Description
About the Author
Tom Sykes has written about the culture and politics of the Philippines and other countries for The Telegraph, New Statesman, Private Eye, The Scotsman and many other publications. He is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Portsmouth, UK.
Reviews
'Tom Sykes's account of his rambling road trip through the country, The Realm of the Punisher, offers a serious and at times tragic corrective. He conveys in an affectionate, unpatronizing tone the many layers of injustice that run through the Philippines, and uses interviews and site visits to try to explain the eccentric ways and popular appeal of its more muscular leaders.'--Times Literary Supplement; 'The Realm of the Punisher is an accessible and meticulously researched travelogue based on lucid, first-hand reporting, interviews with a profusion of notable people and close readings of textual sources dating back centuries. It leaves a strong impression of the Philippines' social and political situation, which has grown more perilous since President Rodrigo 'The Punisher' Duterte came to power three years ago. . . . Construct[s] a jigsaw image of Duterte the man and the mythology around him, as well as what it is like to live in a country under his rule.'--London Magazine; 'The book is full of cultural anecdotes. I thoroughly enjoyed his humorous touristic take on cultural aspects like cockfighting, sad things like comfort women (of the Japanese period), the rich and the poor divide - and even families that practically live in cemeteries. . . . It is the first book, as far as I know, that details the current Philippines, warts and all, centering on Duterte's impact on Filipinos.'--Filipino Chronicles
Book Information
ISBN 9781909930728
Author Tom Sykes
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Signal Books Ltd
Publisher Signal Books Ltd