BOOK REVIEW: Bibliolepsy, A Novel
by Rose Cruz Churma
The author, Gina Apostol, is the latest (Spring 2024) Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She is the second person of Filipino ancestry to be selected—the first was Antonio A. Oposa Jr. in 2015.
The Inouye Chair’s goal is to draw leading intellectuals, artists, and other public figures to Hawai’i to educate students and the greater community by sharing their work. By staying in Hawai’i for a semester, they in turn, can be inspired by Hawaii’s unique ambiance.
To date, the author has written five novels, the first of which is Bibliolepsywritten in 1997 which won in the Philippines’ National Book Awards of 1998. This book was reissued in 2022 by Soho Press—with a preface added, and a new cover design.
The main protagonist is Primi Perigrino, and like the author, grew up in Leyte or thereabouts, and eventually pursued higher education in the big city.
The narrative is from Primi’s perspective and describes her affliction for the written word—thus the title of the book—a made-up name with a mix of Latin and Greek roots that loosely mean the desire for books and words.
From Primi’s written monologues, she sounds like a self-absorbed eccentric whose lifeline is books and the written word—and the folks who authored these.
In the first part of the book, eight-year-old Primi’s parents disappear mysteriously from an inter-island ferry.
Her father was a graphic artist/underground political cartoonist (circa 1972 when Martial Law was declared in the Philippines) while her mother was a “crazy” but beautiful taxidermist—and their deaths leave Primi and her older sister Anna in the care of their weird grandmother they call abuelita.
Primi is considered a reading prodigy and swoons over the written text and seduces the authors she admires, while her sister Anna is a mystic who believes that positive energy will oust the dictator—since the second part is set amidst the backdrop of mid-80s Philippines, toward the end of Marcos regime, a time of censorship, political protest, and civil unrest.
Unlike the other books describing the mid-80s era, the author has her own unique style in describing those days.
“CNN had cornered the market on the street revolt: I look at the onscreen crowds. The country has emerged as kitsch of the day, a panorama of many divisible scenes shot up as one gigantic yellow mushroom you could chew, and psychedelia followed.”
It is an unusual take on living through political turmoil, eloquent but also disturbing. Sometimes funny but always provoking. Despite these—I think reading one of her books is enough for my lifetime.
To those who are intrigued by her writing, she has four other published books.
Her latest is La Tercera,published in 2023. She plans to read from this latest novel at her scheduled talk on April 5, Friday 5:30 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Makiki.
Her talk entitled “Istorya: Weaving Personal Stories into Fiction” is about how researching and exploring family history opened links to Philippine revolutionary history and the anti-colonial legacy of Rizal and others. It should be a memorable evening.
For those interested in attending, please send an email to kalamansibooks@gmail.com. Or contact its sponsors—the Filipino Association of University Women (FAUW), UP Alumni Association of Hawaii (UPAAH), and the Knights of Rizal—Hawaii and Aloha chapters.
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ROSE CRUZ CHURMA established Kalamansi Books & Things three decades ago. It has evolved from a mail-order bookstore into an online advocacy with the intent of helping global Pinoys discover their heritage by promoting books of value from the Philippines and those written by Filipinos in the Diaspora. We can be reached at kalamansibooks@gmail.com.
