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Sad-sadan, Happy-hapihan
Unknown Binding
Published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 12, 2024
Madulas at realistic. Ang daming lamat ng karakter: incest, pedophilia, rape jokes. Delikado ang pagtatangka na ilapat ito sa baklang tauhan sa lipunang mas kinakailangan ng maayos na representasyon bilang marginalized sector din ang LGBTQIA+. Ngunit maari ring pagnilayan na ito ay totoong nangyayari sa lipunan. Sa halip na maging repleksyon ito ng komunidad ng sangkabaklaan ay tanawin ito sa mas malawak na lente na maging sa heterosexual relationship ay nangyayari ito.
May 11, 2020
gusto ko yung writing style ni john iremil teodoro. madaling basahin at nakakaaliw yung mga kwento niya, at kung minsan ay nakakalungkot din. usually hirap akong magbasa ng mga antolohiya ng maiikling kwento pero na-enjoy ko halos lahat ng mga kwento rito.
yun nga lang, parang may fixation ang author sa iba't ibang semi-problematic na tropes. marami sa mga pairings niya ay may malaking age difference, kung minsan nga ay minor pa yung isang lalaki. marami rin sa mga couple niya ang may incestuous-pero-hindi-talaga na relationship. kunwari, dalawang magkapatid pero ampon naman yung isa. magpinsan pero third cousin naman. para sakin kasi kahit "legally" hindi siya considered as incest, kahit na 'di naman talaga sila magkadugo, mali pa rin kasi pinalaki silang magkamag-anak.
ang dami ring rape jokes huhu. gets ko naman na baka kasi nung 2010-2011 pa naisulat ang mga kwentong 'to, so siguro medyo 'di na gaanong politically correct ngayong 2020. pero kahit na. halos bawat kwento kasi may rape joke huhu kaloka
yun nga lang, parang may fixation ang author sa iba't ibang semi-problematic na tropes. marami sa mga pairings niya ay may malaking age difference, kung minsan nga ay minor pa yung isang lalaki. marami rin sa mga couple niya ang may incestuous-pero-hindi-talaga na relationship. kunwari, dalawang magkapatid pero ampon naman yung isa. magpinsan pero third cousin naman. para sakin kasi kahit "legally" hindi siya considered as incest, kahit na 'di naman talaga sila magkadugo, mali pa rin kasi pinalaki silang magkamag-anak.
ang dami ring rape jokes huhu. gets ko naman na baka kasi nung 2010-2011 pa naisulat ang mga kwentong 'to, so siguro medyo 'di na gaanong politically correct ngayong 2020. pero kahit na. halos bawat kwento kasi may rape joke huhu kaloka
January 30, 2025
Sad-sadan, Happy-happihan is a collection of Philippine gay short stories. The book is split into two: the first half filled with stories with sad and sometimes ambiguous endings (Sad-sadan) and the other half (Happy-happihan) depicting queer love that feels a bit more hopeful.
I feel conflicted about this book. On one hand, the book touches on a lot of controversial themes like sexual assault, huge age gaps, and incest that just feels so wrong and icky especially in this in this post-Me Too era. At some point, the book suffers from its casual treatment of sexual assault in a story where the main character actually got assaulted. I was confused if it were just another joke or the real thing.
On the other side of the coin though, it shows how extremely behind the Philippines is when it comes to gender sensitivity. That even gay men are not innocent in making casual misogynistic remarks to or about women or pursuing young boys. It painfully reminded me that we still have a long, long way to go.
There was an attempt to touch on politics like in the story Sa Isla Naoway, where the character is investigating an oil spill being covered up by the government. But it quietly fades into the background, becoming a cheap backdrop for a secret crush on the boatman. It also didn’t help that in another story (Umaga, Sa Mall of Asia) a gay man eggs on his cousin to flirt with a young man, assuring him that he knows a lot of people in the local government, and therefore would be safe. Not to say it’s unrealistic, with the amount of corruption in this country, but does it further the cause of queer people to have bad representation?
