Don't Tell My Mother by Brigitte Bautista

"I just need a spot, a tiny sliver of this planet, where happiness shouldn't be so much of a struggle."

—Don't Tell My Mother by Brigitte Bautista 

Title: Don't Tell My Mother

Author: Brigitte Bautista

Page Count: 112 (Paperback)

Synopsis:

With an overly zealous mother as her guide, 19-year-old Sam has never had problems navigating through Christian suburbia before. But all that changes when she befriends and becomes intrigued with Clara, her widowed neighbor and the village's social outcast. When their friendship grows into the "unnatural", Sam is forced to examine her upbringing and come to terms with who she really is.

Thoughts:

**Read for Asian Readathon 2019 hosted by Cindy of readwithcindy. I picked this book to fulfill challenges no. 1 "read any book by an Asian author" and no.3 "read a book featuring an intersectional Asian character or written by an intersectional Asian identity (i.e, queer, mixed, disabled, neurodiverse, etc.)". Don't Tell My Mother is written by Brigitte Bautista, a Filipino author, and is tagged under LGBTQ books. To know more about the readathon and/or see the full list of challenges, you may watch Cindy's video or read the details here.

I find the story simple yet beautiful. Each flashback bears realization for Sam as she discovers and accepts herself—all skins shed, as she puts it. Like she's revisiting them and seeing each with a new understanding. I think it is brave to set the story not only within a Christian family but in a Christian community. Despite Filipinos being openly accepting of LGBTQ+, there are still those who—like the people in the suburbs Sam lives in—are set into their beliefs. And others, while okay with LGBTQ+, are only tolerant of the existence and/or acquaintance but don't really acknowledge what it means to be one. I especially like when Clara said that she can and do love Sam and the Lord at the same time.

The writing style reads like how most Filipino short stories I read in school does: light and entertaining while touching on a difficult or serious topic. I think the Filipino trait of smiling/laughing even through hardships explains this style. The goal is to grab your attention from the first few pages and put in witty bits from time to time that hopefully would amuse you enough to convince you to read on. It might be hard to get into if you're used to novels written in a more serious tone or those with a fixed build-up pattern. There are a lot of flashbacks as Sam's character and development are introduced to you this way. Also, if you're not a Filipino, some of the jokes and references would escape you.

The story is told from Sam's perspective. In fact, it sounds as if she's telling it to you herself face to face what with the jokes and all. Or maybe reading her diary which would explain how the book is short but packed with just the interesting parts. Because of this though, we don't see much of the other characters when Sam isn't in the picture. So we really would never learn why her mother is so uptight, or the other people in their village for that matter. What was on Christina's mind? What had become of Sam's family, to her father, in the aftermath of things? A little more on Dinah wouldn't hurt either. I feel like her story could reach out to people having the same struggles. I somehow hope she'd have her own book, too.

Note: Ah~! One more thing (I almost forgot); Isn't the flannel stereotyping, though?