Womenagerie and Other Tales from the Front

by Jessica Zafra

A collection of Zafra's early columns in Woman Today magazine.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Humor, Anthologies

181 pages, Bookprint

Published January 1, 1995

About the author

Jessica Zafra (born 1965) is a fiction writer, columnist, editor, publisher and former television and radio show host. She is known for her sharp and witty writing style. Her most popular books are the Twisted series, a collection of her essays as a columnist for newspaper Today (now Manila Standard Today), as well as from her time as editor and publisher of the magazine Flip. She currently writes a weekly column for The Philippine Star which is called, Emotional Weather Report. She resides in Metro Manila, Philippines, where she is working on her first novel. She also managed the Eraserheads during the 90's.

Her work often are about current events (both Philippine and international), tennis, movies, music, cats, books, technology and her personal life. Her work has been the subject of academic study. The main ingredient to her work is often fun cynicism and irony.

Find out more about her here.

Reviews

[Sully (sully.reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember reading Jessica Zafra's Twisted book series back in High school. My friends and I grouped ourselves just to laugh about anything she wrote on the book! Her works are quite funny, it's about everything under the sun -but often are about current events (local or international), cats, sports, cats, movies, cats, music, cats, books, cats, modern technology and her life (oh, did I already mention cats? haha!).

The major factors that make her works good are her straight-forwardness on the subject matter, sarcasm, 'fun misanthropy' and irony.

But I have to say, I rated this book only two (2) stars because this was a bit disappointing. It wasn't good it's only up to the "ok" level. In this book she wrote too much about herself unusually (because oftentimes, she gets away with it).

[Anne Francia Chavez · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite piece from this book was "A History of Geek Civilization."

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The long feature on Emily Abrera is a gem.

[Charmm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection started off strong with portraits and my favorite essay is Labada. Oo nga naman, why is it that in laundry soap commercials the end-all and be-all of a woman's existence seems to be getting her family's laundry blindingly white? Then she started talking about her repugnance toward summer and people enjoying a day out in the sun. Hindi naman pwedeng lahat tayo ay boring, right? Charot.

Womenagerie and Other Tales from the Front was published in 1995, and if my research is accurate, it is one of her earlier works. I liked it better than Stories So Far. Most of the essays here are political because, in a sense, everything is, as they should be. What threw me off was all the industry name-dropping, since I wasn’t even alive during their prime. Problema ko na yun hahaha

[Lik C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this collection of essays by Jessica Zafra for their wit and sarcasm on topics about herself, current events at that time (throwback into the early nineties), and just the mundanity of everyday life (like commuting). It’s a great break from me reading too much novels, discarding some novels, and looking for an easier read. Or maybe she echoed what I’ve been thinking: “Once you've read too many trashy best-sellers, you begin to look around for something with substance, something that attempts to define the universe.” Some of her essays did attempt to for me.

[Irvin Sales · Rating 2 out of 5]

First ever book of Jessica Zafra's that i've read. I was always curious about the author and her books because she's actually quite popular. But let's talk about Womenagerie for a moment.

The book was really feminine (it was right there in the title, what was I expecting?). Not that there's anything wrong with it but maybe it's just how Jessica sees men. Is the word "spiteful" too strong? Maybe. But it was actually quite fun to read. I like the article about how to budget your money if you want to live an independent life in Manila.

[Celena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I discovered Jessica Zafra through her column in the newspaper my grandmother always reads. I loved her essays. I was around 16, maybe -- young and impressionable (chos). Make no mistake, I still love her now. I just personally didn't like majority of the topics of her essays here (a good example is It's Black, Not Brown wherein she argues why a brownout should instead be called a blackout). Some essays reek of mindless frivolity -- the kind you hear when you sit beside two gossiping girls in the van. BUT, I REALIZE: this book is a compilation of her earlier essays in the Woman Today magazine so she probably had very limited topics to choose from. I'm surprised she even managed to write about Robin Padilla and the ad industry (which are coincidentally, my two favorite essays from the book)! Having said these, I am inclined to emphasize that this is the first book of hers that I've read and I'm looking forward to reading the others.

[TheSuperKim · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Once you’ve read too many trashy best-sellers, you begin to look for something with substance, something that attempts to define the universe.”

“What I'm saying is, where have all the real people gone? Where are the recognizably-human beings? Of course, it's silly of me to look them on TV commercials, no one watches ads for their true-to-life portrayals. If the ads were full of real people, they wouldn't be able to sell anything. Which is the point of this rambling column.
Real people just don't sell.”

[Veganmusa Marquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I once had a glimpse of Jessica in college, in my Greek/Roman Mythology class, but I wasn't quite sure if my eyes were just playing tricks on me, or whether I was looking at a clone that very instance. But when I started reading her Twisted stories (pun intended) and this book among others, I figured there would be no one else like her. Reading her stories made me conclude how one could never laugh at satire, not unless it is a Zafra-satire.

[Annabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half stars--that means I'm vacillating between "it was ok" and "liked it."

One of my first, if not the first book I've owned/read by Zafra. Over a decade ago, I would have given this one 5 stars. But I've become jaded since then, and the most I can rate this for is two and a half stars (Goodreads doesn't do half stars).

[Jillian P]

My first Zafra book which led me to like the essay format of non-fiction.

[Neiley]

crazy and witty... :p

[Renel Yosuico · Rating 4 out of 5]

for the women of today

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another worthwhile re-read.

[Katherine ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, entertaining, witty and great. A must read. The greatest among Filipino authors.

[Delie Dell Chua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny, very sarcastic!!!!

[Jahnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Jessica Zafra: Witty, Sarcastic, and Geeky.

[Don | heyladyspring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zafra writes amazing stories That is a fact!