It’s also interesting how often the stories mention how well-educated the main character is. He’s either a professor at UP, in La Salle, in a prestigious university in the province, taking a Master's degree or pursuing a PhD. This is neither positive nor negative, but I find that it’s a perfect depiction of how queer people feel the need to become overachievers just to fit in or gain the approval of society. It feels like a plea to the reader: I’m a good queer person! I’m not like *the others.* I’m educated! I’m smart!
The book is not without its merits. I like that most of the stories are set in provinces outside of Manila or the character hails from outside Luzon. It also feels nice to read a story set in places that I’m familiar with. It was effortless to imagine each story inside my head because I knew what the MRT looked like or the vibe of provincial life. I haven’t read a book in Filipino for a very long time and I was quite proud of myself that it didn’t take me too long to adjust to the change of language but maybe that’s due to Teodoro’s simple writing (complimentary).
At some point though, the stories become formulaic, seemingly following the same pattern: a more mature gay man falls in love — accidentally and unwillingly, despite his best efforts — with a (sometimes WAYYYYY) younger man who’s usually unsure of his sexuality or hesitant to label himself as gay. Some of the conflicts were re-used: the younger man goes off to marry a woman or decides to go to the seminary, or seeks a better life in another country.
The book shines in stories that deviate away from this formula. Vadino is told from the point of a bisexual man in the process of leaving his boyfriend for a secret girlfriend he got pregnant and Memorya is a story set in the year 11010 where cockroaches fly spacecrafts. Sa Terminal ng Roro, Sa Harap ng Ali Mall, Cubao, despite the huge age gap romance, was heartwarming and touches on the concept of chosen family among queers.
I enjoyed reading this book but not sure if it’s for everyone. I understand the importance of documenting these queer experiences but hopefully, we’ll get more varied queer stories that show how far we’ve come since 2019. Less pursuing young boys and incestuous relationships, and more healthy relationships. <3
I feel conflicted about this book. On one hand, the book touches on a lot of controversial themes like sexual assault, huge age gaps, and incest that just feels so wrong and icky especially in this in this post-Me Too era. At some point, the book suffers from its casual treatment of sexual assault in a story where the main character actually got assaulted. I was confused if it were just another joke or the real thing.
On the other side of the coin though, it shows how extremely behind the Philippines is when it comes to gender sensitivity. That even gay men are not innocent in making casual misogynistic remarks to or about women or pursuing young boys. It painfully reminded me that we still have a long, long way to go.
There was an attempt to touch on politics like in the story Sa Isla Naoway, where the character is investigating an oil spill being covered up by the government. But it quietly fades into the background, becoming a cheap backdrop for a secret crush on the boatman. It also didn’t help that in another story (Umaga, Sa Mall of Asia) a gay man eggs on his cousin to flirt with a young man, assuring him that he knows a lot of people in the local government, and therefore would be safe. Not to say it’s unrealistic, with the amount of corruption in this country, but does it further the cause of queer people to have bad representation?
It’s also interesting how often the stories mention how well-educated the main character is. He’s either a professor at UP, in La Salle, in a prestigious university in the province, taking a Master's degree or pursuing a PhD. This is neither positive nor negative, but I find that it’s a perfect depiction of how queer people feel the need to become overachievers just to fit in or gain the approval of society. It feels like a plea to the reader: I’m a good queer person! I’m not like *the others.* I’m educated! I’m smart!
The book is not without its merits. I like that most of the stories are set in provinces outside of Manila or the character hails from outside Luzon. It also feels nice to read a story set in places that I’m familiar with. It was effortless to imagine each story inside my head because I knew what the MRT looked like or the vibe of provincial life. I haven’t read a book in Filipino for a very long time and I was quite proud of myself that it didn’t take me too long to adjust to the change of language but maybe that’s due to Teodoro’s simple writing (complimentary).
At some point though, the stories become formulaic, seemingly following the same pattern: a more mature gay man falls in love — accidentally and unwillingly, despite his best efforts — with a (sometimes WAYYYYY) younger man who’s usually unsure of his sexuality or hesitant to label himself as gay. Some of the conflicts were re-used: the younger man goes off to marry a woman or decides to go to the seminary, or seeks a better life in another country.
