Foot and Fire

Melodramatic with tempered magical realism, Ang bahay ni Marta is a nice read and not that demanding for one's time because it is just a small thin book. As at any other times, Ricky Lee emphasizes the obligation of a writer/storyteller/everyone to tell the story so we won't forget. And it is not just a storytelling of an anecdote but of one's history. Given the background of Ricky Lee as an activist imprisoned during the Marshal law where he went to the point of committing suicide, I believe it is our obligation to not forget how we fought for democracy, we should not forget the times it was violated. The tangible house of Marta may be dismantled but once the story is told, it is still intact in our consciousness and we will never never forget what happened inside the house, to our nation. I am happy to discover that I liked reading this book and Ricky Lee's Para Kay B and Kung Alam Nyo Lang because even when I was in high school, I don't read Taga...

Dahil hindi mo pwedeng mahalin ang isang tao nang hindi mo minamahal ang hilaga, silangan, timog at kanluran ng kanyang paniniwala. - Ricky Lee, Para Kay B I read the Para Kay B novel of Ricky Lee and since I am now a nonfic follower, I believe I am not someone to rave about it. But then let me, because after all the five stories are laid to me like all fictional movies with tight plot and all scenes should serve a purpose and as in short stories that should focus on one matter and give it a redeeming factor, I am not so enthralled, until the writer's thought came in and seasoned the porridge which I would otherwise not like to eat. The power of writing.                              *** Naupo siya sa paborito niyang lugar. Pinag-isipan niya ang lahat, kung paanong mga pangyayari ng nakalipas ay nagiging kuwento, nagiging kasaysayan, puwedeng baguhin, puwedeng imbentuhin, puwedeng k...