First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

Vita Nova, introverted megastar, only wished for a quiet life as the Philippines’ most-liked influencer, famous for her viral dance hit, the Mr. Sexy-Sexy – yet somehow she’s now headlining a rollicking impeachment and a battle royal for power.

In these previously unreleased transcripts, collected by Miguel Syjuco, the ghostwriter of her tell-all memoir, Vita rips the bodice of society to bare her heaving story. But some of her former lovers tell it differently, asking us: ” Who’s more sinful, the seduced or the seductress?”

You must decide, as thirteen indelible voices come alive in I Was the President’s Mistress!!, a dizzying tale of democracy in peril – which isn’t about the Philippines but a society uncannily like yours.

Come, confront today’s last taboos and hurtle headlong into love, sex, politics, freedom, faith – and the war over who will tell the stories the world will know as truth.

Happy Friday everyone! Another work week is in the books! The weekends are waving. We were able to survive another week. Which reminds me, we are already in the second month of the year! January felt like a very long stretch even though it still feels like yesterday when we greeted a new year. Anyway, I hope the year is going well for everyone. I hope that 2024 will be filled with blessings and good news. However, if the first month of the year has been anything but kind to you, I hope that the succeeding months will be kind to you. More importantly, I hope that eveyrone is doing great. I hope that everyone is well, in body, mind, and spirit. To everyone who was able to achieve something over the week, may it be small or big, or may it be just simply making it through the week, congratulations.

Capping another week of blogigng is another First Impression Friday update. This has certainly become an integral part of my book blogging week as it allows me to probe, albeit lightly, into the book that I am currently reaidng. This is my first update for February. Reading-wise, my 2024 reading journey has been prolific even though what I have done in the past month was catching up on books published in the past three years. These are books I have been meaning to read and yet never got around to reading because, well, I have quite a burgeoning list of books I want to read. Currently, I am reading Miguel Syjuco’s I Was the President’s Mistress!! Published in 2022, this is my first book by the Filipino writer.

I have been meaning to read the book since I encountered it because I am curious about Syjuco’s body of work. His debut novel, Ilustrado, has earned him several accolades, including the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize. However, it took him nearly a decade and a half to finally publish his sophomore novel which immediately piqued my attention because of the intrigue that its title evoked. I Was the President’s Mistress!! is the first novel written by a Filipino writer I am reading this year. This aligns with my goal of expanding my foray into my local literature, a part of the literary world I have been neglecting until recently.

The titular president’s mistress is Vita Nova, a megastar. With over 22.2 million followers, she is amongst the most followed Filipino celebrities on Instagram. She only wante to live peacefully as an influencer. However, she was skirting controversy when her name was attached to President Ferdinand V. Estregan who was, at that time, at the center of impeachment proceedings. It was revealed that Vita was the President’s lover. As such, Vita contacted Miguel Syjuco – the novel comes in the form of interviews and recorded confessions – to give her side of the story. And boy was the expose very juicy. Vita was literally holding no bars.

Her transcript opened: I know you’re wondering – yes, it’s true: his birdie is thick, as he’s always saying, but like a thumb is to a finger, and hard to find beneath the paunch and hair that make a nest for it to rest on its two eggs, or repose, if metaphor’s more poltically correct re: pitutoys of powerful men. The opening sentence also sets the tone for the story, or at least that is how I surmise it is going to be; I am just a couple of pages into the story. Vita is unfiltered and had no qualms expressing her thoughts and sharing her experience. As she moves forward with her story, it was increasingly palpable how the story mirrors the contemporary Filipino political landscape. For instance, Vita named Bang Rebolvar, “the actor turned senator turned detained alleged pludnered turned senator.” The description won’t be lost on the Filipino reader as the reference is too direct.

The transcript by President Estregan further underlines the parody of the Philippine political scene. With the vitriol and the unfocused manner in which President Estregan conveyed his thoughts, one can glean who he is the caricature of. President Estregan even mentioned how he wanted to stay in power because the lady Vice President is weak. The references are all way too palpable. It makes me smile because I know most of it. And I think this will present a challenge for those who are not attuned to Philippine politics. Nevertheless, I surmise that the subjects that Syjuco captured are universal, such as power dynamics, machismo, corruption, among others. There is a content warning at the start of the transcript which already gives the readers an idea.

I just finished two chapters, one each from the two main characters at the center of the controversy. I guess nothing would surprise me with the exposes that are going to be laid out by Syjuco. Perhaps I might even be laughing at the brazenness of how Filipino politicians act. I might even shake my head a time or two knowing that the Filipinos voted for them, and will still vote for them regardless. It is quite disheartening really. Still, I want to see how Syjuco uses these materials and spin a tale out of it. How about you fellow reader? What book or books are you taking with you for the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy them. Again, happy weekend everyone!