“Banana Heart Summer” is packed with signs and metaphors that never fail to arouse the senses. But how and whether we appease it always restores the social order.” Hunger is the greatest leveler of humankind, if it wishes to be leveled. Rather than delegate the topic of hunger to the margins, Bobis explores what it is in a social context: “Hunger we all experience. The scourge of hunger makes an indelible mark on Nenita’s soul and psyche. From Bobis’s literary perspective, love and food-or should we say “hunger”-are two sides of the same coin as she demonstrates in the title of her first chapter: “For those who love to love and eat/For those who long to love and eat.” Bobis also sets food against the background of love as a human emotion. Food is a ubiquitous presence throughout “Banana Heart Summer” as it plays an important cultural and psychological role in the book. Indeed, it is impossible for the reader to escape food as a subject-matter in the book. Indispensable to the world of Nenita’s being is its gastronomical complexion.
At the center of Bobis’s story is Nenita, a twelve-year old girl-in a family of six-who has a zest for life despite her impoverished circumstances in the Philippines.
First-time novelist Merlinda Bobis’s “Banana Heart Summer” is characterized by a radiantly sensual plot and narrative that are prescribed by themes familiar to Filipino audiences: romantic yearning, mouthwatering cuisine, and family relations.
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