Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Book on Japanese Occupation in Ilo-ilo
I just finished reading this book by Jose Maria Lacambra, Rising Sun Blinking: A Young Boy's Memoirs Of The Japanese Occupation In The Philippines published by Sinag-Tala Publishers. The copyright says that it's published in 1994. I picked it up in one of those numberless visits to Powerbooks' Filipiniana section but I kept on putting it down after starting to read it a couple of times. A few days ago, I ran out of light and small books to read on my commutes to and from the office so I picked it up again and at last I was able to finish it. I found it a good book overall and at only PHP100.00, it's a steal. Google only managed to give me 2 links to it when I turned to the web to see if it has caught the fancy of somebody else and posted some more info about it or the author online. The book is a light read and is only 250 pages but it did manage to capture some of the characteristics and traits of the Pinoys. I give it a four out of five stars and recommend it to all Pinoys most specially to Ilonggos and Guimaras islanders.
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7 comments:
world war 2. manila was occupied by the japanese. my grandfather worked for the philippine national bank. this means he had work during the occupation. he and his family never got hungry, because the bank provided for them a jar of shrimp paste or locally called bagoong and a sack of rice. my grandmother (my mother's mother) died from a stray missile launched by americans. it was near the end of the war. looking at history, had the japanese stayed in the philippines ..
hmm .. that got me interested to look for it in the bookstore ..
Very interesting book. I recently read it and i like it. I hear that this book soon will be in a film. I expect that prompt be carried out this movie.
I just finished RSB and did enjoy the read, although the book was not that well-written, the story and the war itself draws the reader into the trials and triumphs of these teenage boys. And I like that the book is dedicated to "youth", a book like this should be. Unfortunately, you have to wait until the epilogue to get some real character development in the antagonist. Also, the epilogue offers much more to the difficulties and insights of straddling two, sometimes three cultures, which the author and his friends do/did, whether they knew it or not. There is also the problem of the position of the narrator in relation to the narrative, at some points he is right on top of it, writing as the boy, experiencing events firsthand; however, at other times the narrative spacing steps way back and he is reflecting as an adult. This is probably caused by how the book was culminated (diaries vs. memory).
Nonetheless, I do suggest this book for anyone interested in Pinoy (esp. Iloilo) or Japanese culture, also WWII buffs. Although this book was written by a European, I believe it offers a brief look into the Asian mind and heart, and how it feels to come of age in a time of war. I was happy to find this book in a little bookstore above a junk/antique shop. The store is called Trade Wind Books on Gen. Luna in Intramuros, Manila. Unfortunately, I paid 250 pisos and not the 100, the previous blogger had. Still, it's a steal. I give 3 out of 5, for context, not content. I do want to say to Mr. Lacambra, if you are reading this, I liked your book.
Thanks Jose and Jared for dropping by. I'll drop by the bookstore again and see if I can buy a few more copies I will give to the local school in my hometown. It does give a very personal account of the war that is sorely lacking if you are reading a book on history. -cheers!
Do you know if this book is really going to be a film? Does anyone have any information on that? Thanks.
I don't really know. If it's true, it's very much welcome.
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