Benedicta Takes Wing and Other Stories
Veronica Montes
- Veronica
- Montes'
- debut
- book,
- Benedicta
- Takes
- Wing
- and
- Other
- Stories,
- includes
- fourteen
- short
- stories
- set
- in
- the
- US
- and
- in
- the
- Philippines.
- The
- writer
- is
- a
- Philippine-American
- writer
- who
- was
- raised
- and
- who
- continues
- to
- live
- in
- the
- Bay
- Area
- of
- Northern
- California.
- Her
- stories
- are
- inspired
- by
- the
- Filipino
- and
- Mainstream
- American
- cultures
- that
- she
- grew
- up
- in.
- Her
- women
- characters
- are
- generaly
- beautiful
- and
- strong.
- the
- men
- are
- more
- quiet
- and
- subdued.
- Her
- stories
- are
- of
- a
- people
- caught
- between
- two
- worlds,
- a
- people
- in
- diaspora,
- who
- have
- to
- negotiate
- the
- demands
- of
- the
- two
- cultures
- that
- dominate
- their
- lives.
- With
- a
- sharp
- eye
- for
- telling
- detail
- and
- the
- right
- dash
- of
- humor,
- Montes
- can
- tell
- the
- story
- of
- spunky
- girls
- who
- find
- the
- verve
- to
- tell
- off
- a
- chauvanist
- ex-Marine
- uncle.
- She
- can
- revisit
- an
- unforgettable
- nightout
- of
- a
- teenage
- girl
- in
- a
- Manila
- bar
- run
- by
- midgets.
- A
- fresh
- Asian
- American
- voice,
- Montes
- depicts
- the
- grief
- and
- everyday
- joy
- handed
- down
- as
- inheritance,
- the
- affections
- and
- denials
- that
- bind
- Filipino
- families
- together.Veronica
- Montes
- was
- born
- in
- San
- Francisco
- and
- came
- of
- age
- in
- the
- fog
- and
- mist
- of
- Daly
- City,
- California,
- along
- with
- thousands
- of
- other
- Filipino
- kids
- who
- frequently
- appear,
- sometimes
- unbidden,
- in
- her
- short
- stories.
- After
- living
- in
- Vancouver,
- Canada,
- Washington,
- D.C.,
- and
- Santa
- Barbara,
- California,
- she
- and
- her
- husband,
- Andrew
- Wadhams,
- settled
- back
- home
- in
- the
- San
- Francisco
- Bay
- Area
- to
- raise
- their
- three
- daughters.Her
- writing
- has
- appeared
- in
- many
- literary
- magazines
- and
- anthologies,
- both
- online
- and
- in
- traditional
- formats.
- She
- is
- co-author,
- along
- with
- Cecilia
- Brainard,
- Erma
- Cuizon,
- Susan
- Evangelista,
- and
- Nadine
- Sarreal,
- of
- the
- dugtungan
- novel
- Angelica's Daughters.
