My wife first introduced me to this book years ago. She had read it in college while taking a Filipino ethics class. I picked it up, flipped through it, and put it back down never reading a word of until years later. A week ago, my English professor assigned the class some reading from the same book. When I finished the first 100 or so pages, I felt a bit ignorant. Not of myself now, but of myself when I put that book down years ago. I did not even considering its contents.
After going through the first few chapters, I could understand why Bulosan left Binaloan. By the end of Part One, I felt a bit of empathy for him when he left for America. In his brief childhood, there was much tragedy. From his father losing the farm, to the death of his sister, to the loss of his home, it is no wonder he left. It is no wonder why so many Filipinos left in that era. It is no wonder why the migration persists. Migration? More like escape.
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