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:

Larry Esteva, coming home from studies in Boston, witnesses at the airport a riotous demonstration that is forcibly dispersed by the military. The end of his journey turns out to be the beginning of an odyssey in his beloved city where he finds “an insidious lawlessness creeping upon the land.”

Set in Manila in the last beleaguered months before the politico-military take-over in 1972, Bamboo in the Wind tells of the last desperate efforts of a people fighting to stave off disaster. Amid the escalating madness of a regime gone berserk, an odd assortment of people – a senator, a young nationalist, a dispossessed farmer, a radical activist, a convent school girl, a Jesuit scholastic – make their way along the labyrinthine corridors of greed and power. Each is forced to examine his own commitment in the face of brutality and evil, as the book conjures up scene after scene of devastation: the massacre of the demonstrators, the demolition of Sapang Bato, the murder of the sugar plantation workers, the burning of the Laguardia ricefields. And, as a climax to the mounting violence, that final September day – the arrests, the torture, and finally the darkness that overtakes the land.

Happy Friday everyone! We have survived yet another tedious week at the office! The weekends are waving. I hope everyone ended or is ending the workweek on a high note. Thankfully, yesterday was a holiday in the Philippines, commemorating our 127th Independence Day. This raises the question: Are we truly free? In several ways, we are but we are still also shackled. I do hope everyone is truly free. Anyway, I hope everyone is diving into the weekend without much worry. I hope everyone was able to accomplish everything they wanted to achieve during the week. However, if the workweek has gone otherwise, I hope that the weekend will provide everyone the time to rest and recover. I hope everyone gets to spend their weekend wisely. spending their weekends with their loved ones, running errands, or pursuing the things they are passionate about. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in body, mind, and spirit.

Wow. Time is zooming past us. Time flows naturally, with no regard for anyone. We are nearly halfway through the sixth month of the year. In no time, we will already be midway through the year. By the way, how has your year been? I hope 2025 is treating everyone kindly. May it bring you favors and guide you closer to your goals and aspirations. I hope the rest of the year will shower everyone with good tidings and overall positive energy. If your year has been difficult, I hope you experience a reversal of fortune. The coming months beacon with hope. And if you’re still figuring things out, take your time. I hope you achieve your goals this year. May positive energy, blessings, and good news flow into your life in the months ahead.

Reading-wise, I have several goals this year. One, I want to read at least 100 books. I also want to end the year with more translated works than works originally written in English. I am happy to say that I am on track in both. In the past five months, I have immersed myself in the works of Asian literature, starting with a full quarter of purely East Asian works. I have since shifted to the rest of the continent. While I originally planned to conclude it last month, I ended up extending it to two more months. Yes, Asian literature occupies the first half of the year. Not that I am complaining because it also allowed me to venture further into my own literature, Filipino literature. This brings me to my current read, Azucena Grajo Uranza’s Bamboo in the Wind. This is, I believe, the fourth novel written by a Filipino writer I read this year.

Interestingly, or perhaps not, it was during one of my forays into the local bookstore that I encountered Bamboo in the Wind. Curious about what it has in store, I acquired a copy of it. I didn’t plan on reading it this year but because yesterday was the Philippine Independence Day, I decided to read the book. Originally published in 1990, the story transports us to the years before the declaration of Martial Law; yes, the Martial Law is a thorny, hence, prevalent subject in post-war Philippine literature. The story commences with the arrival of Larry Esteva (Lorenzo Esteva Jr.) in Manila after studying in Boston, Massachusetts. At the airport, Larry witnesses a violent dispersal of demonstrators by the Philippine Constabulary. It barely touched him as Larry is part of Manila’s alta de sociedad; he is of the elite class.

Well, the opening section immediately sets the tone for the story. Being a part of the elite is basically a pass. At the airport, Esteva was escorted by an officer of the Bureau of Customs. He zooms past the inspection while the Juan and Juana dela Cruzes (ordinary Filipinos) have to line up. We learn that Esteva descended from a family of hacienderos from Laguardia (a fictional town that once flourished because of its rich rice fields). His father, Don Lorenzo was schoolmates with Arsenio de Chavez at Francis Xavier University. As adults with children, Don Lorenzo Esteva and Arsenio de Chavez, now a senator, converged at the alumni homecoming of the University. At the university, they also became friends with Celestino Limzon who was born to a family of “more modest means than Esteva and de Chavez.” This was the 1920s.

Back to the 1970s. The Philippine political landscape is experiencing a pandemonium. Demonstrations were everywhere. The nation was on the cusp of insurgency as rebel group activities have become rampant. They infiltrated some of the country’s institutions and systems. In retaliation, the Philippine Constabulary – a gendarmerie-type military police force – intensified its efforts to stymie all forms of disruptions. But the youth are also starting to see the realities that proliferate the country. Poverty and hunger were prevalent. These conditions exacerbated the growing discontent amongst the country’s denizens. Serving as witnesses to these atrocities and acts of oppression were the Filipino youth, including the children of the trifecta of Esteva, de Chavez, and Limzon.

Maria Concepcion de Chavez, familiarly referred to as Connie, in particular, was a prominent presence in out-of-the-city immersions. While still a student, she is not oblivious to the realities that her fellow Filipinos are experiencing. Connie’s advocacy will eventually be introduced to the other characters. Their fathers, particularly Don Lorenzo and Senator de Chavez, opted not to intervene in their children’s activities. Limzon, a judge, was a more sobering character and seemingly the voice of reason. A separate thread chronicles the story of the farmers of Laguardia and the denizens of Sapang Bato. Students from prominent universities are also taking up arms, organizing protests and other acts of activism to bring to light the plight of Juan and Juana dela Cruz. This somehow echoes the sentiment of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine National Hero: The youth is the hope of the nation.

But one thing is for sure, things are starting to escalate. The discontent in the countryside is slowly making its way to the consciousness of Imperial Manila. Everyone is expressing their anger toward the system that has been failing them. The Filipino bureaucrats, however, are turning deaf to their fellow’s discontent. The privileged are turning a blind eye mainly because they are not dealing with the same inequities their fellow Filipinos are dealing with. Corruption is prevalent; this was already demonstrated in the opening section of the novel. As all these events swirl and tension escalate, one can surmise that they will eventually and inevitably lead to the declaration of the Martial Law on September 23, 1972, through Presidential Proclamation No. 1081.

With the wealth of material and documentaries on the Martial Law, I already have an iota of the images the novel will conjure. Nevertheless, I am fully engaged. The writing is very compelling, reeling me in. I am surprised that it is Grajo Uranza’s debut novel. The writing is stellar and the characters are diverse, each adding personality and flavor to the story although some are more engaging than others; this is normal. The novel also won the Palanca Grand Prize and I am not surprised. Because of the accessible writing, I just might finish the book during the weekend. How about you fellow reader? What book or books have you read over the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend, well happy start of the workweek!