[New from the Press] The Collected Stories of Gregorio C. Brillantes

New book, The Collected Stories of Gregorio C. Brillantes, captures half a century of postwar life in the Philippines

The Collected Stories of Gregorio C. Brillantes, published by the Ateneo University Press, brings together stories that bear witness to half a century of postwar life in the Philippines.

Brillantes, often labeled as a “Catholic writer,” explored the possibilities of realist fiction, producing stories that are increasingly aware of their political and social milieu—the Marcos regime, the social unrest, and the vacillations of the middle class. The book is edited by Jonathan C. Chua, reintroducing the author in a time of repeated history.

Pensive and philosophical, at times funny and parodic, Brillantes’s fiction attests not only to his mastery of the short story but also, in the hands of a genius, to the capaciousness of the form. From a country doctor grappling with mortality after seeing a dying infant to a young boy fearing the end of days on his way home from the movies, Brillantes’s stories capture the nuances of postwar life in the Philippines.

The book includes an introduction from The Betrayed author Reine Archache Melvin and editor Jonathan Chua. This is followed by three parts of Brillantes’s stories: Distance to Andromeda and Other Stories, The Apollo Centennial, and On A Clear Day in November, Shortly Before the Millennium. The book’s cover is designed by Jeck Mission using an image illustrated by Esmeraldo Z. Izon who illustrated a lot of Brillante’s stories for the Philippine Free Press.  

The Collected Stories has already garnered praise from renowned National Artist for Literature Gémino H. Abad who regards Brillantes as a National Artist because his fiction bears not only “saysay (meaning, significance) but also diwa (soul, spirit: meaning-fulness).” Meanwhile, author Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr. describes Brillantes’s fiction as infused with power and luminosity that surprises but never screams.

The Collected Stories of Gregorio C. Brillantes is a must-read for literature enthusiasts, readers interested in exploring the interconnectedness of reality and fiction, and anyone who appreciates a well-written and thought-provoking story.

The Collected Stories of Gregorio C. Brillantes edited by Jonathan Chua is published by Bughaw, an imprint of the Ateneo de Manila University Press and is available at unipress.ateneo.edu and the Press’s official Lazada and Shopee stores.

Category: Literature
Language: English
Price: P695

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About the Author

Gregorio C. Brillantes (b. 1932) is the author of three collections of short stories and three collections of nonfiction. He received a BLItt., major in Journalism, from the Ateneo de Manila in 1952, and for most of the next fifty years was magazine editor and contributor. A recipient of some two dozen awards for his literary and journalistic creations, including the South East Asian Writers or SEA Write Award, Gawad CCP para sa Sining, and Dangal ng Lahi award from the Carlos Palanca Foundation, Brillantes is undoubtedly a towering figure in the world of Philippine letters.

About the Editor

Jonathan Chua is the editor of The Critical Villa: Essays in Literary Criticism by Jose Garcia Villa and The Collected Stories of Jose Garcia Villa. He is a faculty member of the Ateneo de Manila University.