The book shines in stories that deviate away from this formula. Vadino is told from the point of a bisexual man in the process of leaving his boyfriend for a secret girlfriend he got pregnant and Memorya is a story set in the year 11010 where cockroaches fly spacecrafts. Sa Terminal ng Roro, Sa Harap ng Ali Mall, Cubao, despite the huge age gap romance, was heartwarming and touches on the concept of chosen family among queers.
I enjoyed reading this book but not sure if it’s for everyone. I understand the importance of documenting these queer experiences but hopefully, we’ll get more varied queer stories that show how far we’ve come since 2019. Less pursuing young boys and incestuous relationships, and more healthy relationships. <3
October 1, 2024
Sad-Sadan, Happy-Hapihan
by John Iremil Teodoro
2/5 🌟
this book unravels various facets of love in a queer world but as it navigates through taboo themes, it gives me creeps for it crosses borders of assault, pedophilia, incest, age gaps involving minors; and mentions of r-pey jokes made me want to throw this book. i had to close it from time-to-time to take a breather.
while i admire its boldness, the execution was just too problematic for me.
by John Iremil Teodoro
2/5 🌟
this book unravels various facets of love in a queer world but as it navigates through taboo themes, it gives me creeps for it crosses borders of assault, pedophilia, incest, age gaps involving minors; and mentions of r-pey jokes made me want to throw this book. i had to close it from time-to-time to take a breather.
while i admire its boldness, the execution was just too problematic for me.
October 15, 2024
'di ko alam sa'n galing ang ipis na piloto but im not mad at it
February 17, 2025
wanted to dnf this so bad pero mapride ako... ayan tuloy
going into this, i was expecting to read different faces of queer love—iba ibang experience, may malungkot, may masaya (shempre ung title). pero grabe, magkakamukha lang yung mga kwento na napapabalik ako sa mga nauna kong nabasa just to double check if naulit ba yung character. ang malala pa, paulit ulit din yung problematic themes. napakaraming instances na ginamit ung "rape" casually??? multiple "couples" ay may incestuous relationship??? so many characters lusting over people almost half their age???
ok lang sana kung isa o dalawang kwento ganon yung pinapakita, kasi oo nga siguro nga nangyayari tlga ito sa komunidad nung panahon na isinulat to. pero yung paulit ulit na ganito? parang nakahon tuloy sa iisang itsura ang pag-ibig ng mga bakla. nasan yung ibang kwento? nakulangan talaga ako sa lawak & diversity ng experiences of love in queer relationships.
andami ko pang hanash sa librong to pero baka nga hindi lang niya talaga na-last ang test of time. or baka di lang din tlga ako maalam sa karanasan ng mga bading sa pag-ibig bilang (oo bading pero) nasa isang hetero relationship at nakakawitness lng ng queer relationships sa mga kaibigan/kakilala.
still may mga kwento paring naenjoy ko (ung huli...) at may mga napulot pa rin naman ako.
going into this, i was expecting to read different faces of queer love—iba ibang experience, may malungkot, may masaya (shempre ung title). pero grabe, magkakamukha lang yung mga kwento na napapabalik ako sa mga nauna kong nabasa just to double check if naulit ba yung character. ang malala pa, paulit ulit din yung problematic themes. napakaraming instances na ginamit ung "rape" casually??? multiple "couples" ay may incestuous relationship??? so many characters lusting over people almost half their age???
ok lang sana kung isa o dalawang kwento ganon yung pinapakita, kasi oo nga siguro nga nangyayari tlga ito sa komunidad nung panahon na isinulat to. pero yung paulit ulit na ganito? parang nakahon tuloy sa iisang itsura ang pag-ibig ng mga bakla. nasan yung ibang kwento? nakulangan talaga ako sa lawak & diversity ng experiences of love in queer relationships.
andami ko pang hanash sa librong to pero baka nga hindi lang niya talaga na-last ang test of time. or baka di lang din tlga ako maalam sa karanasan ng mga bading sa pag-ibig bilang (oo bading pero) nasa isang hetero relationship at nakakawitness lng ng queer relationships sa mga kaibigan/kakilala.
still may mga kwento paring naenjoy ko (ung huli...) at may mga napulot pa rin naman ako.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews