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Dear Distance
Strange skies, lost boys, dreaming girls, childhood robots, and bus rides: Dear Distance is the new story collection by Luis Katigbak, award-winning author of Happy Endings and The King of Nothing to Do.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
133 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2016
25 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak
7 books31 followersLuis Joaquin M. Katigbak is the Associate Editor of Esquire Magazine (Philippine edition). He has won numerous honors for his writing, including four Palanca Awards, a Philippine Graphic prize, and a Young Artists’ Grant from the NCCA.
Luis has come out with two books so far: THE KING OF NOTHING TO DO (Milflores Publishing, 2006), a collection of essays, and HAPPY ENDINGS (University of the Philippines Press, 2000), a collection of short stories which has gone into multiple reprintings. Both were nominated for National Book Awards by the Manila Critics Circle.
Luis has worked in TV and advertising, and taught Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines. He writes a weekly column for the Philippine Star, called "Senses Working Overtime." He lives in Ortigas and has a cat named Skywise.
Luis has come out with two books so far: THE KING OF NOTHING TO DO (Milflores Publishing, 2006), a collection of essays, and HAPPY ENDINGS (University of the Philippines Press, 2000), a collection of short stories which has gone into multiple reprintings. Both were nominated for National Book Awards by the Manila Critics Circle.
Luis has worked in TV and advertising, and taught Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines. He writes a weekly column for the Philippine Star, called "Senses Working Overtime." He lives in Ortigas and has a cat named Skywise.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
May 30, 2016
This is a book you cannot speed-read through (or would want to, for that matter). Every story locks me into a bittersweet submission, and I have to tap out just to get some breathing room.
The level of craft is surgical in its precision. There's naught a misplaced word or scene to be found, instead you get the feel that everything is deliberate and organic in its construction. Luis seems to possess a deep intuition into the human psyche, and deftly leads the reader into corridors of the heart they never even knew they had (or could have). The hooks never feel telegraphed or shoehorned in, so the impact often leaves you flat on your back and gasping for air.
On several occasions, I've had to confront my definitions of poetry and prose. This collection of short stories definitely likes to encroach on those borders, mainly by how well its metaphoric structures resonate and how deviously they sneak past the bounds of the overt. There is a cool subtlety that permeates throughout the book, such that "what is said", "what is not said", and "what is said by not being said" are almost always relevant, and meaningful.
The level of craft is surgical in its precision. There's naught a misplaced word or scene to be found, instead you get the feel that everything is deliberate and organic in its construction. Luis seems to possess a deep intuition into the human psyche, and deftly leads the reader into corridors of the heart they never even knew they had (or could have). The hooks never feel telegraphed or shoehorned in, so the impact often leaves you flat on your back and gasping for air.
On several occasions, I've had to confront my definitions of poetry and prose. This collection of short stories definitely likes to encroach on those borders, mainly by how well its metaphoric structures resonate and how deviously they sneak past the bounds of the overt. There is a cool subtlety that permeates throughout the book, such that "what is said", "what is not said", and "what is said by not being said" are almost always relevant, and meaningful.
February 18, 2018
"When you're growing up, you reach a point, when you believe that you are burdened with a terrible knowledge regarding the pointlessness of the world. And then you reach a point beyond that, where you realize that what you thought was a unique perspective is astoundingly mundane. And then you reach a point beyond that, when you don't really care any more. "
- Robot Boy and Hepa, page 79
FAVORITES:
1. Little Fears
2. Passengers
3. Knowledge
4. The Editorial Meeting
5. Robot Boy and Hepaa
6. Sabado 1995
- Robot Boy and Hepa, page 79
FAVORITES:
1. Little Fears
2. Passengers
3. Knowledge
4. The Editorial Meeting
5. Robot Boy and Hepaa
6. Sabado 1995
May 28, 2016
This book 'smiles in a way that opens trapdoors of sadness inside me.'
August 27, 2025
I was told this book is very nostalgic, so I went right in expecting nothing short of it. But it also gave me something so surreal; it has speculative elements (hence the robots and cyborgs).
I’d say there’s something about this book that feels so in-between. It sits both in the past and future. Then I read a line that says, "pauses between the past and yet-to-come" (p. 105), and it captured how I felt about the book, how it kept me suspended in the middle until I finished it. Some stories almost made me cry but not fully (when I read the last line, my tears just don’t fully escape), some I liked lightheartedly, nothing extensive. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.
But one thing I did appreciate in its entirety was the writing. It’s painstaking but not necessarily verbose. One can only describe a person, a place, or a memory with so much personality and observation.
Looking forward to reading more books like this, especially his other works.
Some quotes I tabbed:
p. 17 “She sighs. It’s nothing she can’t handle, but sometimes she gets tired of handling things, of feeling that life is just an endless list of Things to Do.”
p. 47 “Perhaps that’s the thing that drove her performances, I think: a certain desperation, a need to be someone and somewhere other than who and where she was.”
p. 89 “A broken alarm clock, the sad wallpaper of a motel room, a stack of unlabeled mic CDs, an empty, water-damaged sketch pad, and that nameless pang for something else, before every single night out: this is what my life’s made up of, these days. And, of course, now, again, there’s Robot Boy, and Hepa.”
I’d say there’s something about this book that feels so in-between. It sits both in the past and future. Then I read a line that says, "pauses between the past and yet-to-come" (p. 105), and it captured how I felt about the book, how it kept me suspended in the middle until I finished it. Some stories almost made me cry but not fully (when I read the last line, my tears just don’t fully escape), some I liked lightheartedly, nothing extensive. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.
But one thing I did appreciate in its entirety was the writing. It’s painstaking but not necessarily verbose. One can only describe a person, a place, or a memory with so much personality and observation.
Looking forward to reading more books like this, especially his other works.
