Paperback / softback | |
September 1, 1991 | |
9780295971322 | |
English | |
212 | |
.8 Pounds (US) | |
$20.00 USD, £14.99 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Cebu
By Peter Bacho
This remarkable first novel follows the struggle of Ben Lucero, a young Filipino American priest who must come to terms with his bifurcated notion of home as well as his own religious commitment. Ben's first visit to the city of Cebu in the Philippines, for his mother's burial, becomes the occasion of his corruption when he is confronted with the manipulative wiles of two enigmatic women, his powerful Aunt Clara and her glamorous young business associate, Ellen. Ben is inherently corruptible, but his moment of truth is advanced by what he sees as a perversion of Catholicism, namely the crucifixion as a means of bargaining with God. Despair, guilt, and their religious corollary, the need for redemption, follow Ben back to Seattle, where he attempts to unravel his existential dilemma.
Bacho's vision is darkly comic, and he refuses to sentimentalize his demanding material. He conveys his vision well, balancing aphoristic meditations with the oblique revelations of funny, vivid, believable dialogue. His complex and timely message is underscored with skillful irony; even the denouement has an ambiguous twist, raising as many questions as answers.
The fiction of Carlos Bulosan and Bienvenido N. Santos has long been valued for its depiction of the lives of Filipino immigrants; this book tells the story of those immigrants' American-born sons and daughters. Bacho's dramatization of the conflict between Filipino and Filipino American cultures conveys the concerns of the post-World War II generation with boldness and skill.
Bacho's vision is darkly comic, and he refuses to sentimentalize his demanding material. He conveys his vision well, balancing aphoristic meditations with the oblique revelations of funny, vivid, believable dialogue. His complex and timely message is underscored with skillful irony; even the denouement has an ambiguous twist, raising as many questions as answers.
The fiction of Carlos Bulosan and Bienvenido N. Santos has long been valued for its depiction of the lives of Filipino immigrants; this book tells the story of those immigrants' American-born sons and daughters. Bacho's dramatization of the conflict between Filipino and Filipino American cultures conveys the concerns of the post-World War II generation with boldness and skill.
Endorsements
"Cebu is a passionate and sensuous portrayal of Filipino American life and identity."—Shawn Wong, coeditor of Aiiieeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers and author of Homebase.
Paperback / softback | |
September 1, 1991 | |
9780295971322 | |
English | |
212 | |
.8 Pounds (US) | |
$20.00 USD, £14.99 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Other Titles by Peter Bacho
Growing Up Brown
Peter M. Jamero, Sr., foreword by Dorothy Laigo Cordova, introduction by Peter Bacho, afterword by Fred Cordova
Aug 2015
- University of Washington Press
$25.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
$95.00 USD
- Hardback
Dark Blue Suit and Other Stories
Peter Bacho
Oct 1997
- University of Washington Press
$20.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Other Titles in SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / Asian American Studies
Reppin'
edited by Keith L. Camacho
May 2021
- University of Washington Press
$95.00 USD
- Hardback
$30.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Pure Land in the Making
Allison J. Truitt
Feb 2021
- University of Washington Press
$95.00 USD
- Hardback
$30.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Coping with Discrimination and Exclusion
Albert Manke
Feb 2021
- University of New Orleans Press
$27.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Other Titles in Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies
Art of the Northwest Coast, second edition
Aldona Jonaitis
Mar 2021
- University of Washington Press
$95.00 USD
- Hardback
$29.95 USD
- Paperback / softback
The Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence
Robert T. Boyd
Feb 2021
- University of Washington Press
$60.00 USD
- Hardback
$30.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Totem Pole Carving, second edition
Vickie Jensen
Oct 2020
- University of Washington Press
$29.95 USD
- Paperback / softback