In My Mother's House (Joni Cham)

The strained and complicated relationship between mother and daughter comes to a head when Nina, the dark-skinned and introspective child of Chinese immigrants, returns to care for her ailing mother. Joni Cham's In My Mother's House peels back the layers of a Chinese family in the Philippines. Mother and child stand as opposites: Le Bi wishing that her daughter becomes more Chinese in appearance and in manner, Nina accepting another culture and language as the emotional divide between them grows.

There are so many things about the Chinoy experience that this review may completely miss or misinterpret. But what the author deftly does is to include the readers into her protagonist's experiences, regardless of how much they know about Chinese-Filipinos. I found Nina's recollection of her middle-class upbringing an almost Proustian experience; I had to stop to savor my own memories that Ms Cham's writing would manage to dredge up. Key here is Nina herself, the self-proclaimed 'Rat' of her family, silent and lurking and painfully observant. The protagonist notes small details, like '... the image of words written on red sheets hanging on walls, remembering how as a child, she had sat among the pieces of paper fluttering in the wind from the ceiling fans (p42),' she writes. Or, describing an uncle, she notes his 'perpetually smiling mouth with dried saliva on is corners and a voice made raspy from years of tobacco-smoking (p72-73).' The narrative has a tendency to meander from present to past as if we're floating along Nina's stream of consciousness but she keeps the readers well-anchored, careful about which piece of her relationship with her mother Le Bi she will reveal in each chapter.

Ms Cham relies on metaphors and images to build the story. The first is the rat, after Nina's birth year and the physical parallels that Nina draws to this creature. At an early age, Nina has accepted that she is not her mother's favorite, preferring to stay in the background or in the company of her beloved Yaya Pasing, who has turned into the maternal ideal in her life. Another is the odor of her mother's house, stale and suffocating. Scent is a strong element of the book. It is a point of struggle for mother and daughter in the beginning of the story, but throughout the novel it symbolizes the insular lifestyle that Le Bi clings to and hints at the divisive turning point in their family's lives.

This is not the Chinese-Filipino equivalent of The Joy Luck Club. Far from that. It is not filled with obscure Chinese references and rituals from the old country. It is not festive or warm, though there are moments of light and release. It may start as a slow read, but keep to it. The conclusion is moving and forceful, as startling and as deceptive as a rat behind the walls.

Independence Day Giveaway Winners

Last Independence Day, I hosted a book giveaway for signed copies of Unseen Moon by Eliza Victoria and In My Mother's House by Joni Cham.

The winners are:

For Joni Cham's In My Mother's House:

For Eliza Victoria's Unseen Moon:

Congratulations, Tin and Monique! I'll contact you soon. I hope you enjoy your new books!

To everyone else, thank you very much for joining!

Giveaway: Signed Copies of In My Mother's House and Unseen Moon

Today, as the Philippines celebrates its Independence Day, I decided to give away some signed books by Filipino authors. This day always makes me reflect on my heritage and culture, so I thought it was only fitting that I help bring two fantastic works (which are not yet readily available in our local bookstores) to your doorstep:

First is In My Mother's House by Filipino-Chinese author Joni Cham. The book was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the Novel Category (Premio Jose) at the Premio Thomas: UST Quadricentennial Literary Prize.

From a quote by J. Neil Garcia:

Here is an incisive and at times merciless unpacking of a troubled mother-daughter relationship, complicated by the heady cultural dynamic attending “Chineseness” and all that it implies in a morally repressive, ritually pious and middle-class Philippines.

In My Mother's House is only available via Central Books, which has three branches in Metro Manila.

Next is Unseen Moon by another multi-awarded author and poet, Eliza Victoria, whose genre works move between the realms of horror, science fiction, and fantasy.

From Amazon:

Ghosts in a mansion. A home invasion. A group of friends haunted by a murder. An unlikely friendship, a dead body in an abandoned house. Unseen Moon (ebook edition) collects four suspenseful stories by award-winning author Eliza Victoria.

Unseen Moon is available as e-book on Amazon and Smashwords, though the digital version only contains four stories. You can get a print version from Amazon that includes the fifth story, "The Viewless Dark" or you can win it here.

Both books are not only signed by their respective authors, but also come with a special bookmark each.

Mechanics:

1. Leave a comment telling me more about the last book you read that was written by a Filipino author.

2. You may only enter (and win) the contest once. Multiple posts/comments will only count as one entry.

3. Winners will be drawn randomly. There will be one (1) winner for In My Mother's House and one (1) for Unseen Moon. Prizes will be distributed randomly as well.

4. The contest will run until June 22 (Saturday), and will be announced then. (Sorry, I don't have people's email addresses so you'll have to visit the blog again to find out if you've won.)

5. This giveaway is only available to residents of the Philippines. Prizes will be shipped out using the courier of my choice.

6. In case the winner doesn’t respond within a week of the announcement, I reserve the right to draw a new winner.

7. If you don't win, well... do yourself a favor and read another Filipino book when you can! Hooray for Filipino novels!

With In My Mother's House Author Joni Cham

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of meeting up with author Joni Cham, who brought me a copy of her prize-winning debut, In My Mother's House. It was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the Novel Category (Premio Jose) at the Premio Thomas: UST Quadricentennial Literary Prize. The book was launched, among others, as part of DLSU's centennial celebration.

Proudly posing with her work

Book signing! Not her first and definitely not her last

At Little Tokyo
The novel tackles the strained relationship between a Chinese mother and a daughter raised in middle-class Philippines. I'm only a few chapters into the book but Joni, who has an MFA in Creative Writing from De La Salle University, is already showing how talented and capable she is in handling the nuances of her story.

In My Mother's House is published by Central Books for DLSU. It's available at all Central Books branches:
SM Megamall
5/F Building A
Mandaluyong

G/F Phoenix Bldg.
927 Quezon Ave., QC

Ever Gotesco, Manila Plaza Mall
Recto Ave, Manila
To know more about Joni and her debut novel, visit her blog at http://soyoufound.me or email her at sanapakaininmoko@yahoo.com. You can also follow her on Twitter: @pakainin.