Some quotes I tabbed:
p. 17 “She sighs. It’s nothing she can’t handle, but sometimes she gets tired of handling things, of feeling that life is just an endless list of Things to Do.”
p. 47 “Perhaps that’s the thing that drove her performances, I think: a certain desperation, a need to be someone and somewhere other than who and where she was.”
p. 89 “A broken alarm clock, the sad wallpaper of a motel room, a stack of unlabeled mic CDs, an empty, water-damaged sketch pad, and that nameless pang for something else, before every single night out: this is what my life’s made up of, these days. And, of course, now, again, there’s Robot Boy, and Hepa.”
April 29, 2016
It's hard to be objective about this book if you know Luis. There is much of him in it, his unmistakable voice and for much of the book, I feel like he's just talking to me; the stories that he would have told over email or coffee. If you grew up in Manila in the 80s or matriculated there in the 90s, so much of Luis' worlds are lucid reproductions of the places we visted, the songs we listened to, the then meaningful things we did, and the nostalgia we've collected for mid-life wistful consumption. He has closely held the consciousness of a generation and given voice to things that would have otherwise escaped that generation; they are all the feels you could feel and all the jumbled songs in your head now straightened out, and you can look over your past with a clear, polished looking glass and a quiet yearning.
April 13, 2023
3.5 stars
A collection of stories of varying lengths that are very much steeped in memory and reflection and the isolation and loneliness of modern life. The opening story looks at a shut-in woman who has restricted her world to books and music that provide a level of certainty the real world cannot, who survives thanks to the internet yet still values the friend who visits her while, It’s Not Me has a woman dreaming about having a twin which seems again a commentary on loneliness and connection.
The stories are primarily set in cities where people are crammed together physically yet there is no emotional connection for the narrators, people with roommates they never see who are stuck in ruts of routine and unfulfilling jobs. Many consist of a narrator remembering past loves, past experiences such as traveling through the city on a bus that are often sweet but melancholy such as Passengers or reminiscing about high school experiences like Sabado, 1995. The idea that we never really know one another comes up quite frequently even in the futuristic titular story.
Day Devoid and Tell the Sky were a couple of favorites while a story like Robot Boy and Hepa managed to just balance the line between ludicrous and sweet. There are specific references to the Philippines in the Spanish colonization, Marco dictatorship, in the cities and the music but often there is also a universality to a lot of the experiences Katigbak is writing about. The shorter stories did not have much as impact as is often the case and sometime the endings just tail off abruptly, but the writing can be quite lovely and often there is a quiet thoughtfulness to the stories. Although I am not sure how many will stick with me, this was still a positive reading experience in the moment.
A collection of stories of varying lengths that are very much steeped in memory and reflection and the isolation and loneliness of modern life. The opening story looks at a shut-in woman who has restricted her world to books and music that provide a level of certainty the real world cannot, who survives thanks to the internet yet still values the friend who visits her while, It’s Not Me has a woman dreaming about having a twin which seems again a commentary on loneliness and connection.
The stories are primarily set in cities where people are crammed together physically yet there is no emotional connection for the narrators, people with roommates they never see who are stuck in ruts of routine and unfulfilling jobs. Many consist of a narrator remembering past loves, past experiences such as traveling through the city on a bus that are often sweet but melancholy such as Passengers or reminiscing about high school experiences like Sabado, 1995. The idea that we never really know one another comes up quite frequently even in the futuristic titular story.
Day Devoid and Tell the Sky were a couple of favorites while a story like Robot Boy and Hepa managed to just balance the line between ludicrous and sweet. There are specific references to the Philippines in the Spanish colonization, Marco dictatorship, in the cities and the music but often there is also a universality to a lot of the experiences Katigbak is writing about. The shorter stories did not have much as impact as is often the case and sometime the endings just tail off abruptly, but the writing can be quite lovely and often there is a quiet thoughtfulness to the stories. Although I am not sure how many will stick with me, this was still a positive reading experience in the moment.
November 15, 2016
This book feels like home.
June 30, 2025
went in to cure my homesickness and left with more melancholy and longing for people i’m still close to and memories i’m still experiencing 🥀
March 6, 2017
"In the end, distances and surfaces are all we can ever be sure of, and this is no sad thing. In a world that has accelerated almost beyond recognition, it may be the only comforting thought of which I am still capable."
I got interested in Luis Katigbak when I read "Kara's Place" on a site posting critically acclaimed stories of Paz Marquez Benitez, Rony Diaz, and Loreta Paras Sulit. The title itself - Dear Distance - sounds mysterious and interesting. And after having read this maverick collection of exceedingly original fiction, I sensed morning fog engulfing me, while imagining myself inside an avant-garde-themed bar with cyborg clientele. While reading these stories - stories that stood between creative nonfiction and philosophical essay - I learned that science fiction is not confined within the notions of stainless metal cases, omnipotent microchips, and promiscuous robots. This genre could also be utilized to question eternal verities, to carry us on the quest of doubting our existence and shrugging our shoulders over the insatiable pleasure scheme of man.
Katigbak, with his variety of length and brevity, never compromised the quality of his works. There's always a heart into every punctuation mark, asyndeton and ellipsis. And he is a master of enigmatic writing, bringing the readers into states of confusion and bewilderment, while making them feel that there's hope in heartbreak, beauty in indescribable chaos.
His strength lies in his characterization, particularly his stints of describing a female character, usually eyed by the protagonist-narrator as the object of his desire as well as the cause of his spiritual downfall. The scent, the number of moles and bruises, the length and color of the hair, and the moisture of the skin are well enumerated. There are some stories written in one paragraph, bestowing us the freedom to think of our own scenario, to conceptualize a persona.
This is one of the best short story collections I would recommend to both young and young-at-heart readers, in terms of motifs and settings. Flawless prosodic delivery is the operative term for my adoration.
