romance rules philippine literary charts
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Romance rules Philippine literary charts

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Romance rules Philippine literary charts

London - AFP

In the fantasy world created by Philippine publishing giant Precious Hearts Romances, the men are rich, sexual promiscuity and homosexuals are taboo, and the story always ends happily after 128 pages. The ultra-cheap local versions of Mills and Boon novels are the country\'s most popular books, making their authors champions of conservative Christian values and unlikely heroes in the battle to improve literacy among the poor. \"Some people say it\'s trash, but at least they (the poor) read,\" said Segundo Matias, the boss of Precious Hearts, which churns out 50 titles monthly to dominate a genre that has a readership estimated in the millions. Priced at 37 pesos (about 87 cents) and written in street-level Tagalog, the books emerged in the early 1980s when an economic crisis forced the importers of western \"chick literature\" paperbacks to seek out alternatives. Matias told AFP from his Manila print shop that the local versions turned out to be far more popular, partly because they were faster-paced. \"Filipinos don\'t like boring stuff. They want stories that move very fast,\" the 48-year-old former film script writer said. Matias said another important factor was that the novels\' morality codes reflected values embraced by many in the Philippines, Asia\'s Roman Catholic outpost where divorce, abortion, and same-sex marriages remain illegal. \"There\'s no bed-hopping, there\'s no immorality,\" he said. \"We don\'t allow an ending where one of them is already married and the other one is unmarried. They should not end together. In the Philippines that\'s not allowed.\" But in a country where roughly a quarter of the population lives on a dollar a day or less, the books have proved so popular because they always offer hope. Romance author Maia Jose, who began writing in 1990, said the genre centred on the build-up of a romantic relationship that must end either in marriage or in a commitment. \"The book must be 128 pages long and it\'s a formula, so it must have a happy ending. If it doesn\'t have a happy ending the reader would be offended,\" the mother-of-three said. The authors typically do not have any formal writing background, with housewives, students and moonlighting accountants among a mixed bag of storytellers. Jose said she generally took between two and four weeks to write a book, while one particularly prolific writer once churned out nearly 100 in a year. Even the most famous writers do not earn enough to make a full-time living from their craft, with publishers paying them about 5,000 pesos ($120) per book. Melanie Tamayo, a 51-year-old grade-school graduate who cooks and cleans house for rich Manila families, said she had been spending her spare cash and free time on romance pocketbooks for more than a decade. \"If the story is really good I spend the rest of the night reading instead of going to sleep,\" she told AFP.

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

romance rules philippine literary charts romance rules philippine literary charts

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

romance rules philippine literary charts romance rules philippine literary charts

 



GMT 05:06 2024 Tuesday ,06 February

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 06:15 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Volkswagen clinches record sales

GMT 09:54 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

'Friendly and kind' N. Korean skaters

GMT 11:03 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

No end to eyesores at Taj Mahal

GMT 10:56 2017 Tuesday ,21 March

MP amongst Palestinians kidnapped by IOF overnight

GMT 18:05 2012 Friday ,09 November

Rome film fest favours emerging directors

GMT 12:19 2016 Monday ,28 March

Japan loses track of $273m black hole satellite

GMT 21:39 2017 Monday ,06 March

Arab Movement forces control Timbuktu

GMT 14:13 2017 Saturday ,11 March

CHELSEA Beat SWANSEA City 3-1

GMT 09:09 2017 Thursday ,21 September

Kagawa leads Dortmund 'fire engine' back

GMT 06:43 2017 Thursday ,23 March

Wael Jassar says he still works with Arabica

GMT 07:41 2017 Thursday ,16 March

IOF raid West Bank, injure five, arrest 23 by dawn

GMT 12:37 2017 Wednesday ,15 March

Antarctic penguin numbers
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice