http://www.vibebookstore.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?limit=all&q=short+storyhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1451306.The_Best_Philippine_Short_Stories_of_the_Twentieth_Centuryhttp://www.oocities.org/phil_stories/menu_stories.htmlhttps://books.google.com.ph/books?id=G7lMkApdNbwC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=philippine+short+story+about+death+and+mourning&source=bl&ots=uxTPl6aMkO&sig=8yE1mP2s0Z83q0FzhFuAuXwyhno&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cFtZVeWyG4azmwXn8oDIDw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=philippine%20short%20story%20about%20death%20and%20mourning&f=falsehttps://philippinelit.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/the-chieftest-mourner-by-aida-rivera-ford/#more-30https://johnlevimasuli.wordpress.com/category/poetry-and-short-fiction/https://theamazingamado.wordpress.com/tag/jaime-an-lims-the-axolotl-colony/1) Dead Stars. (1925) by Paz Marquez-Benitez - 3 STARSThis is the first Philippine short story written in English. Paz Marquez Benitez (1894-1983) was among the first generation of Filipinos trained in the American education system which used English as the medium of instruction. She was a member of the first freshman class of the University of the Philippines, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912. Her prose is most of the time lyrical and her choice of words is very eloquent. It's just that I thought Alfredo's character is caricaturist and the way he is portrayed is quite unrealistic for a rational man.2) The Bolo. (1927) by Loreto Paras-Sulit - 3 STARSTwo sisters who are so poor they have nothing to eat anymore. Their only hope is to sell a historical bolo that dates back during the time when Malaysia was ruled by a king. The plot is interesting, the prose is crisp and succinct. However, the denouement is a bit lacking. 3) Desire. (1928) by Paz Latorena - 4 STARSThis is a very intelligent short story. It poses two questions that I never thought of asking myself. One for each gender. For women: if a man looks at you with sexual malice, do you get flattered or annoyed? For men: can you really appreciate women more than their physical beauty? 4) Zita. (1930) by Arturo B. Rotor - 2 STARSFeels very ordinary. A man teaching his daughter from the province on how to be a lady so when she comes to the city, she would not be looked down by the city folks. I did not really enjoy reading this because of the abrupt changes in the point of view and the insertion of descriptions of milieu and seem to just have come from nowhere. 5) Footnote to Youth. (1930) by Jose Garcia Villa - 5 STARSHeart-breaking story. I remember reading this when I was in high school and it did not have the same impact now that I am a father to a 17-y/o teenager. The cycle of life. The worries of a parent when their child asks for permission to marry. Simply beautiful. 6) Conservation. (1931) by Juan Cabreros Laya - 4 STARSLaya was a Pangasinense and he was able to include local colors to this beautifully sad story. There are some disorientating sentences and it took time for me to figure out the relationships of the characters. However, once you have that clear, the story is really solid that I thought I should give this a 5-star too. But just to be fair to Villa in #5 that is really wonderful.7) How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife. (1934) by Manuel E. Arguilla - 5 STARSSaid to be "The Most Famous Philippine Short Story in English," this is another story in the collection that evoked a stronger meaning to me now that I am a middle-aged man. The first time I read this was when I was 12 and a freshman high school and I just brushed this aside as a school requirement. Now that I am 47, the deeper meaning like Baldo's (the narrator) family is the Philippines and Maria (his brother's wife) is the Americans puts my reading into a totally different perspective. 8) Five Snapshots. (1936) by Lina Flor - 4 STARSSoledad S. Reyes has said this about Lina Flor: "she is the most neglected Filipino writer." I don't know Lina Flor but if this story can be the basis, I think Reyes has made a good point. The story is beautiful: she made use of 5 high school pictures (snapshots) to tell, in only 7 pages, the life story of these 5 girls. Lina Flor spent only 7 pages what Muriel Sparks did with 128 pages in her masterpiece The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (2 stars). 