His stories namely "Subterrania", "Robot Boy and Hepa" and "And You Tell Me '87" stood out among the rest, for the emotions he intended were perfectly laid out, enticing readers to sympathize with the characters' fate, enabling us to stare at the blankness of space while murmuring terms in quantum physics and acoustics. Reading this collection, in a conclusive thought, is likened to smoking electric cigarette while looking at the abundance of laser beams and neon lights produced by the concrete jungle of metropolis.
I got interested in Luis Katigbak when I read "Kara's Place" on a site posting critically acclaimed stories of Paz Marquez Benitez, Rony Diaz, and Loreta Paras Sulit. The title itself - Dear Distance - sounds mysterious and interesting. And after having read this maverick collection of exceedingly original fiction, I sensed morning fog engulfing me, while imagining myself inside an avant-garde-themed bar with cyborg clientele. While reading these stories - stories that stood between creative nonfiction and philosophical essay - I learned that science fiction is not confined within the notions of stainless metal cases, omnipotent microchips, and promiscuous robots. This genre could also be utilized to question eternal verities, to carry us on the quest of doubting our existence and shrugging our shoulders over the insatiable pleasure scheme of man.
Katigbak, with his variety of length and brevity, never compromised the quality of his works. There's always a heart into every punctuation mark, asyndeton and ellipsis. And he is a master of enigmatic writing, bringing the readers into states of confusion and bewilderment, while making them feel that there's hope in heartbreak, beauty in indescribable chaos.
His strength lies in his characterization, particularly his stints of describing a female character, usually eyed by the protagonist-narrator as the object of his desire as well as the cause of his spiritual downfall. The scent, the number of moles and bruises, the length and color of the hair, and the moisture of the skin are well enumerated. There are some stories written in one paragraph, bestowing us the freedom to think of our own scenario, to conceptualize a persona.
This is one of the best short story collections I would recommend to both young and young-at-heart readers, in terms of motifs and settings. Flawless prosodic delivery is the operative term for my adoration.
His stories namely "Subterrania", "Robot Boy and Hepa" and "And You Tell Me '87" stood out among the rest, for the emotions he intended were perfectly laid out, enticing readers to sympathize with the characters' fate, enabling us to stare at the blankness of space while murmuring terms in quantum physics and acoustics. Reading this collection, in a conclusive thought, is likened to smoking electric cigarette while looking at the abundance of laser beams and neon lights produced by the concrete jungle of metropolis.
January 12, 2023
The stories come in the form of comfort for a confused, nostalgic, on-the-edge of burning out, twenty-or-so year old me. The stories fuse the mundaneness of everyday life with specks of fantasy, and it merged two of my favorite genres, speculative fiction & slice of life, in one; all stories were coherent in their places in this collection.
I particularly enjoyed: Silences, Tell Me Do, Something True, Sabado, 1995, Planetarium, And You Tell Me ‘87, and Dear Distance.
The concept of distance is evident, and maybe the author is right in saying, “In the end, distances and surfaces are all we can ever be sure of, and this is no sad thing. In a world that has accelerated almost beyond recognition, it may be the only comforting thought of which I am still capable”.
My take is that we have such concepts of distances—for things we yearn for, people we mourn for, memories we hold dear to our hearts—but all of this is beautiful, transcends lifetimes and technologies, even. It is there as a reminder of what matters, of what we keep close, telling us that this piece of life is not a curse, but an immeasurable gift for being human.
I particularly enjoyed: Silences, Tell Me Do, Something True, Sabado, 1995, Planetarium, And You Tell Me ‘87, and Dear Distance.
The concept of distance is evident, and maybe the author is right in saying, “In the end, distances and surfaces are all we can ever be sure of, and this is no sad thing. In a world that has accelerated almost beyond recognition, it may be the only comforting thought of which I am still capable”.
My take is that we have such concepts of distances—for things we yearn for, people we mourn for, memories we hold dear to our hearts—but all of this is beautiful, transcends lifetimes and technologies, even. It is there as a reminder of what matters, of what we keep close, telling us that this piece of life is not a curse, but an immeasurable gift for being human.
May 19, 2021
Dear distance
(each reviewed after reading. Thoughts are candid and mostly unedited. The whole collection turned out to be a surprisingly long read)
Subterrania - so emo, and im not sure i get the point. Go to therapy. But the imagery and feel is vivid, and from the perspective of this involuntary isolation, i miss going outside. 3/5
Visitors - feels like an Arrival alien. Effective - In two short pages, and with two simple images, i somehow felt the heartbreak. Again, very emo. 4/5
It's not me - i don't know.. Im starting tk understand that this is a series of character sketches/vignettes.. But i don't know. Something doesnt click, ring true. It feels somewhat overdramatic and cliche, affected, hipster. Like this one. Admittedly i did not sit down and analyzed it, but i dont think i get it. Includes mildly interesting tidbits. 3/5
Little fears - stream of consciousness. Got it. Ok. Not much else, which is part of the style. At the end he had a line that reads 'i am afraid that you might think me affected' and yes, actually, i do. But i do feel called ojt for it. 3.5/5
Passengers - i enjoyed this one; somehow i can relate, or at least envision the characters. And i feel for them - i felt the bittersweetness even without given context. Piecing together the story kept me reading, as if i was eavesdropping on someone's thoughts on the bus. Again, being in quarantine, bus rides now seem nostalgic for me. I imagine it - the aircon, the sweat, the conductor, the large windshield, the driver, the standing space. The crowd, the squeeze, now seems unimaginable, what with covid. But it's nostalgic. And i do like bus rides more than jeep, UV, or taxi rides.. It provides the aircon with the anonymity, and despite being the largest, it can be heart-rattlingly fast. Im on the side of the busses, the commute, not in a car, when the busses are The Enemy, as was mentioned here. So many little lines like that struck, a and i was nodding 'yes, I've felt that'.
