HERE’S the second of the two introductions found in my memoir “The (Almost) Fabulous” which was published in the USA last month. “…Fabulous” is my 27th book. It tries to capture my thoughts and memories in the last five years or so.
Rainier Factuar, who wrote the piece, is from Palawan. He teaches secondary school in El Nido.
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LOOK WHO I MET ON FACEBOOK!
by Rainier G. Factuar
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I met Peter Solis Nery online. No, it wasn’t on some dating app or Zoom networking meeting that had taken the world over and seem to be very popular these COVID days. Rather, I met him in a Facebook group (of all places!) where he generously and patiently helped literature teachers learn to become better teachers. I was intrigued, impressed, and then fascinated.
His works are already stamped topnotch by the Palanca, the highest literary award-giving body in the Philippines (like the Pulitzer Prize of the US), as he is one of its elite Hall of Famers. Plus, he is a pillar of Hiligaynon literature. A pillar!
So why would a high caliber, multi-awarded, master writer be helping literature enthusiasts for free? Masterclasses, online courses, and webinars are hot items sold online like makeup, clothes, and shoes these days. It’s a rather lucrative venture. I’m sure you know someone who ditched his or her job and set up an online business. So why then, would he offer his classes for free? This really fascinated me. Because it’s extremely remarkable.
You already know what this book is about. And you already know that it’s going to be fun. But what you don’t know is why it’s fun. And how it’s fun.
Peter’s life could be anyone’s life. It could be your neighbor’s, if not yours. What makes the facets of his life and times so engaging is what you’ll discover in his masterful use of words. Words that will make you rethink your own life and point of view. He’ll take you on a fragmented journey, and leave you with a complete, fresh, and (almost) fabulous perspective.
With thousands of bluntly uninterrupted words, Peter will paint a portrait of himself in five shades (or chapters). The shade of Sex, Love, & Relationships is not a guide on how to have sex, how to love, or how to handle relationships. Although it’s sprinkled with tips aplenty. Rather, it talks about his riveting perceptions and experiences on the said topics.
The shade of Neuroses, Compulsions, & Affectations draws the psychosocial and political persona of Peter the person, the friend, the foodie. If you ever bumped into him at a party holding your red cup or wine glass, your conversations, and his personal, uncensored take on you and your views, will be detailed here.
The chapter Family, Friends, & Dysfunctions is painted in bright and honest shades. It’s so bright that it’s almost neon. It’s so honest that it’s biting. Neon honest. Here, let me drop you one of his very honest lines: Like I love my mom, and my male siblings, but I honestly don’t like them.
I know many people can relate to this line, or have owned it themselves. But few are brave enough to say it, more so write it and leave a perpetual reference for future fights. If I said that myself, I’d be banned from ever entering our house again. And that would be after a hard slap across my face. Hard slaps, I mean. Plural!
Films, Books, & Musicd etails Peter’s love affair with, well — films, books, and music! But it also chronicles the men and women he kept, loved, and adored.
Time, Travel, & Whimsies gives beautiful shades of Europe, the US, Iloilo, and what-ifs. Peter shows us the beauty that can be found in the mundane towns and cities that tourists frequent, and make them more interesting. He brandishes his hilarious answers to what-if questions you normally ask your best friend when both of your phone batteries run out and you have nothing else to do.
I think Peter’s magical power lies in his ability to give thick, rich details using very few words. So to those who suffer from posting long, bland, tacky posts on social media that do not get very many likes and shares, they will find this book helpful. You can simply copy and paste a page you like and post it on Facebook or Instagram. Twitter is okay, too. (But please, for the love of Piolo, James, and Daniel, don’t forget to cite the author!)
The better option, though, is for you to look at how he tells a story, uses his words, and makes a topic striking, and apply it to your own posts and save yourself from dying of humiliation every time a Facebook memory pops up.
Coming round full circle, it’s fascinating how technology brings people together. Even more fascinating is the connection people make, and what they discover about each other. So I thank Facebook for giving me a chance to get to know the brave, talented, and fabulous artist, Peter Solis Nery.
Now, you get to know him, too./PN
