Reading L Café by Oscar Solapco: Healing in the Language of the Self

I Read l Café in One Sitting

I like reading, but if I finish a whole book in a very short time, I applaud it.

I read l Café in one sitting. At just about a hundred pages, Oscar Solapco's novella never feels rushed. Neither does it feel slight. These are stories that simply say what they want to say. No lengthy preface to its LGBTQ+ themes of heartbreak and healing, but just saying.

Published by Grana Books and DLSU Press as part of the Seryeng Sinaya series, L Café follows John as he tries to recover from the end of his relationship with Daniel. The breakup sets the story in motion, but what follows reaches beyond heartbreak and even the body's longing for connection. Little by little, the stories move toward the emotional realization of a life that no longer depends on another person's approval.

John moves through familiar places and familiar people. He visits a gay spa, reconnects with a friend whose life has taken a different path, attends the funeral of a gay acquaintance who died by suicide, and eventually comes face to face with Daniel again. Every one of these moments feels like someone sitting down to talk with John, confessing, not through shocking revelations but through quiet recognitions and subtle nudges toward the truth. Each story becomes another step toward John's understanding of what really matters to him. By the end of the book, healing isn't presented as a destination but as something John chooses to grow into. It's not simply about moving on, but moving on toward what?

What I enjoyed most, however, was the voice. Oscar Solapco writes in fun Taglish that I recognize as lived rather than crafted. The gay quips reminded me that these are queer Filipino characters with a language all their own, one that isn't there simply for humor. The code-switching is both part of their identity and a meta-reflexive expression of it, natural and without apology.

I recognize its familiar rhythm, but Solapco gives that queer language an emotional depth that resonates in both its tone and cadence. The conversations never assume a literary posture. They reflect an author who is confident in his own language and equally confident in his readers. That confidence gives the novella its warmth, authenticity, and literary quality.

The novella also avoids easy answers. Its restraint allows compassion to emerge without forcing dramatic revelations. They might camouflage their pain with bubbly personalities and gay demeanor, but Solapco knows there are no ready-made plots or conventional storytelling schemes for LGBTQ+ lives confronting grief, isolation, and lost love.

L Café never calls attention to its own writing. As a series of linked vignettes, its short fragments quietly gather into a novella, yet nothing here feels finished. The lives are still unfolding, and the questions they raise about identity, love, and healing are anything but small. Some may take a lifetime to answer. Some may never be answered at all. Perhaps L Café's stories will continue to accumulate, allowing not only its characters to grow, but the novella itself.

Read it. It's not expensive, and you'll enjoy the language.

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