the idea of speculation and made it something tangible for our own lives. I loved the cultural aspects as well, all the stories were quite unique. I must admit there was a mixed bag for me within this anthology, but for the most part I had a great time reading and would highly recommend if this has caught your attention, super fun !
Two Women Worth Watching
Andrew Drilon
3 Stars
I really enjoyed this story, exploring the notion that there is a rather ‘physical’ element to death. The exploration of life beyond this physical reality. This was a fun one.
Ho-We
Erin Chupeco
2 Stars
This was a great insight into how Chinese Filipino parents have much say In their children’s lives. And how young people are starting to break those normalities. The whole paranormal aspect was interesting but it wasn’t completely gripping.
The Chinese Zodiac
Kristine Ong Muslim
3 Stars
A bunch of horrifying mini stories based on Chinese zodiac animals and their characteristics. My favourites were the Rabbit, the rat and the Ox.
Pure
Isabel Yap
3 Stars
A very interesting concept and that ending ! Had a really ominous vibe which I always love.
Dimsum
Christine V. Lao
4 Stars
That one was so entertaining, and speculative. A rich concept and I enjoyed the way it was executed. I also really loved this specific choice for representation of Filipino Chinese culture.
August Moon
Gabriela Lee
2 Stars
Although I didn’t see any relation to anything Filipino Chinese, I still enjoyed the premise of this one as well as the imagery, spooky.
The Captains nephew
Paolo Chikiamco
Not Rated/ DNF
Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one and because I have been in a reading slump for many moons now I decided to just move on with this story, sorry I know it was an important one.
The Stranger At Grandmothers Wake
Fidelis Tan
4 Stars
A very well developed and entertaining story that delves into the subject of death. What that might be like, who might be there. Was super interesting and a concept I actually, surprisingly never thought of. Also I enjoyed the Filipino Chinese aspect, their traditional funeral practices.
Chopsticks
Marc Gregory Yu
3 Stars
I mostly enjoyed this one for the historical Chinese concept as well as the insight into migration to the Phillipines. I don’t necessarily understand the speculative part of this one, with the woman and her chopsticks. Nevertheless I liked this :)
Fold Up Boy
Yvette Tan
4 Stars
Really liked this short story, it was very well developed and I appreciated the character growth and dynamic.
The Tiger Lady
Margaret Kawsek
3 Stars
The tiger lady was super immersive and fun. Definitely had a vibe that I enjoy in my stories. The speculative aspect was really interesting and had a very angry female atmosphere and energy (which I personally really appreciate). The ending wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have guessed but I still enjoyed the story as a whole.
The Perpetual Day
Crystal Koo
Not Rated/DNF
Unfortunately just didn’t like this one, I felt the writing style was very choppy, nothing gripped me at the start of the story, and far too many characters.
Cricket
Kenneth Yu
2.5 Stars
Good development and had some intriguing parts I wasn’t a massive fan of the plot but it was okay.
The Way of Those who stayed behind
Douglas Candano
4 Stars
A very interesting take on speculative fiction, this story personally resonated on a deeper level for me because I am already very curious about the way of life represented.
Quotes
Two women worth watching
“everyone is obsessed with fame these days. They say attention is the global currency of the twenty-first century.”
The tiger lady
“Sex. Yin and Yang, the balancing of the two between male and female.”
“His body wants to cover itself in her breaths.”
May 20, 2020
As is often the case with short story collections, and especially with anthologies collecting multiple authors, I found the stories in this volume to be very uneven. I do wonder whether some of the stories would have connected more had I been familiar with the storytelling traditions they were riffing on, and I acknowledge that I’m not the best reviewer here since I’m not the target audience. Although not my favorite collection of late, this book was pretty different than any I’ve read previously, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend picking it up if you’re into diverse speculative fiction.
