Description:
Innocence, fear, and intrigue permeate this collection of interrelated stories, which span more than four hundred years, from the time of the fictional Datu Kalantiaw to the postmodern phenomenon of migrant labor. The result is a concatenation of tales, legends, official history, alternative histories, mythic and fairy-tale formulas, and all manner of discourse that the author could pull out of the cornucopia of texts that compose Philippines island life.
"The stories are a wonderful weave of history and imagination, showing Rosario Cruz-Lucero's expertise with language and narrative structure. Wit, irony, and humor emanate from her style--a combination of magic realism and surrealism--which renders the reading of the stories a pleasurable experience. There is a pervading linkage between the stories, some invented "historical" relationship of characters and plot, through which a main central narrative emerges." --Dr. Cirilo F. Bautista, poet, fictionist, and professor emeritus of De La Salle University