A Tropical Winter's Tale and Other Stories

by Charlson Ong

These stories, selected by the author himself from his three prize-winning short story collections, tell an important of the story of the Filipino-Chinese, itself an important part of the story of the nation.

Writes poet and scholar, Ronald Baytan: "There have been many Chinese writers writing in English...perhaps as early as the 1960s. No one else has achieved the status attained by Ong. In a way, it is his entry into the mainstream Philippine Literature that has forced the critics to acknowledge the presence of a dynamic and growing body of writings by the Chinese...Pain, juxtaposed with a certain wry humor, governs Ong's fictional worlds, and Chinese or not, the characters are endowed with an ironic and laughing voice that hits home only because their laughter is synonymous with grief."

151 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Charlson L. Ong , resident fellow of the Institute of Creative Writing and fictionist/scriptwriter/singer extraordinaire, was born on July 6, 1960. He obtained an A.B. in Psychology from the University of the Philippines in 1977, and currently teaches literature and creative writing under UP's Department of English and Comparative Literature. He has joined several writers' workshops here and abroad, and has acquired numerous grants and awards for his fiction, including the Palanca, Free Press, Graphic, Asiaweek, National Book Award, and the Dr. Jose P. Rizal Award for Excellence. His novel, Embarrassment of Riches published by UP Press in 2002, won the Centennial Literary Prize. In addition to this, Ong has served as co-editor of the Likhaan Book of Poetry and Fiction
His short stories range from parodies of well-loved Filipino texts to insightful treatments of Chinese-Filipino culture. These have been collected into Men of the East and Other Stories (1990 and 1999), Woman of Am-Kaw and Other Stories (1993) and Conversion and Other Fictions (1996). His second novel is due for publication this year.

Reviews

[Maikee Vicencio]

Good

[Lit React · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is on the short story Rain, found in this collection - This is an honest story about the difficulty of relating to one's father and one's son. Despite the difficulty though, both father and son make an earnest attempt at it. The central conceit of the rain seems a tad contrived at times but is well executed.