9) It Isn't Just Horses. (1938) by Alfredo E. Litiatco - 3 STARSThis reminded me of Michelle Van Eimmeren who picks up stray kittens on the streets. It also poses the question: why do human beings need to die?10) The Mats. (1938) by Francisco Arcellana - 4 STARSThe very first work of Arcellana (born 1916) who is one of the National Artists of the Philippines for Literature. His prose seems to be simple because he uses exact words yet his setting is vivid and detailed. The story is about a family whose father works out of town and brings home gifts when he comes back home. One of those gifts is a bundle of specially-made mats for all the members of the family including those that have already died. 11) Blue Blood of the Big Astana. (1941) by Ibrahim A. Jubaira - 4 STARSJubaira is the leading Muslim fiction writer in the Philippines. I find this story special because it proves that even if Muslims and Christians have different religions, our love for each other as countrymen can transcend whoever we consider as God. Another universal truth that is in this story is the wheel of life: sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down. So, always be nice to everyone.12) Yours, Faithfully. (1945) by Lydia Villanueva Arguilla - 4 STARSArguilla was the wife of the Arguilla in #7 who was killed by the Japanese soldiers in 1944. This story, Yours, Faithfully is about the relationship between two Filipino teenage women and the young American soldiers at the time when the Americans came back to release the Philippines from Japanese soldiers. 13) My Father Goes to Court. (1947) by Carlos Bulosan - 5 STARSBulosan was said to be "The Greatest Filipino Overseas Writer" during his time. This story, My Father Goes to Court is something that I've read and heard before and I recalled the ending when I was reading it. This is the funniest story in this anthology.14) The Summer Solstice. (1947) by Nick Joaquin - 4 STARSThis story was my New Year's read a couple of weeks back so I did not read this again. What I really liked about this book were the sexual tension and the strong portrayal of female protagonist despite the fact that the setting was during the American occupation of the Philippines and the patriarchal setup was the practice.15) The Boarding House. (1948) by D. Paulo Dizon - 3 STARSAnother story with sexual undertone. However, that undertone is treated with restraint, something that is not normally done anymore by the current authors in Philippine Literature. Nowadays, authors do not care whether the sexual undertone is offensive to readers. I think handling delicate subjects with restraint is a mark of a good writer.16) The Chieftest Mourner. (1949) by Aida Rivera-Ford - 4 STARSI still enjoyed this even after 32 years from the first time I read in in Philippine Lit class I had in college. This is a story told by a secondary character (niece) whose aunt has a poet husband. The poet husband gets tired of her aunt (Number 1) so he looks for another girl (Number 2) and dies in that girl's arms. The main part of the story is set at the wake with the two women in attendance. 17) Pattern. (1949) by Carmen Guerrero Nakpil - 4 STARSReading this is like hearing what goes on in the mind of a smart single woman when she is being wooed by less smart men. Beware for the single men trying to make a move with a brainy women in the bar. You might think that you are handsome, God's gift to women when in fact they despise your corny pick up lines. 18) My Brother's Peculiar Chicken. (1950) by Alejandro R. Roces - 5 STARSFunny on the surface but if you dig deeper it challenges the convention of putting labels to people or things. Sometimes, we only think of black and white and we totally miss the fact that gray exists. One of the best enduring and deathless stories in the book. Enduring because it is one of those I've read before and now it has a different meaning to me. 19) Magnificence. (1950) by Estrella Alfon - 5 STARSThis short story tackles delicately the issue of child molestation. Since this was written in 1950 when this topic was not yet openly discussed in public (probably because, unlike nowadays, this did not happen everyday), you have to read between the lines and help yourself by supplying what was unsaid. But Alfon passed it with flying colors. 20) The Virgin. (1951) by Kerima Polotan-Tuvera - 5 STARSThe best story written by a female writer in this collection so far. But it is definitely not the mushy cheeky one like Dead Stars (#1). Miss Mijares in this story is 34 and still a virgin. She is a smart woman and she spent her years taking care of her dying mother and sending her nieces to school. You can feel her loneliness and her longings to be touched by a man or to have children. 21) Lupo and the River. (1952) by N. V. M. Gonzales - 4 STARSThe story of a young boy and his friend, a bagong salta in a small barrio. The latter falls in love with the step-sister of the boy and the boy becomes a witness in an attempted rape. The story has a beautiful depiction of a life in the province especially in a farm near a river. Brings back memories of my teenage years in our coconut plantation.22) The Wedding Dance. (1953) by Amador T. Daguio - 5 STARSA very good story about mores and marriage beliefs and practices in the mountain province. While reading I remember Celso Ad Castillo's (RIP) Aliw-iw, a movie starring Rio Locsin in the '70s. I have not seen Nora and Christopher's Banaue. I have a feeling that this heartfelt story probably inspired either or both of those. 