He didn’t expect to have his work noticed. Let alone published. Yet his debut novel, Ilustrado, did the unexpected — it won him several awards, including the Man Asian Literary Prize for 2008. Then it becomes a talking point for readers and even the inspiration for an indie film. The novel continues to rake in plaudits, something author Miguel Syjuco sometimes finds surreal.
“I was very angry before. None of my work was being published because I write very unconventional stuff. I couldn’t go into bookshops without feeling resentful, because, I think, if people publish so much crap, why can’t they publish my crap?” Syjuco told Weekend Review in a telephone interview ahead of his visit to Dubai on March 10 for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, where he is one of the guest writers.
But 'Ilustrado' isn’t rubbish at all, according to the three-member jury of the Man Asian Literary Prize. In fact, it is “ceaselessly entertaining, frequently raunchy and effervescent with humour”.
“Brilliantly conceived and stylishly executed, it covers a large and tumultuous historical period with seemingly effortless skill,” the judges said in a statement.
Syjuco’s novel takes a modern spin on the ilustrados — the educated elite and revolutionaries who helped unclench the Spaniards’ iron-fisted rule of the Philippines and eventually ushered in democracy after 300 years of Spanish dominion.
In the novel, Syjuco’s modern-day ilustrado is also called Miguel Syjuco, a young Filipino who returns to the country to investigate the death of his dissident mentor. It follows the exploits of the character as he weaves his way through the maze that is the Philippine society.
“After getting my book published, I’m sort of at peace now. There are people out there who do like and understand my work, so I can stop being so angry. Winning the prize got my book out into the right hands of literary agents and publishers and now I can afford, for a while, to just focus on my writing,” Syjuco said.
What is the best compliment he has received so far?
“I’ve had a friend tell me that he was in Dumaguete at an internet café and some university students were behind him at a table, arguing about my book,” he recalled. “The best comment didn’t actually come as a compliment. I read a blog about this young filmmaker in the Philippines who made a short film and one of the characters in the film reads my novel and then starts discussing the novel with someone. The idea that my book can inspire another artist and be part of that other artist’s work … that’s the reason I write.”
Right now, Syjuco is taking his time in completing a new novel, which he is writing in Montreal, Canada, where he lives with his fiancée.
Excerpts from the interview:
What is your main aim as a writer?
I want to write a book that makes people debate, and makes people think, interact with each other and exchange ideas … I write because I’m engaged in this big conversation.
Montreal is your second home now. Why this city?
My fiancée got an opportunity to study at a university here, so we decided to move here in 2007. We only expected to stay here for a year and maybe move back to Asia or wherever there are opportunities. But Montreal is a good city. We’re trying to learn French. It’s a very interesting city, culturally and socially, so we decided to stay.
When are we going to hear wedding bells?
When I finish my next book.
When is that?
I don’t know. Hopefully next year.
Tell us more about the next book.
It’s about corruption and power in third-world countries. And celebrity, which to me is just another form of power.
Do you have a title for it?
It’s still a work in progress. I may call it “I was the president’s mistress”. I don’t know …
Are there any political figures we might associate with?
That’s the thing. Even with Ilustrado people wanted to read into the characters and say, ‘Oh, this is so and so.’ It’s not, really. I write fiction, so my characters are composites of different people who may or may not exist.
In one of your recent interviews, you said you stopped being militantly nationalistic.
I don’t believe in nationalism. I think it’s a bunch of slogans. It’s a bunch of poor attempts at creating pride. My problem with nationalism is that it becomes exclusionary. We start to exclude people.
Have you always been a writer?
I used to work as a copy editor for a newspaper. I worked as a journalist for so many years. It’s what saw me through to write this novel. I loved being a copy editor but being a copy editor in a daily is tough because of late nights. I’d be there till 1.30am, working on the sports page, for example.
Do you miss the newsroom?
I do. I love being around all these talented people. The wonderful thing about working with copy editors is that they love words. They’re involved. They’ve seen history. They’ve seen things happen. It’s all very inspiring. I love working with the reporters. I really felt like I was part of the world. Now I sometimes feel like a hermit.
How has ‘Ilustrado’ changed you as a novelist?
Having won the prize, having the book out, having it well received by the critics, I now feel confident that I can continue writing the unconventional stuff that I like to write. Now I feel that I can do anything.
Does Miguel, the character, resemble you?
He shares my name but he’s not me. The character is a frustrated young man who doesn’t understand what he can do for the country. In a way that does represent my own worst tendencies. I’m a human being, so I’m given to despair, frustration … I’m given to all sorts of very human things.
What is your idea of a modern-day ilustrado?
Those people who remember where they have come from, who go back and remit ideas. Teach. Start businesses. Or even just do the simple act of never forgetting who they are. I think that’s one small step towards being enlightened.
How often do you visit the Philippines?
I go back every year. If I can get this writing career on track, I hope to be able to live at least half the year in the Philippines and half the year abroad. I like living abroad because it gives me the space and the perspective I need to write. In the Philippines, I’d be so caught up in family, in friends, in what people expect of me as a writer.
What do you do when you are there?
I don’t write. But I see friends and family. I spend a lot of time in Metro Manila. I eat at my favourite places. I tend to visit a lot of cultural places. The last time I was home I went to Corregidor.
Are you going to use any of these places or experiences in future novels?
Yeah, I think so. At least in the next novel. In my third book, I want to write about the justice system and the media in the Philippines. It might not even be a novel. It might be a work of non-fiction focusing particularly on the conditions in the New Bilibid prison. It’s a prison that’s ruled by gangs. It’s crowded and the conditions there are horrible.
How does living abroad help you connect with your roots?
I’m living the life of an expatriate Filipino. I don’t see anything wrong with that. I have come to realise that the Filipino experience is an international one. It is not just about the Philippine professor who decides to live there for the rest of his life. It’s also about the construction workers who have to go to Jeddah; the women who decide to work as entertainers in Hong Kong.
I was born in Manila and my family moved to Vancouver when I was 1. But every year we went home, because it was home. I was always a Filipino child growing up in a Filipino household in Canada. And then we moved back [to the Philippines] when I was 11.
You’re coming to Dubai next month. What are your expectations?
I have no expectations. I have never been to Dubai. I have never been to the Middle East. But I would like to see what the real people do, how people actually live in Dubai. I’d like to know how the domestic workers live. I’d like to meet some of them.
Ilustrado is available at Magrudy’s for Dh78.
Miguel Syjuco will be in Dubai for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, held from March 8 to March 12, at the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City and the Cultural and Scientific Association, Al Mamzar. A book-signing session will be held on March 10 at the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City.
