Status Updates From Plus/+, at Iba Plus, Marami...

THE BATH by George Gonzaga Deoso. George is a friend of mine. We graduated together, also one of the reasons I bought this book. Anyway, I am just absolutely mindblown and in love with his story. He woke up my reading slump. I read his story uninterrupted. Well, it's also because the story will make you h-word. It's about a struggling couple who go to a gay bathhouse to spice it up. They both are changed after.

FAR MORE by Ned Parfan--I love Sir Ned, he was my instructor once upon a time for--I'm going to say Philippine Literature in English/ something Fiction. His work here in fiction is very poetic, each line is just delicious. I find myself looking for a pencil so I can underline them. There's something in the language that makes you yearn. The story is about two lovers who are already coupled. The other lover knows.

PAMAMANHIKAN by Bernadette Villanueva Neri - the first story takes to a tender journey of a mom who is about to meet her daughter's girlfriend. It's unique because it's from the perspective of the mom who hesitated to accept her daughter. It's realistic because it echoes all the worries/ all the stigma of a Filipino mom. It's juxtaposed with cooking as well, which makes it just the perfect opener for this collection.