23) The God Stealer (1958) by F. Sionil Jose - 3 STARSI was expecting more from this book. I thought that I would easily give this a 5-star rating. The characters are well-defined. The theme and the setting are both interesting. However, it just did not really fly for me. I was expecting more being an F. Sionil's fan and having this as the story that Isagani Cruz chose to be included in this showcase of Philippine's best.24) Faith, Love , Time and Dr. Lazaro. (1959) by Gregorio C. Brillantes - 3 STARSVery profound. A father who is a doctor and a son who is a young man (not a doctor) tend to a dying woman. The doctor treats her just like anybody - a patient. His son sees something else that the woman needs before she dies. It is a conflict between believing and doubting, between science and religion. However, it is not preachy. 25) The Day the Dancers Came. (1960) by Bienvenido N. Santos - 5 STARSThe book tells the story of the aging Filipino-Americans in the US during the 50's when local entertainers (dancers mostly) come to the US to perform. The two lonely old "gays" would want to invite the young girls and boys to their apartment probably to satiate their thirst for fun.26) A Wilderness of Sweets. (1963) by Gilda Cordero-Fernando - 5 STARSThe story is about the last days of the Japanese occupation here in Manila. The Japanese are being chased out by the Americans. The storytelling is unforgettable: it is done in a straightforward kind of way and not heavy on emotions but the sad part at the end of the story really hooks up one's heart. 27) Lover Boy. (1965) by Lilia Pablo Amansec - 4 STARSThis is just a 15-page short story. Yet, Amansec was able to tell a powerful story within a story within a story. This Palanca-winning story has some explicit sex scenes or to be specific, (view spoiler). However, the narration is engaging even without that scenes. 28) Everything. (1966) by Tita Lacambra Ayala - 4 STARSDeceiving. At the onset, one thinks that this Palanca-winning story is just a simple lamentation of a busy mother who attends to the daily needs of her husband and children. Busy, busy, busy. Yet in the end, on page 7 (this is short-short), what goes on in her mind will shock you. 29) Kulisising Hari. (1968) by Edilberto K. Tiempo - 5 STARSDisturbing. This is not a fun light read and it is edgy, i.e., to pushes your sanity to its edge. It is well-written though. I prefer this story compared to the longer one by his wife (see the succeeding story).30) Un Bel Di. (1968) by Edith L. Tiempo - 3 STARSThis long story is too artsy-patsy for my taste. It is about the generations of the past, no matter how many years ago, have an influence to our lives at present time. I like the subtle way she did this but I thought that the length of the story could have been cut into half and the effect would be the same.31) Ark. (1969) by Resil B. Mojares - 4 STARS Amusing read. Cleanliness is next to godliness. But the meaning of cleanliness here includes getting rid of the dead people and dead cockroaches. One of the writers here who values brevity. As Shakespeare says: "Brevity is the soul of wit." Well done.32) People of Consequence. (1969) by Ines Taccad Cammayo - 4 STARSVery interesting. It portrays the all too-human desire for upward social mobility (or being "people of consequence") in a rural setting. In the Philippines, we call these people the T.H. (short for trying hard), i.e., they are low class people trying hard to fit into the higher society. In the past they are called the social climbers but we rarely use that term now. I think there is no social ladder to climb anymore. We just have two strata: the rich and the poor and here in the Philippines and the huge population in between are left to decide where they belong.33) Ritual. (1970) by Cirilo F. Bautista - 5 STARSMy first time to read a Cirilo F. Bautista. He is one of the few writers elevated to the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Fame. With only this story as a basis, I think he deserved being a hall of famer. This story is about a native in the mountain province who gets educated and when he goes back to the mountain, tries to bring changes that challenge the deep-seated beliefs and traditions of his people. Bautista is said to be more of a poet than a fiction prose writer so this work has a poetic feel in it but still the story is solid and cohesive.34) Human Resources. (1970) by Lina Espina Moore - 5 STARSQuite different from the other stories so far included in this anthology