4/5
Knowledge - umm.. Window punching 😬
I'm not sure if it's even an accurate metaphor. The more we know, the more we know we don't know is true for even mathematics, which is the same for people. You do know them better, but their complexities are also revealed to you. Not much else here in this half page story. 2.5/5
Afterlife with Astrid - not much to go by here. I do feel the attempt of the character to navigate grief and loss. 3/5
More than I ever wanted anything - i think i just dont jibe with the style/voice. I dont think there's anything wrong with this one, but i just dont LIKE it like it. There's something always waxing too romantic, affected, or sentimental in the thought process. This did feel real tho, sometimes i was unsure if this was fiction or nonfuction. 3/5
Silences - halfway through, i got a murakami feel from this, the silence, the solitary man's first person train of thought, the life vignettes, and the odd occurances. The bit with the falling in love with a murderous man left a bad taste in my mouth. But it is a little thought provoking - thinking of those admittedly familiar silences, and that last one, 'the silence of the words i have been looking for and never found' 3.5/5
Day devoid - i might be slowly losing patience for the cliche cubao expo/makati cinema square feel of these stories. Im losing patience for nerds, which i used to be a sucker for. Im not sure if this goes anywhere below surface level. But im not sure. 3/5
Tell the sky - im not sure (again) if it's my reading comprehension at fault, or if this story was incomprehensible. It starts off using two different usages of 'story', an integral concept in this story. He first describes it as a person's life stories or ~anecdotes, then goes on to use it as false ~tales, and he goes on as if the switch did not happen. The 8 tales of the narrator are a mish-mash of random lies he's told, barely parallel to each other; the very concept of having a limited number of these is frail and quite meaningless, at least for me. And of course it had to end in the most affected way possible, 'I understand that this, my final and eighyh story, is my life itself - and as i mouth the ending, i feel my heart beat, beat, stop.' 3/5
If these stories are actually deep and im just dumb, please educate me.
The girl in the bus - pretty sure this was a shitpost. 5/5
We built this robot - one of the more straight up absurb clips - - - jarringly bizarre, instead of the slow strangeness of the others. I rather like this more. 4/5
The editorial meeting - the tone of this follows the previous one well - it's on a different plane, strange. I liked the strangeness, but then suddenly it seemed wrapped up too obviously. Sometimes i ask, what was the point? This time it feels as if the point was too... pointedly told to me, like the joke was being explained.
3/5
Tell me do, something true - felt like something, until it was again nothing. The last paragraph feels tacked on to close the story. 3/5
Robot boy and hepa - okay, kinda funny, hopeful amidst the darkness. 4/5
Sabado, 1995 - i liked this one, though it's very teenager-slice-of-life coming-of-age. At least it felt nostalgic and empty in a real way. 4/5
Planetarium - a dream. 4/5
And you tell me '87 - properly nostalgic and fanciful, something i would have daydreamed happening when i was 14. 4/5
Dear distance - at first, the worldbuilding felt very dense and heavy handed. Some of the cyberounk aesthetics also already feels outdated and borderline cringey. But it ended with heartbreaking portraits of relationships and connections - especially trina's note. And i do, i do get what the authur has been examining these past 20 stories - the distance, perceived or distorted, between us all. 3.5/5
Average: 3.5/5
(each reviewed after reading. Thoughts are candid and mostly unedited. The whole collection turned out to be a surprisingly long read)
Subterrania - so emo, and im not sure i get the point. Go to therapy. But the imagery and feel is vivid, and from the perspective of this involuntary isolation, i miss going outside. 3/5
Visitors - feels like an Arrival alien. Effective - In two short pages, and with two simple images, i somehow felt the heartbreak. Again, very emo. 4/5
It's not me - i don't know.. Im starting tk understand that this is a series of character sketches/vignettes.. But i don't know. Something doesnt click, ring true. It feels somewhat overdramatic and cliche, affected, hipster. Like this one. Admittedly i did not sit down and analyzed it, but i dont think i get it. Includes mildly interesting tidbits. 3/5
Little fears - stream of consciousness. Got it. Ok. Not much else, which is part of the style. At the end he had a line that reads 'i am afraid that you might think me affected' and yes, actually, i do. But i do feel called ojt for it. 3.5/5
Passengers - i enjoyed this one; somehow i can relate, or at least envision the characters. And i feel for them - i felt the bittersweetness even without given context. Piecing together the story kept me reading, as if i was eavesdropping on someone's thoughts on the bus. Again, being in quarantine, bus rides now seem nostalgic for me. I imagine it - the aircon, the sweat, the conductor, the large windshield, the driver, the standing space. The crowd, the squeeze, now seems unimaginable, what with covid. But it's nostalgic. And i do like bus rides more than jeep, UV, or taxi rides.. It provides the aircon with the anonymity, and despite being the largest, it can be heart-rattlingly fast. Im on the side of the busses, the commute, not in a car, when the busses are The Enemy, as was mentioned here. So many little lines like that struck, a and i was nodding 'yes, I've felt that'.
