The Gangster of Love

Rating:
Summary: this book hardly makes me crave lumpia...
Review: and is not really representative of the fil/am experience, though it does reflect my life a bit. jessica hagedorn is barely disguised as the protagonist who first comes to san francisco, then la and nyc and tries to make it as an artist. the only filipino thing about it is that the main character doesnt seem to be ashamed to wear the confusion and chaos of her nations character and history on her sleeve. most filipinos and filipino americans IMO are pretty straight-laced.

dogeaters at least provided exotic and pomo images for literary consumption by the white reading populace and self fetishizing filipinos. hagedorn tries to be a little more filipino with this novel but ends up not making sense to either filipinos or non filipinos.

the only reason this book gets 3 stars from me is because of the chapter in which the protagonist has the run in with a puerto rican, and they realize how they are related as colonial subjects in the united states. it is this complexity of shared histories of colonization amongst different peoples that filipinos, as former colonial subjects of the mother beast america, should be aware of.

other than that, this book has virtually no substance.

Rating:
Summary: The book was as rocky as the characters in it.
Review: I saw Jessica Hagedorn speak at the 92nd street Y, which is where I recieved her book. Once I began to read the book I became absorbed into her book. Jessica Hagedorn does a good job at describing the essence of the bohemian/ punk rock culture. My only problem was that the book became really confusing once in the middle. The beginning of the book was straight forward and easy to read, but once Rocky becomes pregnant , the whole book seems confusing. The book became really boring once it got to a certain point, and I became really dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Bridging The Cultural Divide
Review: Interlaced in the story of Rocky Rivera (and a wonderfully developed cast of characters) is a deep sense of the rich heritage that is a Filipino upbringing. Laced with that Hagedorn grit is a consistent level of angst that immigrants feel when moving into a new cultural milieu. Hagedorn is amazing with playing within the private sphere and experience - anxious about the clash between traditional Philippine values and modern American values.

Rocky moves to San Francisco from the Philippine with her mother Milagros and brother Voltaire and is thrust into a maelstrom of personalities in the supporting cast of Elvis, Keiko, Auntie Fely and Uncle Bas. Rocky moves to New York to embark on an adventure that is not really representative of the typical Filipino immigrant experience but it is a rich space to explore a sense of displacement.

This book raises crucial questions for immigrants in general and Filipinos in particular. What is it that we should retain? What should be ready and willing to let go? Is there a point of no return? When we become American do we stop being Filipino? Do we exist in two realms? Do we exist in multiple spheres? Does this dichotomy REALLY exist or is it real because we make it so? It is not until Rocky is drawn to her father's deathbed that she comes to the realization of the chasm between what she was and what she is and what she is running away from. Which brings to mind another point - running away.

Running away is a common problem among displaced immigrants. There is that sense that one has to leave someplace to escape or run away from one's place of origin. It has to be THAT BAD. The sense of desperation is exemplified by Milagros - who is running away from Rocky's philandering father. Milagros is never comfortable in San Francisco - she is torn between what status demands and her embarrassment at being seen in what she has become. She hangs around Auntie Fely. This cultural subtlety is very difficult to pick up from one outside the milieu - when Milagros is embarrassed to be seen with Auntie Fely at the Imelda trial in New York. With one foot in the old country serving as a fulcrum and the other in the new country is little wonder that most immigrants can maintain a sense of center and remain sane. Never really forming a sense of closure but developing coping mechanisms the émigré is left to his/her own devices and is constantly nostalgic about going home. Begs the question: Where is home? Home, I guess, is a matter of perspective.

Perspective is another thing Hagedorn is good at. Despite destabilizing a basically linear story she plays with perspectives when she switches from Rocky to Elvis and plays around with what Elvis is thinking and feeling. The whole question of the Chinese experience is not really fully developed in this story - as if Hagedorn did not really want to go there - as if to tease us that there is more there. Maybe the story can be picked up by something like the movie Mano Po (Regal Films) or Arlene Chai's works. Nonetheless, the book is as compelling as any in its genre. After reading Dogeaters, I was convinced that Hagedorn may have missed an opportunity by not presenting a possible solution - but perhaps the cathartic nature of her work is a solution in itself. I highly recommend this book not only to the Diaspora Filipino trying to form some sense of closure but to the widest possible audience to get a sense of the Filipino immigrant experience and to begin dialogue. This piece is new dawn - a reconstruction from a deconstruction.

