Name: Why We are Hungry
Rating: 3 (1 reviews)

Francisco Sionil José

Rats in the Kitchen, Carabaos in the Closet

Why We are Hungry

Taira Robles

Never, never romanticise the poor or glamourise poverty; avoid such cliché traps like, poor but virtuous, honour among the poor - because there is nothing honourable about poverty. It is totally degrading.

This patriotism, this social conscience, must now address the inequities of this nation; it must no longer be an instrument of the oligarchy to perpetuate itself.

We are destined to be free - but that destiny is not up for grabs, nor does it come easily. Often, it is denied us because we deny ourselves the free mind, fixated on attitudes of our own making, implanted in us by miseducation, by our misunderstanding of our own history.

The only other work by José that I’ve read was 

Three Filipino Women’ which I did not enjoy. I read this 2/3 years ago and I remember not liking it because he does a lot of projecting and using women as a device to prove a point… none of the women he writes about feel more like caricatures rather than actual women and it made me v uncomfortable.

this collection of essays! I think his love for the his country comes through very clearly in his essays, and he is very piercing in his criticism of the government (from the Marcos regime and even the Aquino presidency). You can also tell how passionate he is about the Arts scene in the Philippines - the first third of this book talks in length about what makes a Filipino writer, what the scene needs to improve, and his hopes for where we will go from here.

While his words can be harsh at times, I think it’s also very obvious that at his core he  has a deep love and connection to the Philippines and its people, and all his work and criticism is done only a hope and desire for a better country

The only other work by José that I’ve read was ‘Three Filipino Women’ which I did not enjoy. I read this 2/3 years ago and I remember not liking it because he does a lot of projecting and using women as a device to prove a point… none of the women he writes about feel more like caricatures rather than actual women and it made me v uncomfortable.

But José is far more likeable in this collection of essays! I think his love for the his country comes through very clearly in his essays, and he is very piercing in his criticism of the government (from the Marcos regime and even the Aquino presidency). You can also tell how passionate he is about the Arts scene in the Philippines - the first third of this book talks in length about what makes a Filipino writer, what the scene needs to improve, and his hopes for where we will go from here.

While his words can be harsh at times, I think it’s also very obvious that at his core he  has a deep love and connection to the Philippines and its people, and all his work and criticism is done only a hope and desire for a better country

Why We are Hungry Rats in the Kitchen, Carabaos in the Closet

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