This was the recurring image of this powerful novel by Ninotchka Rosca. Set in the Marcos era, a time of violence and turmoil, it displays the brutality and beauty of humanity in its cast of colorful characters scattered among the different timelines of Philippine history, from the period of Spanish rule to the American rule.

On the island of K, a party is brewing. A big festival is in progress, and people are coming in droves through a system of motorized boats from different parts of the country, and even out of the country to have their fill of fun and laughter. Crazy dancing, wild beer drinking, and deafening music simultaneously erupt in the once silent streets of the island.

A group of three friends arrive at an island, after much of a hassle of getting a boat to ferry them across. The three friends are Adrian Banyaga, Anna Villaverde, and Eliza Hansen. Adrian is the typical eligible bachelor of the metropolis: smart, handsome, and rich. Anna Villaverde is the silent thinker who has had a torturous brush with the intelligence unit of the military. Eliza Hansen is as beautiful as a woman can be, and has the brain to administer her assets wel

Violence is splattered allover the novel, like blood seeping out of a salvage victim's body, tattered with bullet holes. Man often creates conflict wherever he goes, and when he is bored with hunting down animals, fellow man is a more challenging conquest. From the dark and dangerous jungles where the guerillas used to lay hidden and wait for the time to attack, to the bombing of the stage where the governor was about to give his speech, there is no escaping of the stench of death brought about by conflict.

Another disturbing matter is exhibited in the novel: the capacity of humans to lie and hide things from each other. It is unnerving, how things could seem so different in just a few seconds after learning the truth. The truth is often concealed or not told because they are not meant to for the risk of making a scandal or disturbing a peaceful relationship. However, there are those truths that are better off to be told, entailing a risk and danger be taken for the hopeful good or justice that will be done.

The novel then returns to the tension of the present, and the grimly events that are about to be uncovered. True enough, the plan of Gueverra succeeds, setting off a bomb that exploded as the governor was up the stage. Unfortunately, Adrian was afflicted by the bomb and fell into the sad state as his late grandfather Old Andy who used to go around in a wheel chair rambling about. Eliza was dragged away by soldiers, and a few days after the bombing incident, her body has showed up at the beach. Anna was the most fortunate of the trio, getting a job of teaching children up in the mountains, and carrying the child of Adrian.

Another surprise came in the form of the transvestite, who had come to be as one of the foremost party people of the island, wearing extravagant costumes that made the children poke at him and joining the other transvestites in their parading. Eliza found out from him that he was a professor at Manila and was quite manly when he did not have his costumes on. A surprising development in his character is observed later on when he is seen taking out a weapon from underneath his costume. It invariably turns

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hong Kong, Set Marcos, Carlos Luis, Adrian Andy's, Manolo They're, Adrian Violence, Eliza Hansen, Hans Don's, Unfortunately Adrian, Adrian Eliza, carlos luis, colonel amor, don carlos, capuchin monks, stage governor, roses gin, anna villaverde, eliza hansen, ninotchka rosca, carlos lucas,
Approximate Word count = 1449
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)