Set in Balangiga, The Philippines. Reviewed on 2019/02: https://www.instagram.com/p/BtjN9SeHXU5/
Regardless of what the book description tells us, #ginaapostol has written a ferociously individualistic and deliciously ambiguous tale. I loved every bit to say the least. My advise is to come to this book as much as possible with an open mind and let #apostol through her characters tell the story even though you might not understand it all and/or you might disagree wholeheartedly. I believe there are three major things happening in this story. First she’s challenging everyone’s narratives: the colonizer and the colonized, the assassin and the victim, the perpetrator and the sufferer. Second you can’t but fall in love with Apostol’s intricate and embellished prose. Her words and grammatical constructions to describe the mundane and the barbaric are simply delightful and flawless literature. Finally, there is a mysterious and labyrinth-style structure which relies on time travelling much in the style of Cortazar’s #Rayuela . Considering these points, I still think there is one major topic overlapping everything. Our profound urge to tell our stories becomes a double-edged sword once we realize the impossibility and futility of telling that same story… This book is obviously a strong contender for my top 5 or dare I say best book of the month.
#highlyrecommended #manila#filipinoliterature #insurrecto #balangiga#samar #leyte #sohopress #philippines#moviescript #mystory #easternsamar#philippineamericanwar#americancolonialism #balangigamassacre#barangays
hebdo_readings 