The Oracles

Cultural Writing. Biography and Memoir. "Pati Navalta Poblete's memoir is a typical story of an American childhood. When her grandmother, Fausta, arrives from the Philippines, the American childhood then becomes a multigenerational tale of familial myth-making and vivid storytelling"--Shawn Wong. As a young girl growing up in California, Pati Navalta Poblete is dismayed to find her American way of life interrupted when her four grandparents arrive from the Philippines. Turning her adolescence upside down, they inspire her to name then "the Oracles" for the unfamiliar--and often unsolicited--wisdom they bring. Pobelete tells her story of generational strife and familial clash of values with tenderness and humor. In sharp and unforgettable glimpses we see the shadows of superstition, the force of religion, and the embrace of family--sometimes welcome, sometimes not. Only years later did she begin to understand how much she had needed the Oracles to bring her own heritage to her door.