"I was the president's mistress!!" - a book review
Miguel Syjuco's new novel is the satirical epitome of Filipino politics, media and entertainment, and the celebrity lifestyle.
The line between fact and fiction is just as see-through, thin and delicate like tracing paper. Readers and critics often compare reality with literary works of art - George Orwell’s 1984 and Ling Ma’s Severance are perfect examples of cautionary dystopian tales. Miguel Syjuco’s second book that was released last month is another of my recent reads that thins the line even further.
Told through a series of interviews with prominent political figures and a string of Vita Nova’s, the protagonist and turned sex goddess and controversial celebrity, former lovers in the form of transcripts and dramatic monologues. The dramatics in the speeches were, to me, very reminiscent of the overacting — or “OA” as my Filipino mother used to call me when I gave her sass — language I watched on melodramatic teleseryes on TFC (The Filipino Channel). Like the books of 1984 and Severance, Syjuco creates a clear reflection that exposes the corrupt colors of the Filipino government. In one such instance in reading the novel, Fernando Estregan is the misogynistic populist president undergoing impeachment, and the roman à clef portrayal of the controversial Rodrigo Duterte.
As a journalist, I often find it difficult to read transcripts sometimes — it doesn’t compare to when the speaker is speaking in-person, in front of you, and you hear the nuances, or even see if you did an in-person interview or have a Zoom recording, of their tone and language. Unless there are descriptive devices to frame the language and the character, transcripts don’t do the speaker justice. But Syjuco does a great job of painting the picture, despite the novel’s form. He establishes the voices of each character — Vita Nova’s language has a mix of colloquial Filipino words and has a tone reminiscent of the typical millennial: “His first start—as someone’s man; mine. Coz we all want our romances to be kilig clichés and gigil surprises…”. Estregan (who also goes by Vita’s chosen nickname “Nando”) has notes of an aggressive leader, where Syjuco paints his character using the nationalist language that Duterte similarly uses, which consists of angry outbursts and claims, and we see the subtle spotlight on the “war on drugs” and notes of misogyny: “Pay attention to me or I will box your head there! I am your fucking president goddammit…”; “Ops! I see my sexytare there, signaling behind you…”; “…the only thing I refuse to condone is drugs…to bring our country to perdition…”.
Miguel Syjuco is a Filipino writer and professor at NYU Abu Dhabi. He is the author of Ilustrado, a novel that won him the Man Asian Literary Prize, and a regular contributor to The New York Times Opinions page where he often writes guest essays criticizing Duterte’s administration. In his work, he explores the often overlooked or underrepresented aspects of the Filipino society, which includes the disenfranchised minorities, families and laborers living in poverty, and migrant workers and OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers).
His background to which he explores through his writing is reflected in I was the president’s mistress!! as we look back at the life of Vita Nova, her rise from a poor family as the seamstress’s daughter to a sex goddess to the mistress of powerful men in politics, and her string of lovers. Syjuco uses vivid imagery to incisively paint in great detail the characters and their stories. I was the president’s mistress!! draws us into a world of satirized Filipino politics, exposing the misogynistic and corrupted leaders of the nation, a growing movement of populism/nationalism and anti-communism agendas, and the trivial celebrity life and its potential for political impact. All of which reflect the Filipino society today.