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: Bridging The Cultural Divide
Review: Interlaced in the story of Rocky Rivera (and a wonderfully developed cast of characters) is a deep sense of the rich heritage that is a Filipino upbringing. Laced with that Hagedorn grit is a consistent level of angst that immigrants feel when moving into a new cultural milieu. Hagedorn is amazing with playing within the private sphere and experience - anxious about the clash between traditional Philippine values and modern American values.

Rocky moves to San Francisco from the Philippine with her mother Milagros and brother Voltaire and is thrust into a maelstrom of personalities in the supporting cast of Elvis, Keiko, Auntie Fely and Uncle Bas. Rocky moves to New York to embark on an adventure that is not really representative of the typical Filipino immigrant experience but it is a rich space to explore a sense of displacement.

This book raises crucial questions for immigrants in general and Filipinos in particular. What is it that we should retain? What should be ready and willing to let go? Is there a point of no return? When we become American do we stop being Filipino? Do we exist in two realms? Do we exist in multiple spheres? Does this dichotomy REALLY exist or is it real because we make it so? It is not until Rocky is drawn to her father's deathbed that she comes to the realization of the chasm between what she was and what she is and what she is running away from. Which brings to mind another point - running away.

Running away is a common problem among displaced immigrants. There is that sense that one has to leave someplace to escape or run away from one's place of origin. It has to be THAT BAD. The sense of desperation is exemplified by Milagros - who is running away from Rocky's philandering father. Milagros is never comfortable in San Francisco - she is torn between what status demands and her embarrassment at being seen in what she has become. She hangs around Auntie Fely. This cultural subtlety is very difficult to pick up from one outside the milieu - when Milagros is embarrassed to be seen with Auntie Fely at the Imelda trial in New York. With one foot in the old country serving as a fulcrum and the other in the new country is little wonder that most immigrants can maintain a sense of center and remain sane. Never really forming a sense of closure but developing coping mechanisms the émigré is left to his/her own devices and is constantly nostalgic about going home. Begs the question: Where is home? Home, I guess, is a matter of perspective.

Perspective is another thing Hagedorn is good at. Despite destabilizing a basically linear story she plays with perspectives when she switches from Rocky to Elvis and plays around with what Elvis is thinking and feeling. The whole question of the Chinese experience is not really fully developed in this story - as if Hagedorn did not really want to go there - as if to tease us that there is more there. Maybe the story can be picked up by something like the movie Mano Po (Regal Films) or Arlene Chai's works. Nonetheless, the book is as compelling as any in its genre. After reading Dogeaters, I was convinced that Hagedorn may have missed an opportunity by not presenting a possible solution - but perhaps the cathartic nature of her work is a solution in itself. I highly recommend this book not only to the Diaspora Filipino trying to form some sense of closure but to the widest possible audience to get a sense of the Filipino immigrant experience and to begin dialogue. This piece is new dawn - a reconstruction from a deconstruction.

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: a rocky novel -- what happened?
Review: It's not surprising that people are left confused after reading Hagedorn's _The Gangster of Love_. In many ways, it embellishes the postcolonial nightmare of Filipinos, embodied in Rocky Riveras's family, that non-Filipinos may not understand. As a Filipino American, I must confess, there were parts of the novel that confused me as well. The read felt cumbersome at times, almost contrived, and cliche. Rocky Rivera's journey into the American landscape seemed too incredible for a first generation Filipino American to experience. The novel excels in destabilizing boundaries--ethnic, racial, gender, and sexual--and challenging convential narrative schema. If her unorthodox construction of chapters and narrative structure was meant to symbolize the dystopic, fragmented, or neocolonial mindset of Filipinos, I don't think Hagedorn was successful. I don't doubt Hagedorn's innovative talents as an artist and writer. Her novel _Dogeaters_, is brilliant. _The Gangster of Love_, unfortunately doesn't compare.

