Dogeaters

Hagedorn's take on my country is eye-opening, witty, and true. We read the book for a student forum in Wesleyan University, and we could not stop talking. Topics like power, post-colonialism, Filipinos' penchant for movies and pageantry, historical narratives, and the Philippines' "halo-halo"-ness were brought up and talked about earnestly. Everyone, including those who are not of Filipino descent, enjoyed the book's juiciness and intelligence. READ THIS BOOK! It's one of those books (like Master and Margarita)that you can read again and again and still come off with something entirely new. If Jessica Hagedorn would visit our university, I would graduate happy.

In any case -- I give it all five stars on account of the almost comical portrayal of familiar (to a Filipino) personages. Ms. Hagedorn is obviously what we term here as "burgis" -- the picture she paints of the impoverished characters in the book would raise an eyebrow in Manila. The character Joey Sands, for instance, was a street urchin and petty thief -- and later a street hustler -- yet he is a favorite dj in the hottest Manila club? That just doesn't happen here. In this country -- everything is about connections, connections, connections -- and I didn't see his (Joey's) claim to the city's inclusion into the moneyed set.Certainly it wasn't on "Uncle"s credentials. The rest of it, though, would be as close as anybody gets to life in this mad city.

I had to read "Dogeaters" for my American Literature class during my sophmore year of college. Usually when I have to read for class I get bored very easily, but this book completely astounded me for so many reasons. It is a frank and honest description of the Philippines during the Marcos era. The characters, particularly Rio Gonzago and Joey Sands are believeable and frankly portrayed both in negative and positive lights. I was particularly impressed by the way that Joey was portrayed. It is not often that an author's main character is a sympathetic, homosexual, drug-addicted, male prostitute. Yet the reader feels that he is a real person telling his story to those who would pick up the book. Though the final few chapters became a little hard to follow at first, I read the book at least five times, both straight through and also just passages, and finally developed a sense of what was going on. "Dogeaters" is one of the few books that I loved so much that I actually lent it to someone to read.

This book offers a glimpse into the complex history of imperialism and colonialism that shaped Filipino identity. Jessica Hagedorn offers a multi-vocal representation of the Philippines in a post- colonial state. The novel moves rapidly through time and from place to place revealing the lasting effects of U.S imperialism and Spanish colonialism. As charaters struggle to cope with these still existing forces they tranform what is American and Spanish into something completely their own. This book is a must read for those interested in cultural conflicts and empowerment.

Jessica Hagedorn puts together a brilliant novel. Through her style of writing, she captures the chaotic atmosphere and the hybrid ambiance that occurs during the days and nights of the Philippines. There is a lot of brutality in Dogeaters. She paints a bleak picture of parts of the Philippines yet reminds us that the Philippines is still a beautiful country. This is a MUST read.