4/5
Knowledge - umm.. Window punching 😬
I'm not sure if it's even an accurate metaphor. The more we know, the more we know we don't know is true for even mathematics, which is the same for people. You do know them better, but their complexities are also revealed to you. Not much else here in this half page story. 2.5/5
Afterlife with Astrid - not much to go by here. I do feel the attempt of the character to navigate grief and loss. 3/5
More than I ever wanted anything - i think i just dont jibe with the style/voice. I dont think there's anything wrong with this one, but i just dont LIKE it like it. There's something always waxing too romantic, affected, or sentimental in the thought process. This did feel real tho, sometimes i was unsure if this was fiction or nonfuction. 3/5
Silences - halfway through, i got a murakami feel from this, the silence, the solitary man's first person train of thought, the life vignettes, and the odd occurances. The bit with the falling in love with a murderous man left a bad taste in my mouth. But it is a little thought provoking - thinking of those admittedly familiar silences, and that last one, 'the silence of the words i have been looking for and never found' 3.5/5
Day devoid - i might be slowly losing patience for the cliche cubao expo/makati cinema square feel of these stories. Im losing patience for nerds, which i used to be a sucker for. Im not sure if this goes anywhere below surface level. But im not sure. 3/5
Tell the sky - im not sure (again) if it's my reading comprehension at fault, or if this story was incomprehensible. It starts off using two different usages of 'story', an integral concept in this story. He first describes it as a person's life stories or ~anecdotes, then goes on to use it as false ~tales, and he goes on as if the switch did not happen. The 8 tales of the narrator are a mish-mash of random lies he's told, barely parallel to each other; the very concept of having a limited number of these is frail and quite meaningless, at least for me. And of course it had to end in the most affected way possible, 'I understand that this, my final and eighyh story, is my life itself - and as i mouth the ending, i feel my heart beat, beat, stop.' 3/5
If these stories are actually deep and im just dumb, please educate me.
The girl in the bus - pretty sure this was a shitpost. 5/5
We built this robot - one of the more straight up absurb clips - - - jarringly bizarre, instead of the slow strangeness of the others. I rather like this more. 4/5
The editorial meeting - the tone of this follows the previous one well - it's on a different plane, strange. I liked the strangeness, but then suddenly it seemed wrapped up too obviously. Sometimes i ask, what was the point? This time it feels as if the point was too... pointedly told to me, like the joke was being explained.
3/5
Tell me do, something true - felt like something, until it was again nothing. The last paragraph feels tacked on to close the story. 3/5
Robot boy and hepa - okay, kinda funny, hopeful amidst the darkness. 4/5
Sabado, 1995 - i liked this one, though it's very teenager-slice-of-life coming-of-age. At least it felt nostalgic and empty in a real way. 4/5
Planetarium - a dream. 4/5
And you tell me '87 - properly nostalgic and fanciful, something i would have daydreamed happening when i was 14. 4/5
Dear distance - at first, the worldbuilding felt very dense and heavy handed. Some of the cyberounk aesthetics also already feels outdated and borderline cringey. But it ended with heartbreaking portraits of relationships and connections - especially trina's note. And i do, i do get what the authur has been examining these past 20 stories - the distance, perceived or distorted, between us all. 3.5/5
Average: 3.5/5
January 3, 2020
Can something that never truly properly began be said to have ended?
No, that’s the beauty of it, something that never properly began, never ends.
— A nostalgic collection of short stories with themes of time, memory, and distance. So good!!!
August 26, 2021
For our book club session this month on speculative Philippine literature, I chose Luis M. Katigbak's Dear Distance.
This is a compilation of short stories that is defined by its central themes on time and distance. It juggles between creative nonfiction and philosophy, and makes us question what's real, what should be real, or what could have been real -- all in the form of finding meaning and relevance to the most absurd happenings and time frames in our lives.
Katigbak wrote with so much precision and certainty that every single comma's and period's are held accountable for a much-needed pause from a story so good, so raw, it almost brings us back through time, with distance no more.
This book is nostalgia at its finest! Remember that favourite toy? How about friends from high school?
My faves:
1. Little Fears - "I am afraid of the next three years being the same; I am afraid of things changing in any major way."
2. More Than I Ever Wanted Anything - "Somebody once said that ninety percent of life is just showing up. That makes me wonder what happens when you decide to stop showing up."
3. The Editorial Meeting (Funny and relatable to me!) - "We all burst into unstoppable laughter, howling hysterically, endlessly, until we are little more than a writhing once-human mass of editorial ambition and frustration, melded into one fragmented flickering consciousness only dimly aware that the next issue will be late again."
4. Robot Boy and Hepa (I cried) - "When you're growing up, you reach a point, when you believe that you are burdened with a terrible knowledge regarding the pointlessness of the world. And then you reach a point beyond that, where you realize that what you thought was a unique perspective is astoundingly trite and mundane. And then you reach a point beyond that, when you don't really care anymore."
5. Sabado 1995 - no quote here buuut damn feelings. I miss my high school friends.
Totally commendable!
This is a compilation of short stories that is defined by its central themes on time and distance. It juggles between creative nonfiction and philosophy, and makes us question what's real, what should be real, or what could have been real -- all in the form of finding meaning and relevance to the most absurd happenings and time frames in our lives.
Katigbak wrote with so much precision and certainty that every single comma's and period's are held accountable for a much-needed pause from a story so good, so raw, it almost brings us back through time, with distance no more.
This book is nostalgia at its finest! Remember that favourite toy? How about friends from high school?
My faves:
1. Little Fears - "I am afraid of the next three years being the same; I am afraid of things changing in any major way."
2. More Than I Ever Wanted Anything - "Somebody once said that ninety percent of life is just showing up. That makes me wonder what happens when you decide to stop showing up."
3. The Editorial Meeting (Funny and relatable to me!) - "We all burst into unstoppable laughter, howling hysterically, endlessly, until we are little more than a writhing once-human mass of editorial ambition and frustration, melded into one fragmented flickering consciousness only dimly aware that the next issue will be late again."
4. Robot Boy and Hepa (I cried) - "When you're growing up, you reach a point, when you believe that you are burdened with a terrible knowledge regarding the pointlessness of the world. And then you reach a point beyond that, where you realize that what you thought was a unique perspective is astoundingly trite and mundane. And then you reach a point beyond that, when you don't really care anymore."
5. Sabado 1995 - no quote here buuut damn feelings. I miss my high school friends.
Totally commendable!
March 24, 2019
This is my first pick, after a long long time, in the Philippine Literature and it impressed me right on. This book is filled with strange stories of reality and even stranger stories of a fantasy world the author has created that had me questioning things I wouldn't have, if I didn't read it. The writing style reminds me of the hurting I've forgotten that I've already forgotten. I love it. I'm glad I read it.
The girl who likes to live in her own world, all our lovers who are more like visitors than lovers, the one suffering from identity crisis or some sort whenever she sees a mirror, the artist who can perfectly describe the kinds of betrayal there is, that one friend who took their own life, the girlcrush he had from a rockband he heard back in the olden days, the conversations a grown man would have with his former robot/toy friends, the ageless (at least in appearance) cyborgs and the future I've never read or watched in sci-fi books or films before, and many more
-it's all packed in this thin read you wouldn't ask for more.
Don't ask me about my favorite because I love them all.
The girl who likes to live in her own world, all our lovers who are more like visitors than lovers, the one suffering from identity crisis or some sort whenever she sees a mirror, the artist who can perfectly describe the kinds of betrayal there is, that one friend who took their own life, the girlcrush he had from a rockband he heard back in the olden days, the conversations a grown man would have with his former robot/toy friends, the ageless (at least in appearance) cyborgs and the future I've never read or watched in sci-fi books or films before, and many more
-it's all packed in this thin read you wouldn't ask for more.
Don't ask me about my favorite because I love them all.
March 25, 2019
kelly was right, the final story is an apt cap, although i'm not sure if she meant it the way i saw it: these lines, perfect i guess for the stories' personality, their sensibility, the way they see a lemon on the table, strangers' arms touching on the sidewalk: "we will never really know each other... though eventually--and briefly--we may imagine we do.... In the end, distances and surfaces are all we can ever be sure of, and this is no sad thing. In a world that has accelerated almost beyond recognition, it may be the only comforting thought of which I am still capable."
another thing, this book partly inspired this blog post: https://ivanemilabayne.wordpress.com/...
another thing, this book partly inspired this blog post: https://ivanemilabayne.wordpress.com/...
April 26, 2016
I'm not sure why much of it doesn't resonate with me unlike his previous work na talagang tinamaan ako (Happy Endings way back in College, 10 years ago). I guess we both grew up and grew old, maybe it contained more Speculative/Sci-Fi stories than the emo ones he used to write in Happy Endings.
Just sad that I won't be reading anything from him anymore (RIP Sir Luis)
Just sad that I won't be reading anything from him anymore (RIP Sir Luis)
June 10, 2018
Truly, truly worth it. Among my favorites are "And You Tell Me '87" and teenage love vibes ("And she had an opinion on Batman..."), "Dear Distance" (of robot love and sentiments), and "Passengers," a reminder that we all just have thin lines in spacetime that mean so much.
March 4, 2021
The cost of emotions I’ve experienced with this book consists of random, quirky, unusual, cynical, and sentimental episodes per story, which is very much alike with how I consider what my favorite sitcom has been for me whenever I’m in a mood to watch one.
Although, compared with a TV show, this gets me uncertain on what to ponder about after finishing one story from another. In other words, I usually don’t entertain such notions because I’m often left hanging with how a short story decides to stop its tale like this one.
I suppose it really isn’t just my cup of tea, especially since the stories aren’t even interconnected with each other, to begin with. Like I said, I don’t think the reader would immediately get what the author intends to express with the selections, but that doesn’t mean I don’t exactly dislike everything there.
What resonates me the most are a couple of stories such as the following:
• A story about a platonic friendship with a what-if sort of budding romance towards two people with contradicting interests, to the point as if they’re living in two different worlds.
• The existential crisis of someone on the verge of a mental breakdown, a hopelessness that involves having a sort of therapeutic session with stuffed animals.
Speaking of which, I didn’t really think I’d get to remember something from this book, yet here I am thoroughly describing my favorite parts without spoiling too much. Maybe that means this wasn’t half as bad as I had in mind, after all.
Although, compared with a TV show, this gets me uncertain on what to ponder about after finishing one story from another. In other words, I usually don’t entertain such notions because I’m often left hanging with how a short story decides to stop its tale like this one.
I suppose it really isn’t just my cup of tea, especially since the stories aren’t even interconnected with each other, to begin with. Like I said, I don’t think the reader would immediately get what the author intends to express with the selections, but that doesn’t mean I don’t exactly dislike everything there.
What resonates me the most are a couple of stories such as the following:
• A story about a platonic friendship with a what-if sort of budding romance towards two people with contradicting interests, to the point as if they’re living in two different worlds.
• The existential crisis of someone on the verge of a mental breakdown, a hopelessness that involves having a sort of therapeutic session with stuffed animals.
Speaking of which, I didn’t really think I’d get to remember something from this book, yet here I am thoroughly describing my favorite parts without spoiling too much. Maybe that means this wasn’t half as bad as I had in mind, after all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2022
There are books you can't put down especially when the plot intensifies, and there are books you intentionally put down to let out a long heavy sigh, partnered with an absent-minded staring at whatever space lies between the mind and the visible. This book belongs to the latter.
It's like this: I'm meeting with a close friend I haven't seen and talked to for a long time. We talk of the way things were, and the way things turned out. How fragments of our lives got churned away by time, and distance. Then there's the song of The Script faint from the resto's bluetooth speakers. It gets to the part where Danny sings, "drinking old cheap bottles of wine, shit talking up all night, saying things we haven't for a while," then everything fell to a momentary silence.
What are your fears? I have too many. But one is, that there may be nothing left but the nostalgia I get when I stand in the middle of a school corridor, emptied of hurried footsteps, knowing those footsteps once belonged to me, and to everyone I once laughed and cried with.
Somewhere, reading Passengers, I asked myself, "Can we choose what we remember?" And while there were eight short stories that became favorites because they hit too close to where the bruises are, each of the twenty had in it something to remind me of. Something to remember. Subterrania, most of all.
