Reviews

People love a good scare. A good horror story elicits a strong emotional response from the readers.  To be disturbed or emotionally affected suggests that the story has successfully tapped into the reader’s imagination. But it should not stop with the emotional response; an effective horror story should also resonate and prompt readers to reflect on the social relevance of the narrative. Chuckberry J. Pascual’s Bayan ng mga Bangkay has the ability to make readers reflect and linger.

The zombie allegory obviously makes parallelisms with the total lockdown on whole communities that was imposed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The division of zombie-stricken Philippine society into various “zones” connotes the segregation and class divisions that are par for the course in ordinary society, but which get heightened during emergencies. Which should underscore that “Mars, May Zombie!” may yet be the dystopian novel for the “new normal.”

The book offers an adventure you can’t resist devouring in one sitting. Pascual is both witty and considerate of his characters, perhaps aware that his readers may see themselves in Mars. And like all good coming-of-age stories, “Mars, May Zombie!” touches on identity, love, family, and the most necessary thing young people now must be armed with – hope.

Mars, May Zombie is by award-winning author Chuckberry J. Pascual, with the cover illustrated by artist Iñigo Fadul. The book revolves around the gay teen Marcelo “Mars” Manapat, who lives in a post-zombie apocalypse Philippines, along with a sassy best friend and an even sassier lola.

Chuckberry J. Pascual’s Bayan ng mga Bangkay is an inquiry of sorts into our ideas about crime set in contemporary times. The collection of short stories gives us a grim view of the social realities in the Philippines. It captures the individual in social limbo, caught up in the cultural violence which we’ve normalized in popular culture, social media, politics, and the COVID-19 lockdown.

This book of 57 chapters takes place in 2028, eight years after a zombie outbreak that divides the world into zones. The Red Zones are where the survivors are, the Black Zones belong to the zombies, the Blue Zones are where the affluent stay. Mars, along with Lola Vicky and best friend Bey are in search of stuff that may be exchanged—and a bathroom with water.

The book presents a fascinating analysis of Philippine standalone movie theaters as homosexual spaces. By approaching the homosexualization of these establishments through an innovative combination of literary and sociocultural analysis, the author conveys a range of understandings of the space. The use of literary texts as a form of ethnography provides an interesting entry point in understanding the queer and possibly liberating potential of the movie theater such that it is within the confines of this space where norms are suspended, blurred, and remade.

‘I think this book will be a comforting read for queer teens looking for a story about themselves, where the queer character doesn’t have to worry much about their queerness’

I haven’t had this much fun reading anything in some time. Chuckberry J. Pascual’s Mars, May Zombie! (2022, 386 pgs., pb, Adarna House) is a madcap caper of a novel. It’s got everything that makes a book great – a young protagonist/hero, a bad-ass fighter lola, adventure, quests, secrets – and zombies!

Uunahin ko ang pinakamakapal (382 páhiná!) na mahabàng kuwentong 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘡𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘦! (Adarna House,2022) ni Chuckberry J. Pascual. Sa pamagat lang, alám natin katha ito, pantasya, at may impluwensiya ng Kanô horror. Pero kung ginawa rin sa Korea, bakit di puwede sa Pinas?

Hindi lang refleksiyon sa ating recent na karanasan ang Mars, kundi isa ring uri ng paghaharaya kung ano ang maaari nating gawin. Naniniwala ako na bukod sa pagtatala at pagninilay sa ating nakaraan at kasalukuyang kalagayan, may kapasidad din ang panitikan na maging behikulo para hitsurahan ang mga posibilidad sa hinaharap; sa kalagayan natin bilang tao, sa uri ng lipunan na pinapangarap nating lahat.

The stories in this volume are not only Pascual’s exploration of the genre, but his efforts at coming to terms with important issues by examining their shadow side. As queer lit, horror fiction, and social commentary, this book stands out as a distinctive and imaginative contribution to the public discourse and as a statement of the writer’s role in shaping and changing society.

Hilarious and brilliant, the stories show how Bree, a gay receptionist of Barangay Talong Punay, investigates the disappearances that have happened within the district. Not only does the collection tackle LGBTQ+ discrimination, but it also brings forth other issues, including corruption.

Bagamat sa unang tingin ay mas praktikal ang pagsalin ng isang akda mula sa rehiyonal o katutubong wika patungong Ingles, mahalaga ring maisalin ang mga akda natin sa Ingles patungong Filipino at iba pang wika sa Filipinas dahil maraming Filipino na ang hirap magbasa at mag-intindi ng Ingles. Mas marami ang nakakaunawa sa target language ni Chuck na Filipino.

Magaan ang Filipino ni Chuck. Filipino na talaga ito at hindi Tagalog dahil ginagamit niya ang Bisayang salita na “bana” para sa husband. Masakit kasi sa tenga, at magastos rin sa letra, ang “asawang lalaki.”

Ang Nawawala is a set of seven stories based on the crimes that happen in the fictional baranggay of Talong Punay. The protagonist is gay baranggay hall receptionist Bree, who investigates and acts as detective. Mystery and antics ensue.

Sa Pagpasok sa Eksena: Ang Sinehan sa Panitikan at Pag-aaral ng Piling Sinehan sa Recto, ginawang “lunsaran” ni Chuckberry Pascual (2016) para sa kaniyang etnograpiya ng mga sinehan sa Maynila ang mga tekstong pampanitikan na tumatampok sa sinehan bilang lunan ng gawaing homoseksuwal.

Matapang ang aklat na ito, binibigyan nito ng posibilidad ang mga bakla na suriin ang kanilang sariling karanasan sa lungsod at sa mas malawak na lipunan, para magpatuloy na makibaka at lumabas sa madidilim na sulok at espasyo, tungo sa ganap na paglaya, bilang bahagi ng mas malawak na lipunang patuloy na sinisiil ng iba’t ibang restriksiyon at prehuwisyong bunga ng napakaraming kaletsehan at kamangmangan.

Pascual recollects growing up in Malabon, formerly suburban area (now densely urbanized), being a child of parents who are migrant workers abroad, being fascinated by the sensationalist language of Tagalog tabloids, imagery of comics, and the cultural phenomenon that is Madonna.

Sa 15 kuwento, nahihiwalay ni Pascual ang kaniyang mga mambabasa sa mundong pamilyar at nagagawa itong bago—kuwento tungkol sa mga bakla na narinig sa kanto, tsismisan, paaralan—sa pamamagitan ng mahusay na paggamit at paglalaro ng wikang Filipino.

Sino ang “tagalabas” sa paksang pampanitikan? Para kay Pascual, ang “tagalabas” ay ang mga taong salat sa yaman ngunit nagpupursiging umukit ng sariling identidad na kinikilala ng lipunan. Sa akdang ito, nais bigyan ng boses ni Pascual ang mga “tagalabas.”