(Book Review) Filipino Fantasy, or Fact?

(Published in Irrawaddy Magazine, June 2011)

Book Title: Ilustrado
Author: Miguel Syjuco

Crispin Salvador, the main character in Miguel Syjuco’s complex novel, is an internationally famous but controversial Filipino writer. He has written essays, memoirs, action-packed novels and a series of children’s fantasy books. But while living a reclusive life as a professor at the Columbia University, his name is on the verge of being forgotten.

So with the help of his former student and protégé, a character bearing the author’s name, Miguel Syjuco, Salvador begins an attempt to restore his reputation by writing what is meant to be his final masterpiece, “The Bridges Ablaze,” a novel exposing the corruption and sins of the Philippine’s elite class of political families. 

“Ilustrado” begins with the discovery of Salvador’s body floating in the Hudson River, followed by the discovery that the manuscript of his in-process masterpiece has gone missing. Speculation arises about the cause of his death: was it murder or suicide? And rumors appear in the Filipino blogosphere and literary circles: some believe in the existence of the manuscript, while others remain skeptical. But Miguel (I will refer to the real-life author as Syjuco, and the character having his name as “Miguel”), who now works as an editorial assistant at the Paris Review, believes the manuscript does exist because he saw Salvador typing it before his death. 

Miguel decides to write a biography of Salvador, and as part of the process sets about investigating the cause of Salvador’s death. While searching through Salvador’s belongings, he finds a list of names written on two pages of notes. He then journeys back to the Philippines and searches for links to these names, and in an attempt to put the pieces of his dead mentor’s life together, he visits Salvador’s childhood home, interviews his sister and aunt and explores his circle of friends and acquaintances.

In Spanish, the word “ilustrados” means “enlightened ones.”  During the 19th century, when Spain colonized the Philippines, the educated young Filipino men who went to Europe to study and returned with new ideas that they used in leading the Philippine revolution were called ilustrados by their countrymen. 

Syjuco’s novel is about the modern ilustrados of the Philippines—an elite class with rich, powerful and influential backgrounds. Both the two main characters in the novel, Salvador and Miguel, belong to this modern class of ilustrados. Both have broken away from their family’s legacy of politicians and chosen to live, or retreat, as migrants in the United States. And so has the real-life author. 

Ilustrado blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction, so much so that readers will find it hard to differentiate between the two. Syjuco’s decision to give one of the main characters his own name, together with the inclusion of detailed and seemingly authentic—but entirely fictional—footnotes, blog addresses and email addresses, muddies the waters between real life and authorial imagination. 

As a result, the reader is left wondering: Is Miguel the author himself? Is Salvador’s father the author’s own father? Readers are informed how Miguel breaks away from the expectations of his family, which includes a long line of politicians. By comparison, both of the real-life author’s parents are politicians; he fought against his father’s wish that he enter politics; and he attended Columbia University. 

In terms of its presentation, “Ilustrado” resembles the movie “Inception”: dreams within dreams in the case of “Inception”; fiction within fiction, and perhaps non-fiction, in the case of “Ilustrado”. Multiple stories are told simultaneously, often jumping abruptly from one to the other, using excerpts from numerous works written by characters Salvador and Miguel. Some of Salvador’s notable works include an essay about his grandfather’s role during the colonial era and the 1896 Philippine revolution, his own memoir about his life under the Japanese occupation during World War II and an interview with him in the Paris Review about his perceptions of modern-day Manila.

“Ilustrado” also offers numerous philosophical musings that can ignite a reader’s thoughts, such as: “The ideology of communism was an enticing potentiality in a society whose continuous attempts at renewal merely overlaid the old structure with fresh inequalities”; “Maturity is merely accepting the tally of all the disappearing options of life”; “It’s foolish to believe that we should be entirely honest”; and “I buy books… I don’t even get to read all of them. They’re more like the best interior decoration … That’s why bookstores have become so popular these days. Guilt-free consumerism.”

Despite the complexity of his presentation, in a subtle way Syjuco brilliantly reveals the inner workings of Philippine society, using many voices from various walks of life. Representing the elite class is Lena, Salvador’s sister, who thinks that half the Filipinos can’t even write their names and should not be allowed to vote. She comments that one of Salvador’s girlfriends died after suffering a hard life because she was never baptized. Miguel’s girlfriend, Madison, writes a thesis on the environmental impact of public bathroom air hand-dryers versus recycled paper towels, and yet insists on leaving all the lights on in her apartment when she goes out.

Although “Ilustrado” ends with a sudden revelation—and a twist—and each one of the many stories in this novel stands on its own—intriguing and engaging—the manner in which they are woven together results in a less successful and powerful plotline than one hopes for when first begininning the novel. Though “Ilustrado” starts out looking like a mystery thriller with the discovery of a body and a list of names, the plot holding this storyline together eventually gives way to the author’s preference for presenting events in Philippine history and providing insight into Filipino society, especially its elite class of ilustrados, and modern-day Manila. 

Syjuco’s prose is sophisticated and complex; certainly not light reading. Therefore, it will only appeal to selective readers. But the right reader will appreciate this novel for its overall insight into the Philippines and its society, and for its philosophical musings and impressive display of literary skills. 

Miguel Syjuco’s debut novel, “Ilustrado,”  won the 2008 Man Asia Literary Prize, Asia’s top literary prize, and the Palanca Grand Prize, the Philippine’s top literary prize.