‘Snows of Yesteryear’ by Elmer Ordoñez

What may well be a bildungsroman is Elmer Ordonez’s Snows of Yesteryear (University of the Philippines Press, 2014) in two parts, “A Family in War” and “A Sentimental Education”—based on the experiences of the author from his early years, the war years, his intellectual development, involvement in political struggle, and inevitable retirement. The author just turned 85.

Hence, the book is autobiography disguised as a novel. It has elements of a roman, a clefin that the author oftentimes uses actual names in the cast of characters. In parts the story is creative non-fiction.