Rating:
Summary: A synthesis of the Filipino American struggle
Review: Jessica Hagedorn creates another honest, in your face, yet beautiful depiction of the Filipino immigrant experience. From the her character, Rocky Rivera's life, we relive the struggles of starting over, family loyalty, and of love- of mad, passionate love. From Milagros "La Reyna" Rivera we see a woman of steel, a diva, a mother, and a woman battling with her own demons. And from the eccentric Uncle Marlon, we learn of love, and of sheer, unadulterated aceptance of "family" whether it be by blood or otherwise. The Ganster of Love is a book that makes you long for the those hot and humid Manila summers, and an intense craving for "lumpia" and garlic rice. Everytime you read it brings a new revelation.

Rating:
Summary: Catherine's Book Review
Review: The Gangster of Love is a book about a Filipino girl, Raquel or Rocky Rivera, who moves to San Francisco from Manila, Philippines. She moves to San Francisco with her brother who had unusual depression moods and her wild mother, leaving behind her father and her older sister in Manila. Rocky's mother and father had an unusual on and off relationship that caused Rocky's mother, Milagros, to leave her father and oldest daughter. Her mother is a wild person who enjoys cooking lumpias and she starts her own store to make a living called "Lumpia X Press." Rocky's brother becomes depressed on and off and he sometimes has temper tantrums in the middle of the night. One of the things he really wants to do is spend time with Rocky.

Rocky is a young woman who enjoys writing poetry and songs. She meets her boyfriend, Elvis, who is starting a band. Rocky and Elvis are introduced together by her brother and they become very close in their relationship. Rocky is in a point in her life where she wants to "find herself." By finding herself, Rocky sets out on a road trip with her boyfriend, and two other band mates, to New York to find a record deal there. She is overcome with some obstacles like leaving her mother to move to New York, not spending time with her brother, making decisions about life, sex, and drugs.

I enjoyed this book because it had some humorous parts. The author didn't want their readers to be bored so she included some jokes to lighten up the story. Most of the book was humorous to me because many of her jokes were Filipino-related and I could relate to them. I don't think people who don't understand the Filipino culture very well will understand many of the jokes, but others non-Filipinos will find some of her jokes amusing.

I would recommend this book to those who are interested in reading about an immigrant coming to the United States from a foreign country, and witnessing the struggles of a young person who is traveling over the country to find what she is and who she wants to be. I would especially recommend this book to Filipino Americans who are interested about their culture and family life in the United States because when I was reading this book, I could relate to a lot of things that Rocky was talking about. I don't recommend this book to those who like books that go by really quickly because this is a book that takes a long time; it goes by pretty slow. Otherwise, I'd recommend this book to others who want to read about a woman struggling toward her decisions in life.

Rating:
Summary: For Moore....The Gangster of Love
Review: The Gangster of Love written by the American author Jessica Hagedorn was both
interesting and confusing. The Gangster of Love was about a life of a Philippino girl,
Raquel Rivera, but everyone called her Rocky. She came from the Philippines to
America with her spontaneous, wild mother. Both of Rocky's parents were captivated in
their on again off again relationship. The instability of the relationship of her parents
resulted in her instability as she grew older. Her old brother Voltaire has severe
depression spells constantly does not help her with a secure up bringing, but is her closest
relative.

Rocky found herself being content with writing poems in her black book. As she grows
older she meets her lover, Elvis, through her brother, and inspires her to join a band. As
most bands, there are many struggles with keeping a stable part-time job that is flexible
to fit Rocky's new band. The book travels with Rocky, Elvis and there friends: Keiko
and Sly. With Rocky and Elvis's bouncy relationship, Keiko's rising popularity as an
artist and her tottering relationship with her Mexican lover, Sly's different girls for each
zip code, and the groups' addiction for cocaine and alcohol there are many riveting
events.

Although there are some areas which may seem odd and confusing at the time. The
author would change the point of view from Rocky to Elvis to Rocky's uncle. Since
majority of the time the narrator is Rocky, it is puzzling when a new character is
presented as the narrator especially when the character has not even been introduced
before. In addition to the inconstant narrators, there are some areas within the book
which are not necessary and may sometimes slow down the story.

However, if a person is interested in a book about young people struggling make
something of themselves, relationship problems within families, friendships, and
romances, than the Gangster of Love is an appropriate book to read. The author is a great
upcoming author who is clearly filled with a wonderful imagination and a great pen to
write her thoughts down to become a marvelous book.