Sunday Inquirer Magazine
04/01/2007

A passion for books

"A La Carte (Food & Fiction)"
Collected and edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard and Marily Ysip Orosa

You'll need two vital ingredients before you start devouring this book: a full stomach and a comfortable seat some distance away from a working kitchen and a food court. Because definitely, a hungry reader will be torn between finishing the sumptuous stories and rushing off to try out the recipes offered as appetizer at the start of each chapter. The tasty morsels leave you convinced that food is more than just repast; it is also the stuff of national pride, childhood memory, romance, regret, rivalry, and even bloody murder. This book is one thick bubbling stew that satisfies one's hunger and imagination while whetting the appetite for more. Best cuts: "Wok Man" by Jose Dalisay, Jr.; "Closopen" by Janet Villa, "No Salt" by Nadine Sarreal, "Pedro and the Chickens" by Ian Rosales Casocot, "Kitchen Secrets" by Shirlie Mae Choe, and "Does It Matter What the Dead Think?" by Erwin Cabucos. PAC

"Filipino Peace Women: Nominees to the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize"
Edited by Paulynn P. Sicam and Olivia H. Tripon

Not just women but people passionate about peace will find "Filipino Peace Women" an interesting read. The book is a collection of stories about how 29 women, all of them Nobel Peace Prize nominees in 2005, dedicated most of their lives to end conflicts, prevent violence and empower communities. That their stories inspire is an understatement. The stories, written by contributors to the Women's Feature Service, tackle various aspects of peace-building for different sectors, among them indigenous peoples, migrant workers and sugar farmers. "Peace-making comes more naturally to women," says filmmaker Marilou Diaz Abaya, one of the women featured in the book. Insights into how women define peace and integrate this into their lives and work abound, as in this statement by Maria Lorenza Palm-Dalupan, former executive director of the National Unification Commission: "Our goal was not to win over armed insurgents, but to bring both sides to agree to a common solution. We didn't just want to end the fighting but to work toward lasting peace." Leti Boniol

"Prize Journalism: A collection of Jaime V. Ongpin Award winners"
Edited by Rachel E. Khan

A must-read for journalists, if only to rekindle their passion to seek out stories that can really make a difference, something that this book spells out by updating readers on mostly positive developments as a direct result of the articles' publication. Highly instructive, the intro of each story outlines the techniques and methods that the writer/s used to identify and root out unimpeachable sources, wangle information from tight-lipped subjects, and double-check quotes and information. Ordinary readers too can appreciate the well-written and sober accounts of anomalies, corruption, scandals and squalor that are the stuff of everyday headlines. Some 20 years after they were first published, these investigative pieces remain fresh, a testament to the writers' excellent reportorial and storytelling skills and a reflection, alas, of the unchanging realities in the country's socio-political landscape. PAC

"Smart Moves for Working Women"
By Lin Mukhi

What this book needs are better organized chapters that offer a logical sequence, less self-serving congratulatory letters and comments on the author's first book, and a better connection between the personal anecdotes and Biblical quotes at the end of each chapter and the business principles espoused. Otherwise, smart readers can skip such distractions, pick out the tips and save themselves the time and aggravation. Not that you haven't heard the proffered strategies before: better time management, look at the bigger picture, determine what you're good at, and so on. PAC

"U.G. An Underground Tale/ The Journey of Edgar Jopson and the First Quarter Storm Generation"
By Benjamin Pimentel

A humanizing look at former student activist Edgar Jopson, who has been hailed as a hero for foregoing a life of privilege to champion the rights of workers and farmers. The Ateneo graduate, who was killed by military fire during the waning years of Martial Law, started out as a moderate but ended up embracing the radical politics of the New People's Army. The book chronicles Jopson's dramatic journey into the underground without romanticizing the internal struggles and ideological debates that would later sunder the Left. A compelling read, the book is replete with details and quotes that show the more human side of Jopson - from his parsimonious ways to his sometimes inflexible adherence to revolutionary principles. Most interesting is the chapter written by his widow Joy, who later married Jopson's friend and fellow cadre Rolly Kintanar, himself later felled by revolutionary forces, on how she sought closure for the double tragedies in her life. The book too is laudable for bringing up uncomfortable charges - since denied - that the inner circle of the Communist Party of the Philippines had a hand in the infamous Plaza Miranda bombing in the early '70s, which killed innocent bystanders and Liberal Party allies. This knowledge, according to the book, tore Edjop apart. PAC