The Ghost and the Green Card
/Book Review: Multo by Cindy Fazzi (Polis Books, 2023)
Multo means “ghost” in Tagalog, and it is also the title of Cindy Fazzi’s latest book. A title that is intriguing. Who is the multo in the story? You are guaranteed to feel fear and panic because it’s a thriller, but not in a supernatural way. Fazzi uses the term multo for undocumented immigrants in America. She writes, "Undocumented immigrants, like ghosts, can be invisible. Ghosts can appear or disappear, just like immigrants on the run.”
This longstanding, hot button topic in the United States affects everyone, including Filipinos. Moving to America and its shiny promise of a better life is a universal desire and many take big risks to achieve it. This is where Multo begins.
Domingo, a Filipino American bounty hunter, has made a lucrative career catching undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes. A key to his success is that he shares similarities with those he's after. He looks like them, he is fast and tenacious, and he once coveted the same dream of American citizenship. He persisted and he succeeded.
His current mission is to find a biracial Filipina named Monica Reed. She’s a special one because Domingo has caught BUT lost her twice, thus his nickname for her is “Multo,” the Mother of all Ghosts, who has continued to haunt him. As he searches for her for a third time, he finds out that Monica has a secret that she is determined to publicize even if it costs her life. Will he find her?
Domingo’s job is his service to the country that granted him citizenship. His life’s purpose is to catch those who deserve to be kicked out, and yet he is sympathetic to fellow immigrants who also pine for the American Dream. In between jobs, he takes notes for a book that he plans to publish. “Like a self-help book or an underground guide that would be passed around in secret. A must-read for anyone planning to cross the brutal Sonoran Desert or sail across the treacherous waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It might save someone’s life someday,” he says. Insightful tips like the different pathways to citizenship and how to assimilate successfully are sprinkled in the chapters of Multo, one of the more compelling reasons to read it. After all, staying legally is just the first step. Being welcomed and accepted is another hurdle.
Cindy Fazzi, the Filipino American author of Multo, wrote the manuscript in 1995. “I was a green-card holder waiting for my U.S. citizenship. Then and now, I’m very attuned to the immigration problems. I first wrote the character of Monica Reed, the biracial Filipina who travels to the U.S. and stays on illegally to look for her American father. Around that time, I read a New York Times article about a bounty hunter who specialized in helping deport undocumented immigrants. That news story inspired the character of Domingo in Multo.”
Cindy Fazzi is the author of “Multo.” She began writing the manuscript in 1995 and it was finally published in September 2023. (Photo courtesy of Cindy Fazzi)
Fazzi has since obtained her citizenship, and Multo was just published in September 2023. But after many years and administrations, illegal immigration remains a big issue in the United States. Fazzi opines, “All these years, the focus has been on stopping the flow of illegal migration, such as building a wall on the southern border, erecting border barriers in Rio Grande in Texas, and hiring more Border Patrol agents. They are ineffective and certainly not enough. Immigration advocates have been calling for an increase in paths to legal immigration to complement law enforcement efforts.”
She continues, “There’s a report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) analyzing 100 years of Border Patrol apprehensions data, which shows opening up of legal pathways has reduced illegal entry. For example, in January 2023, the Biden administration announced a parole program for 30,000 applicants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the U.S. if they have a U.S. sponsor. The number of Border Patrol apprehensions on the southern border declined by 95% involving migrants from those four countries between December 2022 and March 2023. Policy makers need to think of similar solutions. The bigger problem, however, is beyond the power of the U.S. – how to address the root causes of illegal immigration such as poverty, violence, and wars. That’s something all countries must address and pitch in together.”
Multo’s publication is timely, just as a new wave of immigrants cross the border and issues of racism dominate the headlines. “There are two things I hope to achieve with Multo. I want to introduce readers to Filipino American characters because there are so few of them in books. I also want readers to get a glimpse of the common struggles and aspirations of immigrants in this country, whether legal or undocumented. For immigrants of color, regardless of status, it usually boils down to the need for respect and acceptance because they are told in so many ways that they don’t belong here,” Fazzi adds.
Fazzi is a journalist with tenure at the Associated Press and a master’s degree in Journalism from Ohio State University. While it wasn’t her immediate goal to write a book, fiction is her preferred genre. “I became interested in fiction writing after I arrived in the U.S. While I was in graduate school, I had the time and motivation to read, write, and think about books. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan was a big hit. She inspired me to write fiction. Her book showed me that there’s an audience for Asian American novels,” she admits.
Her other goal was to write a Filipino-themed book. “It’s the only kind of book I ever wanted and intended to write. However, after more than two decades of writing Filipino stories and getting rejected by literary agents and publishers, I experimented with my writing. Out of sheer desperation, I wrote a romance novel called In His Corner featuring white characters. I wrote it under the pen name Vina Arno. I just wanted to see if the “Filipino factor” in my manuscripts was keeping me from getting published. In 2015, Lyrical Press published it. In His Corner, my “white novel,” gave me a publishing breakthrough and a huge morale boost,” she recounts.
She did not give up until Multo was published and says, “Two things kept me from tossing out Multo despite the many rejections. First, immigration is a subject matter close to my heart being an immigrant myself. Second, Multo is my first manuscript, my first attempt to write a novel. It’s like first love. It’s hard to forget it, especially because immigration problems are almost always in the news. I realized that Multo will always be timely in that sense.” She persisted, and she succeeded.
Cindy Fazzi, journalist and novelist, in her favorite writing spot. “If you’re truly serious about writing, you won’t be able to quit because there’s really nothing else you would rather do.” (Photo courtesy of Cindy Fazzi)
In recent years, more publishers and readers have taken an interest in books written by diverse voices.
“George Floyd’s murder in 2020 resulted in a general call for racial justice and equity in all sectors of American society. In the publishing industry, it did result in increased hiring and publication of people of color. That’s good news. My publisher, Agora Books, was founded in 2019, before Floyd’s death. It specializes in publishing crime fiction written by diverse authors. That’s also good news. I hope these scattered efforts for diversity in publishing will continue because we have a long way to go,” she remarks.
For both the book’s hero and its author, Multo is a lesson on how persistence can pay off.
To purchase a copy of “Multo” by Cindy Fazzi, click on the links below:
Claire Mercado-Obias is a writer, food stylist and pastry chef based in New Jersey.
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