Friday 56 & #BookBeginnings: Gagamba

 For Book Beginnings:
On July 15, 1990, a killer earthquake--the strongest recorded in Philippine history--struck and for four minutes of apocalyptic turbulence, Central Luzon including Manila were submerged in a wave of panic.

- p. 1

For Friday 56:

He was anxious to see the girl Mars Floro was going to get, and for a while, he had vivid imaginings of her -- large eyes, slim, brown complexion, and young -- that was most important, for there is something in a young girl that brings a jauntier step, a quickening of the pulse, to a man as rickety as he now was. - p. 56

Synopsis of Gagamba: Gagamba, the cripple, sells sweepstakes tickets the whole day at the entrance to Camarin, the Ermita restaurant. He sees them all-- the big men, politicians, journalists, generals, landlords, and the handsome call-girls who have made Camarin famous. In mid-July 1990, a killer earthquake struck and entombed all the beautiful people dining at the Camarin. Gagamba could have easily gotten killed -- but he survived the earthquake as do two other lucky people who were buried in the rubble. As told by the Philippines' most widely translated author, this novel raises a fundamental question about life's meaning and suggests at the same time the only rational answer.

You can check out my review for this one! Finally a Filipino author I can recommend!