My Sad Republic
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| Author | Eric Gamalinda |
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| Country | Philippines |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Philippine Centennial Commission, the University of the Philippines Press, and the UP Creative Writing Center |
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Publication date
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2000 |
| Media type | Print (paperback and hardcover) |
| Pages | 392 |
| ISBN | |
My Sad Republic is a 2000 Philippine English-language novel written by Filipino novelist Eric Gamalinda. The novel won for Gamalinda a Philippine Centennial Literary Prize in 1998. The 392-page novel was published by the Philippine Centennial Commission, the University of the Philippines Press, and the UP Creative Writing Center. My Sad Republic is the fourth novel written by Gamalinda. The theme of the novel is "love, obsession, and loss" occurring during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish colonizers of the Philippines, and during the Philippine–American War.
The title of My Sad Republic was derived from a verse in Florante at Laura, a classic narrative poem written by Filipino poet Francisco Baltazar (1789–1862) that intertwines romance and nationalism. The verse from which the title was adapted from mentions the Tagalog words "Sa loob at labas ng bayan cong saui,/ caliluha,i, siya'ng nangyayaring hari/", meaning "Inside and outside of my sad country,/ it is desolation that reigns supreme/" in the English translation.
The main characters in the novel include Dionisio Magbuela (also known as Isio, Papa Isio – meaning "Pope Isio", or Seguela, the "Pope of Negros"), Asuncion de Urquiza (also known as Asuncion Madrigal), Tomas Agustin, Felipe, Captain James Smith, and Martinez. Dionisio Magbuela is a peasant, healer, mystic, and religious leader, who later becomes a Filipino revolutionary, hero, and founder of a cult of babaylans (shaman-priests) based on folk Catholicism.
Asuncion de Urquiza is a young woman under the care of a wealthy lady known as Doña Madrigal (De Urquiza's mother); Asuncion is an orphan and is the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish matador and a young woman belonging to the Madrigal's household. De Urquiza was described by Stuart-Santiago as a "rich girl of One Hundred and Seventeen Names" because the paranoid Doña Madrigal christened her with all the names of the Mary the Holy Virgin as a form of protection from evil.
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