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Stories of a Bitter Country
These stories are not for the faintheartedReplete with heartrending accounts and soul-searing experiences, Ninotchka Rosca maps out a country that’s saddled with corruption, tragedy, and grief. Yet, beneath the ashes and dust lie embers of love and hope.
We follow the journeys of protagonists living in various unassuming corners of the country who face the most peculiar and occasionally grim circumstances—an archaeologist tries to stifle his laughter while readying to shoot himself; an elderly lady sends an invite to her progeny through the sun, the moon, and the postman who rides a bicycle; a girl dies while dancing the boogie; a man reconnects with his former Kung Fu partner, a white male who has transitioned into a Filipino woman.
Stories of a Bitter Country offers an unapologetic scrutiny of the lives of ordinary people—their attempts to find peace amid chaos, and justice amid suffering—and in so doing, unveils the best and the worst that can come from all of us.
We follow the journeys of protagonists living in various unassuming corners of the country who face the most peculiar and occasionally grim circumstances—an archaeologist tries to stifle his laughter while readying to shoot himself; an elderly lady sends an invite to her progeny through the sun, the moon, and the postman who rides a bicycle; a girl dies while dancing the boogie; a man reconnects with his former Kung Fu partner, a white male who has transitioned into a Filipino woman.
Stories of a Bitter Country offers an unapologetic scrutiny of the lives of ordinary people—their attempts to find peace amid chaos, and justice amid suffering—and in so doing, unveils the best and the worst that can come from all of us.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
293 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
About the author
Ninotchka Rosca
12 books88 followersNinotchka Rosca is an outstanding contemporary writer, human rights activist and feminist. She is the author of six books: her short story collections include Bitter Country and Monsoon Country; her two novels are State of War and Twice Blessed which earned the 1993 American Book Award for excellence in literature; and her books of non-fiction are Endgame: The Fall of Marcos and Jose Maria Sison: At Home in the World - Portrait of a Revolutionary. Rosca's short stories have been included in several anthologies, among them, the 1986 Best 100 Short Stories in the U.S. compiled by Raymond Carver and the Missouri Review Anthology. She is a two-time recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and a frequent contributor to Ms. Magazine, The Nation, Village Voice, Q and other U.S. and European periodicals.
Rosca is an internationally-known activist for human rights. A political prisoner under the Marcos regime in the Philippines, she was forced into exile when threatened with a second arrest. Rosca has participated in numerous world forums and conferences for human rights. She serves on the board of the Survivors Committee, a network of former political prisoners and human rights activists. She has also been in leadership positions with Amnesty International and the PEN American Center.
Rosca was a founder and the first national chair of the GABRIELA Network (AF3IRM/GABnet), a Filipina-American women’s rights organization in the United States. She is the international spokesperson of GABRIELA Network's Purple Rose Campaign against the trafficking of women, with an emphasis on Filipinas. She is also a board member of The Sisterhood Is Global Institute and the initiating committee of Mariposa Alliance.
She was active in planning the UN Conference on Women which took place in Beijing, China. Rosca is particularly concerned with women's human rights focusing on the issues of sex tourism, trafficking, the mail-order bride industry, and violence against women.
For her achievements, Rosca has been designated as one of the 12 Asian American Women of Hope by the Bread and Roses Cultural Project. These women were chosen by scholars and community leaders for their courage, compassion and commitment in helping to shape society. They are considered role models for young people of color, who, in the words of Gloria Steinem, "have been denied the knowledge that greatness looks like them."
Source: Speak Out
Rosca is an internationally-known activist for human rights. A political prisoner under the Marcos regime in the Philippines, she was forced into exile when threatened with a second arrest. Rosca has participated in numerous world forums and conferences for human rights. She serves on the board of the Survivors Committee, a network of former political prisoners and human rights activists. She has also been in leadership positions with Amnesty International and the PEN American Center.
Rosca was a founder and the first national chair of the GABRIELA Network (AF3IRM/GABnet), a Filipina-American women’s rights organization in the United States. She is the international spokesperson of GABRIELA Network's Purple Rose Campaign against the trafficking of women, with an emphasis on Filipinas. She is also a board member of The Sisterhood Is Global Institute and the initiating committee of Mariposa Alliance.
She was active in planning the UN Conference on Women which took place in Beijing, China. Rosca is particularly concerned with women's human rights focusing on the issues of sex tourism, trafficking, the mail-order bride industry, and violence against women.
For her achievements, Rosca has been designated as one of the 12 Asian American Women of Hope by the Bread and Roses Cultural Project. These women were chosen by scholars and community leaders for their courage, compassion and commitment in helping to shape society. They are considered role models for young people of color, who, in the words of Gloria Steinem, "have been denied the knowledge that greatness looks like them."
Source: Speak Out
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 23, 2023
“If she took the bed for a butcher’s block, she could see how she had laid out her grandmother, her grandfather, her father, her mother upon it. God, what a long trail of ancestors who had lived and loved in order to create this generation.”
Man, Rosca really isn’t afraid to give you words to chew on. I would read this book aloud unless you have the rare ability to focus on what my cousins call “hawom English” (deep English) for extended periods of time. It took me til halfway through the book to start getting it. But when you can understand what she’s saying, it hits you in the gut.
Powerful, biting, strange, observant, painful like a sharp knife moving slowly, righteously vengeful, vindicated my observed tragedies in the Philippines with its eyes on the target.
She served me quiet agony & enough unspoken angst through abstraction to make my chest ache with equal parts pain & confusion. I think this is one of those books that could benefit from a revisit once I’ve got more familiarity with my country’s history. All the same, I do find myself longing to return.
Similar to: One Hundred Years of Solitude, In the Mood for Love, The Girl with Two Navels by Nicholas Joaquim
TW: frequent descriptions of murder, cheating, detainment in concentration camps, mentions of sexual assault, intergenerational trauma
Man, Rosca really isn’t afraid to give you words to chew on. I would read this book aloud unless you have the rare ability to focus on what my cousins call “hawom English” (deep English) for extended periods of time. It took me til halfway through the book to start getting it. But when you can understand what she’s saying, it hits you in the gut.
Powerful, biting, strange, observant, painful like a sharp knife moving slowly, righteously vengeful, vindicated my observed tragedies in the Philippines with its eyes on the target.
She served me quiet agony & enough unspoken angst through abstraction to make my chest ache with equal parts pain & confusion. I think this is one of those books that could benefit from a revisit once I’ve got more familiarity with my country’s history. All the same, I do find myself longing to return.
Similar to: One Hundred Years of Solitude, In the Mood for Love, The Girl with Two Navels by Nicholas Joaquim
TW: frequent descriptions of murder, cheating, detainment in concentration camps, mentions of sexual assault, intergenerational trauma
August 22, 2025
Rosca’s writing can be difficult at times because it’s dense and full of metaphors. But once you unpack her words, the message is powerful. Her stories are bold and thought-provoking, yet still carry a sense of hope—if only we choose to act.
April 14, 2025
exhausting to read but so well written
April 2, 2023
“I was young. Walking through the corridors, I could hear my leg arteries pulsing blood, pulsing strength. My heart was a virile sun warming my cells. Under its care, my tissues throbbed, squeezed, squirmed, and belched with vigor, why did they come in when it was too late? Once, I yelled at this woman with a face half-eaten by tumor. Why only now? She tried to smile. I knew why. No money. She was real lady, trying to smile with only half a face."
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews