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A review by santino1215
Gagamba: The Spider Man by F. Sionil José
4.0
Book 25 out of 200 books
"Gagamba" by F. Sionil Jose
"Gagamba", first published in the year 1991, tells the story of a sweepstake vendor, selling streetfood in front of Camarin, a restaurant in Ermita, Manila. This novel is rather philosophical, at least according to its first synopsis. It is a short novel about a man searching life's meaning, and finally achieved it at the end of the 120-paged novel.
"Gagamba" also commemorates and commentates on the 1991 killer earthquake that struck the Philippines in the Island of Luzon as well as the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.
MY THOUGHTS:
Although its "searching for life's meaning" in the first synopsis of "Gagamba"- my humble opinion is that, the novel isn't exactly searching for life's meaning, but more of a "Searching for society's meaning".
"Gagamba" was so much more of a social and political commentary than actually a philosophical text. If you are an avid F. Sionil Jose reader, you'd get my point. We see how corruption is seen and depicted here in the Camarin restaurant. One of the more memorable depictions of corruption within the Philippine government was the fact that 2 Philippine military generals (I forgot their names) lobbied in government affairs by buying them out with money and drugs says a lot.
By the end of the novel, if I remember correctly, the Camarin restaurant falls to the ground, onslaught to the 1991 earthquake. The Gagamba main protagonist actually becomes the "Gagamba" or becomes the spider, thus, the actual story starts from there.
"Gagamba" by F. Sionil Jose
"Gagamba", first published in the year 1991, tells the story of a sweepstake vendor, selling streetfood in front of Camarin, a restaurant in Ermita, Manila. This novel is rather philosophical, at least according to its first synopsis. It is a short novel about a man searching life's meaning, and finally achieved it at the end of the 120-paged novel.
"Gagamba" also commemorates and commentates on the 1991 killer earthquake that struck the Philippines in the Island of Luzon as well as the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.
MY THOUGHTS:
Although its "searching for life's meaning" in the first synopsis of "Gagamba"- my humble opinion is that, the novel isn't exactly searching for life's meaning, but more of a "Searching for society's meaning".
"Gagamba" was so much more of a social and political commentary than actually a philosophical text. If you are an avid F. Sionil Jose reader, you'd get my point. We see how corruption is seen and depicted here in the Camarin restaurant. One of the more memorable depictions of corruption within the Philippine government was the fact that 2 Philippine military generals (I forgot their names) lobbied in government affairs by buying them out with money and drugs says a lot.
By the end of the novel, if I remember correctly, the Camarin restaurant falls to the ground, onslaught to the 1991 earthquake. The Gagamba main protagonist actually becomes the "Gagamba" or becomes the spider, thus, the actual story starts from there.