R. Zamora Linmark, Coffee House Press, Minneapolis, April 2011, 376 pages
R. Zamora Linmark, born in Manila, is a Filipino American poet, novelist, and playwright. He is educated in Honolulu, and, he has lived in Madrid and Tokyo. The recipient of a U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission and NEA fellowships and twice from the Fulbright Foundation, he has taught, as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in Creative Writing, at the University of Hawaii and University of Miami.
His first, a novel, Rolling the R's was released by Kaya Press in 1995. Linmark then went on to adapt it for the stage, receiving a world premiere production from Kumu Kahua in 2008.
Hanging Loose Press published two of Linmark's poetry collections: Prime Time Apparitions (2005) and The Evolution of a Sigh (2008). Of his first collection of poems, Prime Time Apparitions, poet Mark Doty wrote: "...witty and disenchanted, sexy and touched, jangled with longing and the crazed changes the wild new world works." Both of his collections of poetry are available from Hanging Loose Press.
This novel focuses on Vicente âVinceâ de Los Reyesâ return to the Philippines after he was brought to Hawaii as a kid to be raised there with his parents and 2 siblings for 13 years.
 As he ventures through the jungle, which is Manila, he tries to figure himself out, as a Filipino, or an American. Him being somewhat confused on his citizenship due to all the memories that were brought back once he stepped on Philippine soil. Vince, being the grandson of a Bataan death March survivor, this novel also talks about the Philippines when it was under the ruling of the Japanese and Americans.  This novel reminds us of what Filipinos had to go through when under colonization.
But aside from History, the novel also focuses on Vinceâs personal life; like his different sexual relationships and partners, his relationship with his parents, his siblings and more importantly, with his Grandfather Lolo Al. And with that we are given a deeper understanding of Vinceâs nature and psyche.
Leche, brings us to a time where corruption, economic crisis, and many other different problems of the country were at its highest. Leche, whether it be fictional or not, brings us to different places and destinations in the Philippines where events not taught to us in school were revealed.
The author of this novel uses poetry and prose as well as charts, and lists, to vary and enrich the essence of Leche, but this can also distract the reader from the topic at hand. This novel isnât the usual kind of novel wherein you go chapter by chapter. And with every chapter, brings you closer to the ending. No, this novel is written in a diary form type where the author skips from topic to topic and giving the topic a title then discussing it further. Itâs somehow confusing and I admit I was dizzy when I first started reading the novel. It felt like I was in a roller coaster ride because the novel went from topic to topic which werenât always connected to each other; from real life situations when suddenly we find out that Vince is asleep then awake again resuming the initial situation. Or sometimes we are taken back in time for a momentary period because somehow itâs related to the situation the character is in. And this somehow helps the character in the current situation. So the time frame really wasnât made clear to me. But despite the wild goose chase kind of writing, somehow, the novel still manages to piece it all together to form one solid story.
Through the numerous times Vince recalls his past, the more we get to know how and why he is what he is. It is through narratives of history that we are reminded of the suffering our ancestors went through before our country became independent. This we come to know because we find out the Vinceâs grandfather was part of the Bataan death march.
The novel also clearly points out the many discriminations and stereotypical notions we get from foreigners especially in the time where the novel takes place where the country is at an all time low, still recovering from Marcosâs regime after Cory Aquino took over.
The characters in the novel, although I still have no idea if this novel was based on a real life story or what, seem to be numerous and quite famous I may add. From Vinceâs long lost relatives to the local celebrities he runs into like Kris Aquino and Bino Boca. They seem to just pop up out of nowhere apparently. The conversations he has with these characters make you feel like it actually happened so you begin to have this urge to look it up online to look for facts to prove if it really happened. This is what made the book interesting. The characters felt real. It felt like you were the one they were having a conversation with. It somehow makes you feel what they feel.
The different settings where some parts of the novel took place were really intriguing. The fact whether the gay bar Leche was real doesnât matter because it really felt real plus the fact that the history behind the beginnings of that establishment seemed to revolve around the politics of that era making it even more surreal. Itâs actually funny that wherever the character goes, he seems to learn more about the Philippines despite the fact that, thatâs not what he came back for.
As the story continues and we actually catch up with Vince and his escapades, we are revealed to a lot of things; beginnings of all sorts of things. We also find out the reason he returned to the Philippines: him winning 1st runner up in a competition back in Hawaii thus him getting a prize of travelling to the Philippines. We also find out why he left the Philippines and his Lolo Al when he was a kid to go live in Hawaii: his parents took him and his siblings to go live there. Also in the beginning of the story, we are told that Vince is an open proud gay and proudly shares his first and present sexual encounters to us. Not in vivid detail of course. Just enough detail to make it feel interesting but weird at the same time.
We are also shown a side of Vince that loathes the country so much. But the irony of that is, the longer he stays and ventures into the morass of Manila, we see him beginning to take a subtle liking to the country; mainly because he meets men of his taste and these men teach him some things about the country that eventually fascinates him. And the more we read on, we notice that during his escapades, he is reminded of many practices, cultures, & traditions he used to practice as a kid or was reminded to as a kid such as the visiting the wake of a dead person even if they arenât related to you. He is also lectured on âbangungutsâ or nightmares by his housekeeper Bernadette. It was said that Vince kept having recurring nightmares of his grandfather and somehow it meant something and it did mean something according to Bernadette. And it is because of his nightmares that he finally visits his Grandfatherâs grave back in his hometown of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.
The novel, although written in a form in which young readers can relate and understand, has genres that not many young people might find interesting such as politics and history. Contrary to that, the novel also has genres that most young people take into liking such as drama, romance and comedy all of which are present in the novel. This catches the attention of the reader instantly making the novel a lot more interesting. I was really fascinated on how the author managed to incorporate a lot of genres into one single novel. The novel made me laugh, made me angry, got me confused on some parts, got enlightened in some parts, & felt a feeling of sadness when Vince came home to an empty house because his grandfather left nothing for him. His memories gone forever.
Overall, this novel is such an interesting read and really, really fascinating. From the book cover, to the quality of the paper used in the printing, the comedy in the tourist tips describing a true Filipino in their natural habitat & the true nature of the Philippines. One particular tourist tip I just canât seem to shake off my mind and still makes me laugh is âFilipinos cannot live without making noise, hearing noise, and being noiseâ. Why I find that so hilarious is because I can relate to that statement. Especially coming from a guy who spent his whole life not from the Philippines, I can attest to that statement.
This novel, has given me something I never thought Iâd get from a novel, that is better understanding for Filipinos who werenât raised in the motherland. I have better respect for myself because I know what it feels like to have grown in a country where the culture is so different that when you finally visit your motherland, you get an instant culture shock. I am also reminded of the importance of forgiveness. No matter how big of a fault a person has done to you, especially a person close to your heart, you must have it in you to forgive them because one day when theyâre gone, you wonât be able to forgive them and youâll be left with regret. Another thing I respect so much is our country. That no matter how much weâve faced over the years, the different problems we had to deal with to become a solid nation, we still manage to rise up on our feet to start a new day; to start all over again. This is the Filipino nature. This is what it is to be a Filipino. Whether born here, raised abroad or werenât born here at all. A Filipino will always go back to his roots and it's the responsibility of the parents to remind their child of their roots so they donât forget.
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