Day 112 of 135

Day 112: Her Pocketbooks, His Manuscript

At their kitchen table in Cubao, Luz (A), whose Tagalog romance pocketbooks sell by the thousands, has just finished the manuscript of her husband Rudy (B), a literary novelist whose books sell far fewer.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Rudy, tapos ko na. Ang lalim, nalunod ako sa unang pahina, hinahanap pa ako ng Coast Guard.

    Rudy, I'm done. So deep, I drowned on the first page, the Coast Guard's still looking for me.

  2. B

    Hindi lahat ng akda ay para sa nagbabasa sa jeep. Ang tunay na panitikan ay hindi nagmamadali.

    Not every work is meant for people who read on the jeepney. True literature is never in a hurry.

  3. A

    Hindi nga, labing-apat na pahina bago bumangon ang bida mo. Sa pocketbook ko, sa ikatlong pahina, magkasintahan na sila.

    It sure isn't, fourteen pages before your hero even gets out of bed. In my pocketbooks, by page three they're already sweethearts.

  4. B

    Ang bawat pahina'y paghahanda, gaya ng lupang inaararo bago tamnan. Hindi ko ipagpapalit ang lalim sa kiliti ng masa.

    Every page is a preparation, like a field being plowed before it is planted. I will not trade depth for tickling the masses.

  5. A

    Ganyan ka magsalita sa kusina, pero ang bida mo, puro buntong-hininga. Walang stakes, magulo ang point of view.

    That's how you talk in the kitchen, but your hero does nothing but sigh. No stakes, and the point of view is a mess.

  6. B

    Stakes, point of view, mga salitang pang-workshop 'yan. Hindi nasusukat sa ganyang kahon ang kaluluwa.

    Stakes, point of view, those are workshop words. The soul can't be measured in a box like that.

  7. A

    Kahon? Tatlong daang kopya ang nabenta ng huli mong libro, at ako ang bumili ng limampu.

    A box? Your last book sold three hundred copies, and I bought fifty of them.

  8. B

    Alam ko. At kanina, tinanggihan na naman ako ng journal, kaya maawa ka naman ngayong gabi.

    I know. And today the journal turned me down again, so have a little mercy, just for tonight.

  9. A

    Mambabasa ako ngayong gabi, hindi asawa. Pero may isang pahinang nagpaiyak sa akin: nang hawakan ng bida ang kamay ng asawa niya.

    Tonight I'm a reader, not a wife. But one page made me cry: when your hero takes his wife's hand.

  10. B

    'Yon lang? 'Yon pa ang pinakamadali kong isinulat, halos hindi ko pinag-isipan.

    That one? That was the easiest page I wrote, I hardly thought about it.

  11. A

    Kaya buhay na buhay. Doon ka lang tumigil sa pag-iisip at nagsimulang makaramdam. Gawin mong ganoon ang buong libro, at bibili ako ng isandaan.

    That's why it's so alive. It's the only place you stopped thinking and started feeling. Make the whole book like that, and I'll buy a hundred.

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