by Gina Apostol
4. During Sol’s first encounter with Colonel Grier, the American, she confesses that her understanding of history is composed of “obscure little things. Useless knowledge” (p. 36). What role do these “obscure little things” play in the novel’s style? In the novel’s depiction of Filipino history?
5. How does Sol’s faulty memory—or her outright amnesia—shape the narrative? Does it add to or detract from your enjoyment of the novel?
6. Explain the importance of “high culture” (art, classical music, literature) in the novel.
7. Sol spends her early university days in love with Jed, the “millionaire who dressed like Saint Francis and acted like Saint Jerome” (p. 53). How do her descriptions of Jed as a “privileged anarchist” (p. 51) and as “grumpy and worthless . . . a beautiful creature wrapped up in vague martyrdoms” (p. 53) indicate the passing of time and her own change in perspective? Do you have any sense of what would have attracted the young Sol to such a person? Does Sol see herself in Jed?
8. Describe the significance of Sol’s friendship with Soli. Can you think of any reasons the author might use so many versions of “sol” in naming the novel’s characters (Soli, Soledad Soliman)?
9. What have you been able to glean about Uncle Gianni? How is he similar to—or different from—Sol’s mother and father?
10. Why do you think Sol’s Marxist group chooses to attack Colonel Grier? What of his attributes and behaviors are most odious to the group? Does he seem like an appropriate “target” for a socialist group? What about for Sol personally? Why or why not?
11. What connections does the novel draw between economics, politics, and morality? Can you see any aspects of Filipino society in contemporary American society?
12. Why do you think Sol has been unable to move on from crimes committed years and years before? Has justice been done? Is Sol’s constant, torturous reliving of her past a kind of justice?
13. Consider the fate of Soli: what does her story mean?
14. In what ways do you like or relate to Sol? In what ways do you not relate to Sol? In what ways are we intended to respond to Sol? What is the role of the reader in this novel?
15. How are we supposed to view the ending? It is in the voice of a minor character, Sally Vega; why is it not in the voice of Sol?
16. What is the novel saying about the power or role of language in our lives?
17. How is a history of colonialism present in this story? How do you think that history relates to you?
18. Is an issue of class resolved in this story? If so, how? If not, why?
19. Have you ever considered problems in your own society? What narrator would you choose to tell that story and why?
Literary/stylistic questions:
1. The novel contains frequent wordplay. Note some examples. What is the effect of these plays on words on the reader? What is their purpose in the novel?
2. Look for seemingly trivial patterns and motifs that you find in the novel. Some examples: the detail of coins; the detail of insects; the carousel motif; repeated incidents, such as parties; repeated words; the mirroring of names (Jeds and Eds and Sols and Solis and so on); and many other circular themes. How does the interweaving of patterns relate to the plot as a whole?
3. Consider the carousel motif as a theme of the novel as a whole. How would you describe its significance?
4. Look for other types of patterns: turns of phrase or poetic devices (alliteration, assonance, sentence rhythms, and so on), the recurrence of minor characters (Manong Babe, Inocentes, Sally Vega, and so on), the details of Manila, the details of New York, and many others. These are literary patterns in the novel: they are deliberately created for specific effects. How do these patterns fit the characterization of Sol? How do they fit the novel’s themes?
5. How does the use of repetition relate to the plot as a whole?
6. In this novel that seeks to explore a political issue, what is the role or meaning of an amnesiac narrator?
7. What do you think is the purpose of texts in this story—the allusions to specific books, the plot of writing a “talambuhay,” and the use of letters to conclude the story?
8. In what way is memory a puzzle? Does your experience of memory relate to this novel’s use of language and narrative structure? How? If not, why not?
9. Consider the use of time in the novel: can you track the structure of time—how would you describe it? (The author, in an interview, described structuring the novel as a “V”—it goes backward then forward in time. Can you discern the forking point of the “V”—what is the midpoint at which the plot begins to move chronologically forward in time?)
More Praise for
Gun Dealers’ Daughter
“[Soledad] holds our attention to the last word with what is almost, yes, a writer’s sensibility and style. . . . It’s as deft a sketch as something from Fitzgerald, and the happy accident of the able storyteller is contrived with so much greater grace than in too many new books. . . . A tour de force tale about late 20th century Manila, but . . . also a book for our times.”
—Brian Collins, Los Angeles Review of Books
“A daring fever dream of a novel.”
—Alex Gilvarry, author of From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant
“A stunning novel of the Marcos-era Philippines. . . . [Sol’s] telling and retelling and editing and tweaking of her own history . . . ultimately proves to be one of the most successful aspects of Apostol’s creation; the technique invites readers into the very core of Sol’s experience. . . . Readers are treated to a captivating look into this period of Philippine history and the gripping story of one girl’s struggles to find her place in the world.”
—Kerry McHugh, Shelf Awareness
“A stunning and lyrical word-portrait of a ‘martial-law baby’ whose story of teenage romance and rebellion allows Apostol to braid together a wider set of issues: memory, history, language, nationalism, exile, and revolution. These may be familiar themes in post-colonial fiction and Philippine literature, but they gain a renewed significance in Apostol’s hands. . . . Gun Dealers’ Daughter is an engrossing if challenging read not only because of its complex narrative structure but also because it asks hard questions about the possibility of revolution.”
—Paul Nadal, Public Books
“[The] complex narration is, in fact, one of the major strengths of this classic example of madness and trauma, repression and guilt. . . . [H]aunting.”
—Charles R. Larson, Counterpunch
“Vertiginous. . . . Poetically told through the shattered prism of Sol’s memory. . . . Apostol (Bibliolepsy) offers an intriguing and significant view of Marcos-era Philippines in this complex and feverish novel.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Rich with emotion, reflection, and fervor, the story takes on an added element of revealing the struggles of Filipinos and women. While the narrative is strong, Apostol’s writing style—simple, poetic, and captivating at every point of Soledad’s journey—is the real draw. . . . Reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s Paradise and Melissa P.’s The Scent of Your Breath, this book will appeal to readers of literary fiction.”
—Ashanti L. White, Library Journal
Copyright © 2012 by Gina Apostol
Copyright © 2010 by Anvil Publishing, Inc., and Gina Apostol
All rights reserved
First American Edition 2012
First published as a Norton paperback 2013
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Apostol, Gina.
Gun dealers’ daughter : a novel / Gina Apostol. — 1st American ed.
p. cm.
Originally published: Manila : Published and exclusively
distributed by Anvil Pub., c c2010.
ISBN 978-0-393-06294-6 (hardcover)
1. Amnesiacs—New York (State)—New York—Fiction.
2. Women revolutionaries—Philippines—Fiction. 3. Philippines—
History—1946–1986—Fiction. I. Title.
PR9550.9.A66G86 2012
823’.914–dc23
2011049404
ISBN 978-0-393-34948-1 pbk.
eISBN 978-0-393-08399-6
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