As you work your way through Jessica Hagedorn’s Dream Jungle, you might want to read up on Philippine history, both ancient and contemporary. The novel is deeply invested in history, but also deeply playful, and, like Song of Solomon, deeply intertextual as well. The more of these historical and textual allusions you pick up on, the better appreciation you’ll have for the subtleties of the novel.
Just a sampling to consider: the Lopez de Legazpi name, the discovery of the Tasaday Tribe, Jose Rizal, Antonio Pigafetta and his account of the Magellan expedition, Hollywood Hills, Goya’s The Great He-Goat and Saturn Devouring His Son, the film Apocalypse Now.
See also David Lodge’s interview with Jessica Hagedorn.