Lysley Tenorio, "Aviary"

It’s December 2. Lysley Tenorio, author of The Son of Good Fortune, will catch up with you at the food court.

How would you describe your story?

LYSLEY TENORIO: "Aviary" is the story of a group of young boys living in the slums of Manila, who infiltrate a high-end shopping mall that bans poor people. It's (sorta) based on real-life events.

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

LT: Early on, I realized the protagonist couldn't be a single character, but the group of boys themselves. The most effective way to engage them in the story was as a collective, so I wrote the story in the first-person plural, from the "we" perspective, a point of view I love reading, and had never done before.

What kind of research went into this story?

LT: I spent many hours online looking at photos and maps of Greenbelt Mall in Manila, where most of the story takes place.

What, to you, makes the short story a special form?

LT: I think the short story demands a kind of perfection; it's a narrative form you can hold in your mind at once, and understand how the various elements of the story interact with one another. Reading a short story is a similar experience, particularly since most stories should be read in one sitting.

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

LT: Interested readers might want to check out Monstress, my collection of short stories. The stories are about various subjects, including the making of a crappy B-movie sci-fi/horror film, a romance in a leper colony, Marcos loyalists who try to beat up the Beatles at the Manila International Airport, etc. All are based on real events and places. My novel The Son of Good Fortune, which was published in July of 2020, is about an undocumented Filipino son, Excel, and his mother, Maxima, living in Northern California. He works at a dead-end spy-themed kiddie pizza joint called The Pie Who Loved Me; she's a former B-movie action star from Manila, who now catfishes men online and dupes them into sending her money.

What's the best gift you've ever been given?

LT: A foldable rocking chair, a Christmas gift from my parents, when I was seven years old.

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