The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor

The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor

Book cover for Bienvenido Santos's The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor.
Author Bienvenido Santos
Country Philippines
Language English
Genre Fiction

The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor (1983) is a book written by Filipino-American novelist and short story author, Bienvenido Santos.[1] The title basically imparts that the protagonist of the novel lived believing that he has a semblance to his idolized American actor, Robert Taylor.[1] This fiction by Santos is regarded as one of the finest examples of exceptional English-language writings about the personal, emotional, and moving experiences of Filipino migrants in America.[2][3][4]

Description

The story is about a Filipino immigrant named Solomon King, a man who was born in Sulucan, a town in the Philippines. Moving to the United States, he lived by himself in Chicago for thirty years. While in America, although he kept mementos from his Philippine hometown, he felt alienated and ignored while surrounded by Polish people living in Chicago. Aging as he was, he decided to travel to Washington, D.C. to search for earlier acquaintances. He, together with other Filipinos of his generation, became further estranged by "better educated" Filipinos he encountered along the way, adding to his bitterness in experiencing a weakening in the "spirit of ethnic unity".[1]

Historical background

The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor is a literary discourse illustrating the yearning of many Filipinos to go and reside in America despite hardships, and the "loneliness and sense of exile" they experienced while being in the United States after World War II through the 1970s.[1][5] Among Santos's characters, apart from the men, are female émigrés who "were prepared to do almost anything" in order to have a better life in America.[1][5]

Excerpts

An excerpt from The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor is an award-winning short story[1] entitled "Immigration Blues",[6] which became anthologized in Santos’s short-story collection, Scent of Apples. This short story was a recipient of a New Letters award for fiction in 1977.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Criticism from Leonard Casper, In an essay, Casper discusses the displaced person theme in Santos's work The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor, Section: Criticisms, The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor and "Immigration Blues", Bienvenido Santos, 1977, novelguide.com
  2. ↑ Nelson, Emmanuel Sampath. "The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor", Bienvenido Santos, Major Works and Themes, Asian American novelists: a bio-bibliographical critical sourcebook, books.google.com
  3. ↑ "The Man Who (Thought He) Looked like Robert Taylor" (1983), Major Works, Bienvenido Santos, enotes.com
  4. ↑ Soc.Culture.Filipino FAQs 2.0 Beta Part II (Body), Section 12, newsgroups.derkeiler.com : (...) "The Man Who Thought He Looked Like Robert Taylor, Bienvenido N. Santos (...) These books (..) help to personalize the experience of life in America as well as provide a sample of the excellent writing (in English)" (...), August 1, 2008
  5. 1 2 Immigration Blues by Bienvenido N. Santos, users.aber.ac.uk
  6. ↑ The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor and "Immigration Blues", The Asian Reporter's Book Reviews, asianreporter.com
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