Angus can’t get an erection ('all I touched was an earthworm, soft and small and sheathed in its skin'), and promptly goes to sleep leaving Danilo to lament that “all I heard were snores, and all I saw was a back turned to me in that cold and lonely bed.' The trademark Remoto wryness is still there, but not the humor from his aunt’s gossip.ĭo not be fooled by the catchy title about his studies at the Ateneo. But once they are in Angus' flat, it’s all goes downhill. He gave me swift, soft kisses on the lips.' So far, so good. His eyelashes were softly curved and golden. He closed his eyes, and then he embraced me tightly. His left hand touched the back of my head, drawing me closer to him. Remoto writes: 'Then Angus looked at me, his eyes the colour of far mountains. But everyone now knows about it.Ĭompare this with the second to the last chapter in Part 2, where Danilo recalls a one-night stand with someone (Angus) he meets in a Scottish bar. One of the hilarious chapters is of Danilo's spinster aunts gossiping about two teenagers who miss Sunday mass for a tryst at a 'motel from across the church.' They squeal like pigs, says the aunt, and compete with the Dutch priest who “intoned the Sursum Corda in an accent that nobody could understand.” In their third meeting, however, 'in the fever of their lovemaking,” the girl experiences vaginismus, and the boy 'could not withdraw much as he wanted to, because she was squeezing him so tightly'! Only the timely arrival of a doctor who injects something to relax the girl's vagina muscles saves the day. He survives a private school run by petty autocrats and hears about a disturbance in the South, and gets a first-hand look at military corruption. The kid trembles at stories about the mangkukulam (sorcerer), and finds 'American milk” tasteless. There are fond memories of champurrado con daing (chocolate rice porridge and dried fish) breakfasts, munching on Chocnut, or drinking RC Cola. We learn how his parents scrimp so in order to subscribe to Reader's Digest and Encyclopedia Britannica and help Danilo polish his English. We first meet Danilo plucking his father's gray hairs so he would be allowed to go to the movies. 'Memory's Clear, White Light' is rich in detail and uberty. I love Part 1 but I’m not exactly enthused by Part 2.

Riverrun danton remoto