My favorite stories were Two Women Worth Watching by Andrew Drilon, which started the collection off brilliantly with a tale of two women having dinner, one a famous actress and the other a nobody who nonetheless has an enormous captivated audience of loyal ghosts who follow her life story; and The Stranger at my Grandmother’s Wake by Fidelis Tan, an intriguing story about an old woman waiting on her deathbed for the reappearance of an old friend she met only once, years earlier at her grandmother’s wake. The story that will perhaps stick with me the longest, mostly due to our present circumstances, was The Perpetual Day by Crystal Koo, which envisions a global pandemic in which the ability to sleep is suddenly lost 😨 and everyone exists perpetually awake and increasingly agitated.
My favorite stories were Two Women Worth Watching by Andrew Drilon, which started the collection off brilliantly with a tale of two women having dinner, one a famous actress and the other a nobody who nonetheless has an enormous captivated audience of loyal ghosts who follow her life story; and The Stranger at my Grandmother’s Wake by Fidelis Tan, an intriguing story about an old woman waiting on her deathbed for the reappearance of an old friend she met only once, years earlier at her grandmother’s wake. The story that will perhaps stick with me the longest, mostly due to our present circumstances, was The Perpetual Day by Crystal Koo, which envisions a global pandemic in which the ability to sleep is suddenly lost 😨 and everyone exists perpetually awake and increasingly agitated.
April 3, 2024
As with many anthologies, this was a bit of a mixed bag - there were a couple I skimmed through, not really enjoying them (mainly the more conventional ones that I’m not sure I would really count as speculative fiction) but the majority were really interesting, and there were a few I loved. Particular favourites were the first two stories, Two Women Worth Watching by Andrew Drilon and Ho-We by Erin Chupeco.
June 27, 2023
I enjoyed reading the stories but they felt too fast and really hard to catch up on. I didn't really felt interested to continue reading some of them. I didn't felt the connection through all the stories as it should've been.I didn't understood the overall even flow of it. Since the stories were all so different from each other, the style and pace and vibe, all so different and it was difficult to re adapt every time.
August 10, 2023
This might have the highest proportion of stories I loved out of any anthology I’ve ever read!!
November 12, 2024
Good read for Halloween! Love the Filipino representation. 💗
July 26, 2020
The emphasis was definitely more on "Filipino-Chinese" than "speculative fiction" - even taking a broad definition of spec fic, the genre of most of the stories seemed firmly in fantasy (or horror), where the fantastic elements were even treated as more than symbolism. On the cultural side, it's definitely interesting to see a different perspective, but I would be curious to know what people of Filipino-Chinese descent think of the stories - is so much of "Filipino-Chinese"-ness centered around attending Grandma's funeral, for example? Or Dad being very angry if you marry someone who isn't also Chinese? Or the Catholic-Chinese-traditional syncretism? I think so many of the stories just sort of bounced off me because they didn't seem to be elevating these cultural tropes much beyond their real-world setting (compare to something like Kai Ashante Wilson's use of African-American Vernacular English in THE SORCERER OF THE WILDEEPS, or Afrofuturism more generally; heck, even Yoon Ha Lee's Koreanisms in DRAGON PEARL).
2.5 stars rounded down. This is probably of interest if you're looking for a sampler of Filipino-Chinese fiction, but as a genre collection I don't think it lives up to its potential.
2.5 stars rounded down. This is probably of interest if you're looking for a sampler of Filipino-Chinese fiction, but as a genre collection I don't think it lives up to its potential.
July 10, 2023
Mouth-watering.
Culturally rich.
Culturally rich.
July 31, 2012
An enjoyable collection overall, with a few truly stand-out stories. The stories I particularly enjoyed (in ToC) order, were: Two Women Worth Watching by Andrew Drilon, Ho-We by Erin Chupeco, Dimsum by Christine V. Lao, The Stranger at My Grandmother's Wake by Fidelis Tan, Fold Up Boy by Yvette Tan, and the Tiger Lady by Margaret Kawsek.
December 28, 2012
I ought to have reviewed this as soon as I finished because now I've forgotten the names of the stories I liked best, but overall I found the anthology really haunting, with a very mythic sensibility about the whole thing.
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