Jessica Hagedorn's The Blossoming of Bongbong is a book about a young immigrant to the U.S. Bong Bong is a troubled young man, though he doesn't really know it. Hagedorn traces the tale of his mental breakdown from the moment he leaves Manila to when all his friends and family desert him. Bong Bong winds up living alone in his ex's apartment, struggling to distinguish between dreams and waking moments.
The novel is a commentary on both mental discipline -- the factors which contribute to insanity -- and the difficulties of immigration. Throughout the story, Bong Bong is depicted making choices either to fight or cede to his inner paranoia. He doesn't do so well. Although Hagedorn doesn't focus on the actual journey nor even point out the culture shock which Bong Bong must have experienced, but readers cannot forget that this young man is an immigrant, recently moved to an entirely new culture. He struggles to adapt, which translates into yet another contributing factor to his mental distress.
After completing this book, one is able to notice the role which his friends and family play in Bong Bong's decline. His parents send him away to school in America because he has no work skills already. He will soon be someone else's problem. His best friend from back home stops writing him back after a while. As if he can't process the betrayal, Bong Bong continues to write to his friend long after this. His final letter isn't even signed because Bong Bong doesn't remember his own name, having long before forgotten who he was. Additionally, his sister, brother-in-law, girlfriend, and girlfriend's roommate all seem to do their best to drive him crazy. Readers aren't able to tell whether Bong Bong's interpretation of their actions is accurate, however, because he is such an unreliable narrator. Overall, these people whom he trusted didn't take him seriously enough to help with his acute mental health problems.
