INFINITE LIVES, INFINITE DEATHS

Infinite Lives, Infinite Deaths is a collection of stories that straddle genres such as horror, magic realism, metafiction, and science fiction, while stitching together elements from world mythology and folklore, Philippine history and society, and the Chinese-Filipino experience in a nightmarish version of Manila.

In "Dreaming Valhalla", a family's noodle restaurant is converted into a Norse-themed girly bar that parallels the rise and destruction of the sir. A group of children take a traumatic field trip in "A Visit to the Exhibition of the International Committee on Children's Rights". In "An Epistle and Testimony from June 13, 1604", a Spanish friar meets a Chinese convert bearing the stigmata, while in "The Life and Death of Hermes Uy", a Chinese-Filipino entrepreneur opens a pharmacy in 1950s Manila, diversifying and expanding the business throughout the decades until its mysterious and abrupt closure.

A professor of applied folkloristics discusses the case of a young girl who returned home as a crone a few days after her elopement in "A Reply to a Query", while "Where Old Whores Go to Die" features a grant application assessment detailing the context and procedures that govern a concentration camp for aged prostitutes. In "The Way of Those Who Stayed Behind", a Chinese-Filipino expatriate returns home and uncovers a family secret, while "The Lament of Philip Reyes" features a failed doctor coming face-to-face with the possibilities that never materialised throughout his life.