A Pinay maid in the US recalls her starving girlhood in a somber 1960s Third World neighborhood. She finds inspiration in the myth of the banana heart, turns to cooking for comfort, and discovers that her hunger can be appeased only in dreams. Cuisine clashing with grief can cause indigestion.
The story of Manny Pacquiao’s life is told, or so we are told, by Pacquiao himself, in this “personal autobiography” written (with a certain Timothy James) in exotified English. Doubt surrounds the lyrical and disembodied narrative voice, which confuses rather clarifies. Part biography, part fiction, totally shameless advertising. 
A tale essentially about the human condition told through the lives of two insecure and naïve caterpillars with deep-seated neuroses in search of individuality while struggling with sexuality. And they never realize that their fate is to be unwitting slaves of ecology. 
If there be a National Fist, why not a National Prick? Delirious as if virginal, this nation writhes in carnality at every newsflash. Each buzz is a solid thrust, adding to the ecstasy. And everyone has to partake in the debauchery, the politicians, most especially. One wonders how long this National Orgasm will last. 
In Grenouille, Süskind has created a beloved serial killer with a powerful sense of smell. His beginning, a Dickens novel; his journey, a bildungsroman; his end, a Sartrian exit. More than an inspirational manual for murderers, Perfume is a treatise on the implosive relation between love and existence.
If only the government provided enough jobs with decent wages, Pinoys would not have to raise a ruckus each time someone pokes fun at their fragile identities. No laughs from the government. But why would the joke's butt join the laugh? 
Oliver Barrett IV and Jennifer Cavilleri will be remembered by generations of lovers. Segal is a manipulative genius, juggling simplicity, restraint and surprise. Only a well-read mind so sick of trashy, bestselling romance novels could have written this short and sweet concoction of the finest ingredients of love stories through the ages.
