Who would have thought that Bob Ong, a Filipino contemporary author known for his satire and conversational writing techniques, will write a unique love story? In 2014, Visprint, Inc. published SI—a novel which Ong described to be a novel about the love story of the unnamed narrator, who also is the main character, and a woman named Victoria.
The book cover made by Klaro de Asis is a dark, ocean blue with illustrations of white snowflakes. On its blurb, there is a mysterious and deeply-written dialogues between Victoria and the unnamed narrator.
“May I know your name?”
“Victoria.”
“When will I see you, Victoria?”
“In your birth.”
[Original Filipino writing:
“Maaari bang malaman ang iyong pangalan?”
“Victoria.”
“Kailan kita masisilayan, Victoria?”
“Sa iyong pagsilang.”]
The fascinating experience on reading this novel is that a we can read it in two ways. The first way of reading SI is from the first page up to the last, following the chapters 72 to 0. With this way, we can experience how the narrator described his thoughts during his senior age and how he reminisced his childhood. The second way is reading from the last page to the first, following the chapters 0 to 72. Using this way, we can see how the fetus formed his thoughts and gradually experience his natural growth and development. The narrator here shared his thoughts and experiences since he was in the womb up to his senior age.
Both reading ways explore an array of key themes revolving around familial love, adolescence, friendships and romantic relationships. It is very Bob Ong to imply some politically-related events, which also are present in the novel. SI provides its readers an opportunity to time travel or peak at the future depending on what reading way they will use. Hence, this novel is not just a love story in a romantic context, but also in various contexts such as love for family, friends and ideals.
Overall, Bob Ong’s SI is an ideal book for everyone who wants to scrutinize more about the idea of love. With Ong’s marvelous writing technique, everyone will feel that they are the part of the story. Are you ready to travel?
Tags: book review, Si, Bob Ong, LifeThinker
Author: Christian Loid Valenzuela