Time is a place, or a person. Too far and it hurts, too close and we try to hold on for as long as we could.
"Nothing in this universe is certain," Robot Boy said. "But more depends on you than perhaps you realize."
It's like this: I'm meeting with a close friend I haven't seen and talked to for a long time. We talk of the way things were, and the way things turned out. How fragments of our lives got churned away by time, and distance. Then there's the song of The Script faint from the resto's bluetooth speakers. It gets to the part where Danny sings, "drinking old cheap bottles of wine, shit talking up all night, saying things we haven't for a while," then everything fell to a momentary silence.
What are your fears? I have too many. But one is, that there may be nothing left but the nostalgia I get when I stand in the middle of a school corridor, emptied of hurried footsteps, knowing those footsteps once belonged to me, and to everyone I once laughed and cried with.
Somewhere, reading Passengers, I asked myself, "Can we choose what we remember?" And while there were eight short stories that became favorites because they hit too close to where the bruises are, each of the twenty had in it something to remind me of. Something to remember. Subterrania, most of all.
Time is a place, or a person. Too far and it hurts, too close and we try to hold on for as long as we could.
"Nothing in this universe is certain," Robot Boy said. "But more depends on you than perhaps you realize."
January 3, 2023
First book of 2023! Luis Katigbak has always been one of my favorite local writers, even if I’ve only read 2 of his pieces until now. “Passengers” a short story that feels reminiscent of creative nonfiction has been one of my favorite literary works since 2017 due to its beautiful and masterful portrayal of seemingly fleeting love that leaves eternal traces, even when it’s technically out of your life already.
“Dear Distance” is rich with these portrayals, taking us readers to mini-worlds of Katigbak’s life and imagination. As someone trying to read more local authors, I appreciated how Filipino this came across (references to mildly familiar locations and allusions to the Fil-Chi craze every Filipino encounters in adolescent dating). There’s also this distinctive ambience that emanates from the entire collection, and I can characterize it as wistfulness and a bit of ennui. The narratives feel very languorous and immersive, but I took out a (half-)star because there were a few times when I felt like things were too mundane, though that may have been the point. Despite its rootedness in real life and seemingly ordinary events, the bits of speculative fiction were very interesting to see unfold! I can see this being a personal grower, though, and I hope to be rereading it eventually, maybe even give it 5 stars the next time around.
Favorites: “Passengers,” “And You Tell Me ‘87,” “Tell the Sky,” “Little Fears.”
“Dear Distance” is rich with these portrayals, taking us readers to mini-worlds of Katigbak’s life and imagination. As someone trying to read more local authors, I appreciated how Filipino this came across (references to mildly familiar locations and allusions to the Fil-Chi craze every Filipino encounters in adolescent dating). There’s also this distinctive ambience that emanates from the entire collection, and I can characterize it as wistfulness and a bit of ennui. The narratives feel very languorous and immersive, but I took out a (half-)star because there were a few times when I felt like things were too mundane, though that may have been the point. Despite its rootedness in real life and seemingly ordinary events, the bits of speculative fiction were very interesting to see unfold! I can see this being a personal grower, though, and I hope to be rereading it eventually, maybe even give it 5 stars the next time around.
Favorites: “Passengers,” “And You Tell Me ‘87,” “Tell the Sky,” “Little Fears.”
April 30, 2020
This book was lent to me by a dear friend, and I was surprised at how long it took me to finish. I write this now a few days after I finished it, and in retrospect I suppose what made my reading period longer was that I didn't know what to expect of the stories, and by extension, the mood they were attempting to surround the reader in.
Katigbak's writing style is usually in first-person, which is probably why I kept forgetting that this was a short story collection and not and essay collection (although he writes at the end of the book that these stories were inspired by real events and people). The short stories didn't make much room for characterization for me, which is probably why I sometimes felt that the narrator for all the stories was a single person. I wouldn't count this as a weakness, though!
I enjoyed the book thoroughly!!! I think it's the first short story volume I've ever read in full, and I'm glad it's this one. His speculative fiction is so original and intriguing, and his stories of realism felt real as hell and I loved it. I loved all the UP references and the fact that all seemed to be set in the Philippines.
There are beautiful lines that stand out in his prose, and had the copy I read not been borrowed, I would've highlighted everything! I might buy my own copy soon <3 My favorite stories were Passengers, Silences, Sabado, 1995, and And You Tell Me '87 <3 <3 <3 Excited to read more of his work!
Katigbak's writing style is usually in first-person, which is probably why I kept forgetting that this was a short story collection and not and essay collection (although he writes at the end of the book that these stories were inspired by real events and people). The short stories didn't make much room for characterization for me, which is probably why I sometimes felt that the narrator for all the stories was a single person. I wouldn't count this as a weakness, though!
I enjoyed the book thoroughly!!! I think it's the first short story volume I've ever read in full, and I'm glad it's this one. His speculative fiction is so original and intriguing, and his stories of realism felt real as hell and I loved it. I loved all the UP references and the fact that all seemed to be set in the Philippines.
There are beautiful lines that stand out in his prose, and had the copy I read not been borrowed, I would've highlighted everything! I might buy my own copy soon <3 My favorite stories were Passengers, Silences, Sabado, 1995, and And You Tell Me '87 <3 <3 <3 Excited to read more of his work!
October 7, 2025
Reading Dear Distance felt like coming home. The last time I immersed myself in Filipino literature was back in university with Desaparesidos by Lualhati Bautista and returning to it years later through this collection felt like catching up with something familiar.
Katigbak writes with a quiet kind of magic in his stories. Small worlds filled with longing, loss, and the gentle ache of remembering. The familiar Manila setting made everything feel personal, almost like walking through memories. My favorites were “Robot Boy and Hepa,” a moving story where a man on the edge of despair is visited by his childhood self, and “Passengers,” a bittersweet tale of a fleeting connection between a boy and a girl that lingers like a half-remembered dream.
