07.14.09
My First F. Sionil Jose
If not for someone very concerned about my un-Filipino readings, I would not have read F. Sionil Jose sooner. I thank this person deeply. From Proust’s Combray and Balbec to the Cordilleras and backroads of Manila and Negros, I made the detour and did not regret it. Every short story in The God Stealer is profoundly provocative and even gradually poetic towards the end of the book. I appreciate the way the author does not press nationalism on the reader but instead broadens the mind to the truths of the Filipino people.
Nevertheless, something plagues me more than the disturbing stories do. I have a recent 2001 edition in my hands and considering F. Sionil Jose’s calibre, it was vexing to see a cornucopia of typographical errors! I commit typos and I am not with the grammar police even though FB once dubbed me one, but mistakes such as “slipping on the job” and “something wrong wity my hearing” are truly irksome especially when multiplied, and we are not even talking about blogging here. This leads me to a rather harsh question and conclusion. Why are we incapable of producing an impeccable edition of this man’s work? Surely the majority of Filipino people do not lack talent, but in my view, what most of us lack is the will to strive for excellence, or if excellence is too much, just plain betterment. While publishing houses of other countries are doing justice to their award-winning authors, is this careless publication all we can offer someone whom we call a “National Artist for Literature”? It might seem exaggerated but I truly deem this a serious failure that even I, a simple reader, feel the weight of responsibility on me. How can we think of doing something as magnanimous as loving our country or insist Filipino pride if we do not even have the hearts to do our jobs diligently - editing a national artist’s work, in this case?
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jonathan hawk follows closely said,
July 14, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Interesting that there is concern about the kinds of reading you do, but that being said, good that you found a story that manages to capture your interest, if not challenge your discipline for tolerating typos. I once read a book by Castaneda and found the number of typos to be a total distraction. I give you credit for staying with it.
Miracle ♪♫ said,
July 14, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Ah, I am also touched by this person’s wish to widen my horizons. =)
The book’s contents are indeed something of worth, Jonathan. I’m happy to say that the compelling story-telling prevailed against the typos. That caused me to read on. At the same time however, it is all the more disheartening to encounter such incautious flaws in the dealing of a master’s opus while knowing that someone could have done a better job with it. It’s like notating a certain composer’s work and inserting wrong musical marks here and there that affect the rhythm and flow of the piece.
Karlo said,
July 17, 2009 at 10:28 am
I totally agree with you on this, Mir. This is very sad.
Miracle ♪♫ said,
July 17, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Thanks, Karlo. It is a shame indeed.
Global Voices Online » Philippines: Error-Ridden Book said,
July 17, 2009 at 11:11 pm
[...] Page Turner’s Odyssey draws attention to the grave number of typographical errors found in a book by a prominent Filipino author. [...]
Tshiung Han See said,
July 18, 2009 at 12:01 am
Not at all Sionil Jose in particular or Pinoy lit as a whole but I sympathize with your gripe about excellence. Here in Malaysia, the lack of a journalism ethic allows some truly egregious statements to slip into public discourse.
Tshiung Han See said,
July 18, 2009 at 12:08 am
It should read “Not at all FAMILIAR WITH Sionil Jose…” Not sure what happened there.
Miracle ♪♫ said,
July 18, 2009 at 3:12 pm
To Global Voices:
Thank you for linking. It’s an honor.
¤ ¤ ¤
To Tshiung Han See:
Your country is not alone on that, Sir. But while such dilemmas are more difficult to control, I wonder how something as simple as fixing typos seem to be an impossible task for some. Tsk tsk…
Thanks for the response.
liumx said,
August 4, 2009 at 2:11 pm
My first on F Sionil Jose entitled “Mass”, still progressing slowly since I borrowed it from library one month ago. It was printed 1983, no typo that I notice, proofreading is a boring job, I guess that’s why all the mis-spelling can survive.
Miracle ♪♫ said,
August 4, 2009 at 2:36 pm
That’s good to know, Liumx. I really hoped that the typos did not make their way to his other books. Nevertheless, a job being boring does not excuse people from doing a task terribly. If that’s the case, they might as well quit their posts. Thanks for visiting.