Book review of Ang Diary ni Joaquina by Joi Barrios
Long ago, I used to read romance pocketbooks through borrowing these Precious Hearts Romances for 10 pesos. This was way back CPA review school years, before Facebook. The old lady was stationed near the Book Sale-Pedro Gil Branch, just across the queues for Guadalupe-L Guinto jeepney. Once borrowed, I read it throughout the commute and return the same novel the next day, after the review classes in Business Law and Taxation (BLT).
Romance tropes are very marketable works from way back late ’90s, and almost all of them are formulaic, with unrealistic expectations, superficial dramas, and yet ends with a “happy ever after”. And even so, my 2007 kilig-kilig chenes era devoured these romantic tropes as an escape from the rigorous practice board exams.
However, if I read Joi Barrios’ Joaquina then, it would greatly elevated my reading progress from mere flimsy and mushy kaluguran daku’s since this piece of craft involves social activism as part of its world-building; these societal issues define the characters and their motivations and motions. For me, this kind of “panitikan ng pakikisangkot” should gain more traction in the Pinoy romance literary landscape. I remember reading the same vibe, albeit in English language, and that was Ana Tejano’s debut novel (with SocDev / NGOs as part of the overarching theme).
Kudos to Gantala Press for reprinting this after more than 20 years. A bit expensive though— considering the paper quality and the font size (reason for a 1 star deduction). Indeed, a main challenge for indie presses is to distribute good books at an affordable prices. I suddenly miss the 10pesos price tag in renting a book (yes, I am calling out the PH Government; please provide printing subsidies for quality books. Better yet, BUILD MORE LIBRARIES!!!)
mariaellabetos.com 