This book reminds me why I still go back to Filipino literature in the first place, it captures the heart of our nostalgia, our humor, and our quiet grief with so much tenderness. :)
Katigbak writes with a quiet kind of magic in his stories. Small worlds filled with longing, loss, and the gentle ache of remembering. The familiar Manila setting made everything feel personal, almost like walking through memories. My favorites were “Robot Boy and Hepa,” a moving story where a man on the edge of despair is visited by his childhood self, and “Passengers,” a bittersweet tale of a fleeting connection between a boy and a girl that lingers like a half-remembered dream.
This book reminds me why I still go back to Filipino literature in the first place, it captures the heart of our nostalgia, our humor, and our quiet grief with so much tenderness. :)
February 23, 2020
Simply one the best short story collections I’ve ever read. About memory, nostalgia, loss, and all fragile things. Favorite stories in the book: “Passengers” and “And You Tell Me ‘87.”
This book has proven once again, to me at least, that as a Filipino writer you can write about anything, in any way you want. You don’t have to subscribe to the monolithic poetics/aesthetics constantly drilled into your brain by the Philippine literary community. You need to expand your literary horizons because that’s that only way your writing will get better.
If I ever get to publish my own short story collection someday, I want it to feel like this.
This book has proven once again, to me at least, that as a Filipino writer you can write about anything, in any way you want. You don’t have to subscribe to the monolithic poetics/aesthetics constantly drilled into your brain by the Philippine literary community. You need to expand your literary horizons because that’s that only way your writing will get better.
If I ever get to publish my own short story collection someday, I want it to feel like this.
November 7, 2020
I had my first brush with Luis Katigbak in 2016 (?) when I read Sabado, 1995 on my prized-Esquire magazine. It was the perfect tale to capture the spirit of Eheads’ elusive reunion. Four years after, my first time rereading the story after all these years, I uncontrollably cried with how powerful and fresh it is on my memory. My heart instantly recognized the events as if I just turned a page.
Luis’ play on words blended with his sharp visions make Dear Distance a captivating reunion with your past that never existed and the past that made you who you are. It’s a celebration of heritage and how moments inspire the future. Easily, this is one of my best reads!
Luis’ play on words blended with his sharp visions make Dear Distance a captivating reunion with your past that never existed and the past that made you who you are. It’s a celebration of heritage and how moments inspire the future. Easily, this is one of my best reads!
June 20, 2020
I read this book after I graduated college. It was a hard to find book, until I managed to see one at a small NBS. It became an instant favorite of mine. Katigbak’s writing style is something I’d take as an inspiration if I were a writer. The stories are simple yet with a dash of fantasy and nostalgia.
Years later, today, I re-read it again and I still feel the same, the book feels like a home or a friend. Maybe because of the local millieu, the references? Or how it is so much relatable to our everyday lives.
Years later, today, I re-read it again and I still feel the same, the book feels like a home or a friend. Maybe because of the local millieu, the references? Or how it is so much relatable to our everyday lives.
July 2, 2021
The collection was generally boring for me. I believe most of those short stories seemed bland because they didn't have a 'story'. It was just a narrative, nothing more. It would've been great if one of those stories were made into a novel since the author wrote well. I wanted more, but they were always cut short. While reading a few chapters, I really hoped that there would be some twists to other stories. There were, but sadly, they weren't enough to reach my expectations because of the hype.
September 18, 2022
"Everything begins and everything ends, and that's wonderful. You know what's going on when you read a book, when you listen to a song or look at a painting. Or even if you don't don't know what's going on, you know that there are underlying reasons for everything."
"It's nothing she can't handle, but sometimes she gets tired of handling things, of feeling that life is just an endless list of Things to Do."
"It's nothing she can't handle, but sometimes she gets tired of handling things, of feeling that life is just an endless list of Things to Do."
October 8, 2022
📚22/26: Dear Distance by Luis Joaquin Katigbak
Dear Distance is a collection of stories -- melancholic, dreamy and hits you right in the heart.
This book takes you to places unknown and you want to stay there to know the characters more. I want to know more of their dreams, inhibitions, limitation, have they lived happily ever after? This book expresses the things we cannot express -- the longing, the sadness, the frustrations. And it does not shy away from any of these.
Dear Distance is a collection of stories -- melancholic, dreamy and hits you right in the heart.
This book takes you to places unknown and you want to stay there to know the characters more. I want to know more of their dreams, inhibitions, limitation, have they lived happily ever after? This book expresses the things we cannot express -- the longing, the sadness, the frustrations. And it does not shy away from any of these.
January 28, 2023
rated 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!!
there are many lines that struck me and i loooved “little fears” and “and you tell me ‘87” sm. but there are some stories that are… pointless? still a good read tho.
"In the end, distances and surfaces are all we can ever be sure of, and this is no sad thing. In a world that has accelerated almost beyond recognition, it may be the only comforting thought of which I am still capable.”
there are many lines that struck me and i loooved “little fears” and “and you tell me ‘87” sm. but there are some stories that are… pointless? still a good read tho.
"In the end, distances and surfaces are all we can ever be sure of, and this is no sad thing. In a world that has accelerated almost beyond recognition, it may be the only comforting thought of which I am still capable.”
January 21, 2024
Everyone loves talking about the grand projects that they’ll embark on when they have the time, but it turns out they never have the time.
It is really sad when you read more books by the author when they are nowhere to be found. A paradox for some. A local artist I discovered two years ago. I love his writing style and this book is my favorite. It tackles life, love, time, and distance not the physical distance but beyond that.
It is really sad when you read more books by the author when they are nowhere to be found. A paradox for some. A local artist I discovered two years ago. I love his writing style and this book is my favorite. It tackles life, love, time, and distance not the physical distance but beyond that.
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