RAKUTEN KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE FINALIST • CBC BOOKS CANADIAN FICTION BOOKS TO READ IN FALL 2024 The secrets of the house are the secrets of the heart. It begins with an act of betrayal that destroys the tenuous bonds of Celestina Errantes’s family. For years afterwards, Celestina longs for an escape from her unhappy home. Then an unexpected gift from her wealthy Lolo offers that chance: a long-forsaken property in Manila’s bohemian district, close to where ladies of the evening ply their trade. It is no place for a proper young woman, but this house, even with its ghosts, makes Celestina feel at home. Celestina tears into life, losing herself in the pleasures of the night, but soon finds that the emptiness within her is not easily filled. When finally a true chance at happiness promises to save her, a sinister voice from the past returns, threatening to destroy it all. A RARE MACHINES BOOK Transporting us to a Manila of dark romance and ghosts, Celestina's House is a gothic novel that reminds us how the past is never wholly escapable. Rich and sweeping and literally haunting. ― Andrew Pyper, author of The Residence and The Demonologist Celestina’s House is steeped in ghosts and memories that haunt three generations of a family. Celestina fearlessly confronts her own demons, and mala, along with devastating family secrets. This is a skilfully written and searingly honest story that you will not forget. ― Kim Echlin, author of Speak, Silence A finely wrought and richly textured intergenerational saga that weaves a family’s history and stories into a deeply felt meditation on love, grief, and loss. Celestina’s House is a rare, beautiful, and moving narrative of a young woman’s search for love, truth and self amid obstacles, trials and impossible odds. A ravishing and astonishing debut. ― Patria Rivera, author of Puti/White An ornately detailed, decadent, and erotic world inhabited by a fascinating array of characters, both despicable and heroic, a world that needs to be visited and savoured. ― Aga Maksimowska, author of Giant A rich, dark, and singular story of haunted love and incurable loss you won’t soon forget. ― Cindy Fazzi, author of Multo With a lush, tropical setting, an entrancing protagonist, and swirling ghosts that guide and subvert, Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez has crafted a darkly romantic, immersive world. ― Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, author of Reuniting with Strangers Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez was born in the Philippines, rather aptly on Hallowe'en, and grew up in a world animated by spirits and even the occasional miracle. Celestina's House is her debut novel. She works as a communications professional, and cocoons in her west end Toronto home with her spouse and daughter in between bouts of wanderlust. 1 Malas, Swerte, Mana Celestina was barely five years old when she got her first lesson on the concept of malas. She was not allowed to have a pet since dogs and cats made the house smell and shed hair all over the furniture. Her father did indulge her request for a “pet cactus” from an itinerant plant vendor who made the rounds in their neighbourhood. It was a Bullwinkle cactus, a comically funny figure to the child’s eye, with a body that looked like it had been flattened with a rolling pin. It had two small branches that stuck out like ears and two longer ones that suggested outstretched arms ready to hug. Unlike the other cacti in the vendor’s cart, this one had only the slightest hint of spikiness. She named it Gumby, after the cartoon character she liked. Thereafter, it took its place on her bookshelf, beside a mermaid doll and her drawing of a creature that looked like a horse crossed with a dragon. Gumby’s residency lasted until the eagle eyes of Stella, Celestina’s mother, spotted it on the bookshelf. “What is that?” “That’s Gumby,” Celestina replied brightly. “Well, Gumby is a cactus. We do not keep cacti in the house. It’s malas.” Little Celestina had heard the word countless times before. It meant something bad, although she did not know exactly why or how. She immediately mounted a valiant defence of her pet. “Gumby is a good cactus. He only has baby spikes. He can’t hurt anyone.” Stella sat down so she was eye to eye with little Celestina. “If you keep a cactus, you won’t find a husband. You’ll become a spinster. We don’t want that.” “What’s a splinster?” little Celestina asked. “A spinster,” Stella corrected, “is an older lady who never married. A matandang dalaga. They’re the ones who grow old alone.” “Oh. Are the nuns in school spinsters?” “No, my dear. They’re married to Christ.” “Is Manang Rio a spinster?” the child asked as her mind turned to their very own housekeeper. “Yes, she’s a spinster.” “Is she going to be okay?” “I think so. She’s lucky because she’s with us. Otherwise, who will care for her when she can no longer care for herself?” And so, Stella removed Gumby the Cactus from the shelf and consigned it to the outer edges of the ga