You Lovely People: Beinvenido Santos

YOU LOVELY
PEOPLE
-BEINVENIDO SANTOS
ABOUT THE BOOK
 The book was first published in year 1955 by Bookmark Inc. It is achronicle of the
Bienvenido Santos’ experiences while he was staying in Americaduring World War II.
 The book includes 19 short stories, and in the 1991 reprinted copy published by
Bookmark Inc
 The working title for the book chosen first was “The Hurt Men”, before the title “You
Lovely People” was finally chosen. NVM Gonzales said that the latter choice was
appropriate, implyingthat although the characters (and Filipinos in general) are hurt
during the time of war, they could still realize that there is “loveliness” in them.
SUMMARY
•The short stories revolve around Filipinos living in America – their experiences, their hurts, homesickness and their
cultural displacements. All stories use the “I” point of view, wherein the narrator(assumed to be the author itself) experiences
what it is like living in America during the time of World War II when his own country is in chaos due to the Japanese and
American occupations in the Philippines.
•The main theme that holds the collection of the short stories is the cultural displacement that Filipinos feel while living in
America – which is the “pain and loneliness”. Various emotional struggles and adjustments that they have to undergo in the so-
called “land of milk and honey”.
• This theme echoes and resonates all throughout the story. In the story, The Wise Man Who Was Not There, it is clearly
presented to us how a Filipino feels homesickness the first time he or she arrives in America. The Scent of Apples also gives us
a feel of homesickness in the character Fabia, but it is also more like struggling to adjust in the fast-paced living in America,
and how an American woman can be compared to Filipino woman in terms of characteristic and personality.
• The writer uses unique and real interpretation that living in America doesn’t mean that you
would be enjoying the sweetness, comfort and the fullness of life. This theme is
exemplified in the story, Of Other Deaths and Lonely in Autumn Evening. These two stories
are about deaths, and realizations for Filipinos that people also die in America, contrary
totheir various notions that America is living life to the fullest.
Real historical events that happened in the Philippines like the fall of Corregidor, America’s
surrender to the Japanese troops and the World War II give the readers an idea how living
in America ends to be prison-like in a way.
• The two stories, And Beyond, More Walls and The Prisoners shows us how Filipinos felt trapped
in the huge country of America because of war. These Filipinos have nothing else to do but to
wait, see and hope for the better. These stories show us how the war shaped the lives of people
living in America. It shows us that war can sometimes spark a change of mental and
psychological state of a person, and a Filipino character even though emotionally struggling with
the times, still strives to go on with his life. On the other hand, an essential trait of Filipinos would
be sharing gossips, and these characteristic is shown in two stories, The Door and Woman
Afraid. The latter story also touches about racism against the ‘brown race’ of the Filipinos, and
how it is believed that a son or a daughter of a Filipino might end up looking like a monkey.
• Even today, some people believe on the fact that people who live in America, or any other
place other than Philippines, whether OFW or not, experiences happy and wealthy lifestyle.
And this book talks about the hardships that Filipinos have undergone in America,
disproving the assumption about American life.Aside from the interesting part that this book
offers us a clear picture of Filipinos living in America, the book has also recurring characters.
The periodic repetitions of events, connections of one story to the other (as if continuation)
and the recurring characters creates cohesion that enriches the theme of the story. These
made the book unified as a whole, almost like a novel. The depictions of setting in the
stories are also clear, the essential feel, sight, and smell are perfectly captured. The sensory
details are vivid – like the feel of the snow or the scent of the apples.
• The symbol of snow recurs every now and then in some stories – it simply refers
to the fact that it’s one of those many differences America and Philippines have,
and sometimes the image of the snow becomes an objective-correlative image to
the “coldness” of certain characters.
•I think that the writer is successful in sharing to us how Filipinos brought their
own culture in America in this life-as-it-is presentation – it is clearly captured in
his stories. What I like about the book is that it is not mawkishly sentimental
considering the fact that the subject has too much depth and gravity that there
could be possibilities it would. But the writer is very careful when it comes to
dealing with theemotions evoked in each story. Bienvenido Santos definitely has
that emotional restraint that makes his stories even more “piercing” and “searing”
because what is left unsaid in his stories are the ones that affects the readers
more.

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