Ginseng and Other Tales from Manila by Marianne Villanueva

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Fiction. Asian American Studies. Set in the Philippines, these beautiful and poignant stories reveal characters trapped in extremity in urban violence or the crushing poverty of the provinces. The reader comes away with new insights into human nature and the valor and courage of the Philippine people.

From Publishers Weekly
Villanueva's debut collection of probing, dreamlike tales about the Philippines during Ferdinand Marcos's dictatorship provides a haunting picture of the island's landscape and an intriguing glimpse into the minds and hearts of its people. In these 11 stories, Villanueva tells of villagers and city dwellers struggling to retain their humanity in the face of military repression. She also explores the clash between old and new values in a country overshadowed by Western influences. Despite their sorrow and confusion, Villanueva's protagonists derive strength from natural surroundings whose power she skillfully conveys. "I have the feeling that the garden is alive and speaking to me," says a villager whose mother has died. "My mother's voice comes from the heart of the trees, where the sap and the root and the life of the world come together." Whether she describes the ghost of a boy, slain by a corrupt colonel, "dancing across the rice paddies" or a graffiti artist fighting "the will of the dictator" with magic chalk, Villanueva injects a sense of foreboding. Hers is a milieu where it is hard to distinguish myth from reality and lies from truth.

About the Author
Marianne Villanueva, a former Stegner Fellow in Creative Writing at Stanford, has been writing and publishing stories about the Philippines and Filipino Americans since the mid 1980s. She currently teaches writing and literature at Foothill College and Notre Dame de Namur University. Born and raised in Manila, she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Book Details
Publisher: CALYX Books; First edition (December 1, 1991)
Language: English

Hardbound Details
120 pages
ISBN-10 : 093497120-X
ISBN-13 : 978-09-3-497120-1
Item Weight : 10.2 ounces
Dimensions : 6.1 x 0.6 x 8.8 inches

Softbound Details
120 pages
ISBN-10 : 093497119-6
ISBN-13 : 978-09-3-497119-5
Item Weight : 6.4 ounces
Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches