I got left by my plane to Davao, and I’m currently alone here in Manila. I admit, it could only have been my fault, and I blame no one else except myself. I have obtained another plane to Davao, luckily, but I will go home much later: I will go home on December 29. Having stressed my family, I sought to pay for the ticket myself, and I would need 1500 pesos to do that. I came up with an idea, and no, it doesn’t involve begging. I’m pretty sure there are some readers of this blog from near Quezon City, Philippines; since I’m trying to build up the money to pay for the ticket, I’d just sell what books I have left here in the dormitory. I can assure you that while they’re used, they are of good condition (except for one which is brand-new); in addition to that, I won’t charge exorbitantly for them.

1) Intruder in the Dust – William Faulkner – 150 pesos

Remember To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee? This novel is akin to that story, but it is of course written with Faulkner’s serpentine prose and his own twists. Lucas Beauchamp is an African-American and a likely suspect in the murder of someone in Yoknapatawpha County. Everyone is doubting him because aside from the fact that he’s black, he’s also a disrespectful and impolite person. A teenager is left the only one with hints to his innocence, and he tries to transcend the prejudice of the South during that time and clear Lucas’s name as well.

2) A Fable – William Faulkner – 150 pesos

Winner of both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, A Fable is a moving tale of a young corporal and his twelve followers in not joining an ordered attack. The tension between old and the new, of pragmatism and idealism, usually tackled by Faulkner’s contemporary, Ernest Hemingway, is tackled by Faulkner in this tale. This novel is unique because Faulkner doesn’t write about the Old South: he wrote about a then-contemporary condition, and a drama of consciences.

3) The Unvanquished – William Faulkner – 150 pesos

Argued by some critics to be part of Faulkner’s Big Four, this loose novel tells vignettes of a young Bayard Sartoris. The novel is a bildungsroman: Bayard Sartoris, at different ages, is featured in the different vignettes. It focuses on the Sartoris’s code of personal responsibility and courage that stand for the best of the Old South’s traditions. Unlike most Faulkner novels, this one is redemptive, and arguably one of the best Faulkner novels that I have read.

4) The Town and The Mansion – William Faulkner – 300 pesos

These two novels are part of the Snopes trilogy. Flem Snopes, the central character in the trilogy, has already arrived at his peak during The Town; his family will face its downfall in The Mansion. The Hamlet isn’t really necessary in following these two novels (it was the first part of the trilogy). Uncharacteristically loose, The Hamlet told stories about Yoknapatawpha County’s residents, and was more a collection of vignettes than a novel.

5) The Aeneid – Virgil – 100 pesos

I initially planned to read this because of Daniel’s recommendations; however, need is pressing and I deem I could find another copy later when I’m more financially solvent and when I’m less stressed. It’s a tale of Aeneas, and his journey to the promised land in Italy, facing many difficulties such as a jealous lover, Dido. This is highly recommended for the buffs of Greek Mythology.

6) The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce – 150 pesos

This novel is the most accessible novel of James Joyce chronicling his bildungsroman from a baby to his epiphany of silence, exile, and unbelief. From a very young child, to a devout Catholic teenager, to a rebellious adult with a creed of silence, exile, and unbelief, James Joyce chronicles his development in a semi-autobiographical novel.

7) Finnegans Wake – James Joyce – 300 pesos

I’m quite unwilling to part with this novel, to be honest. This is the most textually challenging and most difficult to analyze book that I have ever read. While I value Joyce’s intricate genius in this one, I’m just really sad that I’m not as intelligent as him, because I barely understood anything. Whereas Ulysses was his book of the day, this was his book of the night.

8 ) Dream of Fair to Middling Women – Samuel Beckett – 500 pesos

This is brand-new, unopened from even its plastic (you can even see the original price at 539 pesos). This was the first novel of Samuel Beckett (known later for his masterpieces Waiting for Godot and Molloy/ Malone Dies/ The Unnameable). It tells the tale of Belacqua struggling with his love for two women, Smeralda-Rima and Alba. One could compare and see the development of Samuel Beckett as a writer in this tale.

9) Likha – Ed. Benilda Santos – 70 pesos

This is a collection of essays from different prominent Filipino authors.

10) The Dynamics of Change – 100 pesos

This is a funny and quirky look on the future … back then, during the 1960s. People were somewhat right, but mostly wrong!

11) Dubliners – James Joyce – 200 pesos

This is the short story collection that helped established Joyce as one of the most prominent writers of the 20th century. James Joyce described the scope of life from simple tales of sexual awakening to the haunting, and extremely beautiful The Dead, where through the change singing of a song the husband learns of a long-ago romance in his wife’s life – and what a beautiful romance it was.

You may contact me on the cellphone at 09064924735, or at e-mail at Michael.David.Sy AT gmail.com. I don’t think this constitutes as begging (I hope).

P.S. In case you think I’m trolling, I really love William Faulkner and wouldn’t sell him had I other options. I, at least, want to go home for New Year. Oh well, guess I can watch anime freely right now. :/

EDIT: I found some more books that may be to your liking.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 21st, 2008 at 5:27 pm and is filed under Anime, Books, Serious. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.