Finalist for the National Book Award and a 2015 Wall Street Journal Book Club selection: An intense portrait of the Philippines in the late 1950s Dogeaters follows a diverse set of characters through Manila, each exemplifying the country's sharp distinctions between social classes. Celebrated novelist and playwright Jessica Hagedorn effortlessly shifts from the capital's elite to the poorest of the poor. From the country's president and first lady to an idealist reformer, from actors and radio DJs to prostitutes, seemingly unrelated lives become intertwined.
"Dogeaters is a fine achievement on a very serious scale. . . . This is the definitive novel of the encounter between the Philippines and America and their history of mutual illusion, antagonism, and ambiguous affection. It is a rich and satisfying work and certainly among the best novels I have read this year."
Robert Stone
"This is the greatest novel about Jamaica ever written, except it's set in the Philippines."
The New York Times Book Review
"A fast, frequently hair-raising first novel, full of images and fantasies reflecting the author's Philippine background, that maps the ruin at the heart of Philippine society in the last four decades."
