RESPONDE mula sa panulat ni Norman Wilwayco

Ang Pagbabasa ng RESPONDE ay parang paglalakad sa kalyeng walang pangalan ng alas-dos ng madaling araw, parang Brain Operation na walang anesthesia, tulad ng paghitit ng Chongki na ga-braso ang laki, parang silence sa mental hospital, tulad ng pag-inom ng matapang na kape na walang tubig at parang pagsisindi ng posporo sa gitna ng mga nakabukas at sumisingaw na LPG. Lagi itong delikado, diretso, delingkwente. Pumapatay at bumubuhay ng imahe ng nakaraan. Mistulang laging may asupre ang kukote kapag bumubuka na ang polyester na panlasa. Umiikot, sumisinghot, humihikbi, naninibugho, nalilibugan ang damdaming kinakalmot ng ala-ala ng kabataan at minumulto ng makaraan. Tanging kwentong RESPONDE lamang ang may kakayanang magbigay kamatayan sa mga naghihingalong pag-asa ito rin ang bubuhay sa mga bangungot na iniligpit kasama ang lukbutan ng hinaing. --- Rom Factolerin

Sago Daddy Lourd de Veyra digs Responde

GRIT EXPECTATIONS

Norman Wilwayco's short stories take us inside his world of the foulmouthed, dopeheads and sickos. Lourd de Veyra wants in.

You hear the word "responde" a lot over news reports involving fire, robberies, and other emergencies. "Responde," in shabu parlance, refers to the notion of a quick follow-up, a second helping. Sort of like "extra-rice" or "coffee refill," except here it involves tiny crystal bits, strips of Reynolds Wrap, and a nervous errand boy scurrying across unlit alleyways. Or so my, uh, rather well informed friends tell me.

And appropriately it’s also the title of writer-graphic designer Norman Wilwayco’s second book. The independently published Responde (Pinoy X Press) is a collection of short stories in Filipino (the fact that it uses newsprint adds to the gritty charm). In the 12 stories we meet Wilwayco’s crew of mad, lovable, downtrodden, foulmouthed, alcohol-and-narcotics-fueled misfits. Friends might conclude that some of them are the author’s unmistakable alter egos-definitely not the meek-mild-oppressed-romantic archetypes populating the stories in Philippine literature. There’s Tony, the once-poor-and browbeaten kid who wreaks vengeance on all his enemies, from the slums to his UP classmates. There’s the graphic designer in “Asin, Live!” working on the legendary folk-rock bands album sleeve whose memories of deep, childhood longing to have his own guitar strikes bittersweet chord. There’s the narrator of “Pulutan,” who eventually slaughters his beloved childhood pet askal, Doro, and the ending is one of the most disturbing you’ll ever read in this side of Liwayway.

Dark characters, yes, but there’s always a glimmer of humanity that shines through, all told in clear, terse prose that mambos between the pedestrian and the poetic.

By bagging the grand prize in the 2002 Palanca Awards for his novel Kung Paano Ko Inayos ang Buhok Ko Matapos ang Mahaba-haba ring Paglalakbay (later published as Mondomanila), Wilwayco broke into the literary scene as if carrying a switchblade in one hand and a near-empty gin bottle in the other. Esteemed fictionist Jun Cruz Reyes-himself an iconoclast of Philippine lit-christened Wilwayco as his rightful successor.

5 WASAK STARS

Transgressive fiction at its most Wasak!!....Amazing Short Stories and everything that abides by the manifesto of Wasak...

Reviews:
"Wasak na Wasak" -The Radioactive Sago Project
"Sobrang Bastos"- The Brockas

Welcome to the world of Norman Wilwayco :
Palanca Grand Prize Winner for 2008 for the critically acclaimed "Gerilya"
Palanca Second Prize winner for 2000 for the short story "Kung Paano Ko Inayos ang Buhok Ko Matapos ang Mahaba-haba Ring Paglalakbay" (featured in the book, Responde)
Amado Hernandez Awards Winner
Author of the Novel and Khavn DelaCruz film: MONDO MANILA
The Brockas and Jesus Mafia Bassist
Skater and Drinking Buddy
This is Definitely The Book To Read!!!

This collection truly shatters and destroys the comfort zones of Filipino Literature...
Belongs to the same league as Bukowski, Burroughs and luna.
Stories that defy the boundaries of what we call Filipino Literature...
Eye Opening and definitely not for the weak-hearted..
Recommended, a must read!!!

"The only people who will not like Responde are those pathetic petti-bourgeiosie scums who doesn't deserve reading it. Not to mention illiterates." -NY Times Bookreview

**** from J. Luna, isa pang wasak!

Norman Wilwayco has captured the fat-surrounded heart, the corroded liver, the hole-filled lungs, and the Filipino spirit drowned in gin and beer in Mondomanila (and its long subtitle), floating everything in filthy piss. He does not only write these stories; he is in the stories. He is the star, the bastard, the eater of vaginas. If you have finished this novel in one sitting, don't worry, nothing's wrong with you. That's how good it is. Learn every fuck word possible in the vernacular and see why Wilwayco is possibly the most interesting writer around in Philippine literature.

wasak!

From the author himself: http://normanwilwayco.com

RESPONDE in printing: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150381629249753

Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/rO6ndY

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/RespondeBook

Online Order Form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGc3bUdxT0d6MmR0NDJjZzZ6UFFDS2c6MQ#gid=0