because the protagonist in this story is somebody you'll despise and yet you will feel sympathy and probably relate to him. Also, there are characters here who are German and French and that was a breath of fresh air because stories in the past would only have our colonizers in them. 35) Tell Me Who Cleft the Devil's Foot. (1973) by Luning Bonifacio-Ira - 4 STARSTells the story of a corporate worker who after working for 20 years in an advertising company is laid-off and at 43, has to face the unknown. Her children are still young and in their school years. The husband is very supportive on how she wants to spend her life. The intro says about ennui but I did not feel it at all. I thought the character was busy in her mind.36) Sunday Morning. (1979) by Rowena Tiempo-Torrevillas - 3 STARSRowena is the daughter of Edilberto (see #29) and Edith (see #30) and if genetics would be the basis, she must be a good writer too. Maybe to differentiate herself from her parents, she writes speculative fiction like this story that is set in 2017. Philippines is no longer a country as it is part of the bigger country that seems like run by the U.S. 37) Oldtimer. (1982) by Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr. - 5 STARSSimilar setting as #25 but this one is about a Filipino man who makes it big in New York through hard work. When he wants to run for a position, people turn him down because he does not have the right level of education. The prose is crisp and a joy to read.38) The Goddess. (1983) by Ninotchka Rosca - 3 STARSTells a story of an old man and a young girl akin to a worshipper and his goddess. The plot is thin by Rosca's prose made the story quite interesting.39) The White Horse of Alih. (1984) by Mig Alvarez Enriquez - 3 STARSTells the tale of a Muslim who goes amok. It does not state what's the reason but one can deduce that it has something to do with the Christian-Muslim conflict but the conflict is in the interior of the story.40) The Reprieve. (1984) by Susan S. Lara - 4 STARSA heartfelt story of a family whose head, the father, suffers from stroke and they all have to adjust to him. There is nothing original in the approach but the stream-of-consciousness of the father is similar to Balzac's Old Goriot.41) The Homecoming. (1985) by Paulino Lim, Jr. - 5 STARSTells the story of a Fil-Am who visits Manila for the first time after 20 years. With Martial Law as the backdrop, Lim made a home run by depicting Manila opposite to that of what the First Lady wanted the world would like to see.42) Family Rites. (1986) by Rosario Cruz-Lucero - 4 STARSThe story centers on the mother-daughter relationship particularly on how much would the mother like to pass on the life lessons she had with her own mother to her teenage daughter.43) Ghost. (1990) by Connie Jan Maraan - 3 STARSTackles the many superstitions related to death with Manila as the setting particularly the Tayuman-Tondo area. Its attack is light but the impact it creates is somewhat serious.44) Portents. (1991) by Jessica Zafra - 5 STARSAcerbic yet funny writing. Made me miss Zafra's prose. I better read Twisted again.45) The Music Child. (1991) by Alfred A. Yuson - 5 STARSVery interesting read. It is a story of a child who can not speak but can mimic the sounds that he hears and can even sing beautiful tunes. However, while reading you would feel that the people around the boy reflect his situation as if their story is the one being told through the boy's situation.46) How My Cousin Manuel Brought Home a Wife. (1992) by Charlson Ong - 4 STARSInspired by #7 above, Ong puts a spin in the story by infusing the Chinese-Filipino subculture in the story and turning its theme to a more serious tone. However, I still prefer #7 for sentimental reason.47) Lizard. (1992) by Marianne Villanueva - 4 STARSDisturbing. It is about a mother and her daughter and their relationship centered on being pianists. The revelation in the end will shock you.48) The Painting. (1993) by Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo - 5 STARSThe only fantasy short story in this anthology and I enjoyed this tremendously. It has a story within a story with the frame story about a priest. It is fun and yet will make you think.49) The Axolotl Colony. (1993) by Jaime An Lim - 5 STARSHeartfelt storytelling about a poor Filipino man in the US divorced by his wife who also takes custody of their children. His sadness can infect you.50) Touch. (1998) by Lakambini Sitoy - 5 STARSWhat a story to cap the book! I did not know that Sitoy writes this great! The story is told in the point-of-view of the daughter of an old bedridden man and you will have to read up to the last page to know the real score between them. You will have to read oh so carefully to feel what the daughter feels because she is an unreliable narrator.What a wonderful book!