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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
“I screamed at them, saying there was no ghost in there, and if there were one, I would welcome her, welcome her, welcome her.“
It was a bit of a struggle to get through the latter half of the book, not because it was challenging, but possibly because it wasn’t. I think that there were some interesting themes that this novel touched, specifically on freedom, choice, and generational trauma. I don’t think it succeeded too much in expanding those discussions. Personally, Brainard’s writing fluctuated in its strength to me where there were more compelling chapters than others. I think we could have done without so many switching character perspectives, only because mid-point I was confused on who was who and what their relationship was to other narrators—it was already enough that all of it was achronological.
Despite my disappointment with Magdalena, I still plan on reading other works of Brainard’s, just to give it another go. Magdalena’s subject matter and execution was not quite to my taste, but I appreciated the effort in depicting difficult familial relationships. Also, I hate to be immature about this: I just really did not get the foot fetish inclusion. And the breast milk scene. I’m good.
I was really disappointed with this book. Brainard's first book When the Rainbow Goddess Wept was so very good. I was expecting just as much from her second book Magdalena. But instead I just got tiresome romances of cheating husbands and women who filled their empty lives wandering around their expensive mansions feeling sorry for themselves. Oh the drama! Granted, I am not an avid romance reader so maybe I would have liked it better if I was? But I really only made myself finish reading this rather slim book out of respect for how amazing Brainard's first book was.
This easily became a favorite! There was never a boring line in the novel. It was fast-paced yet intricate. The author is good at making it a light read yet still creative. The manner of writing was the usual way of explicitly laying the stories as if the book talked to me, but it was still quite different among the novels I have read with respect to the way the author stitched the stories by every chapter. I just wish it was longer.
This is a short and fast paced book that covered a hundred years and four generations. It made me realize how much society can shape our lives and affect our decisions in life that can turn out to be a lifelong turmoil. War, corruption, societal standards, they intersect, affect our decisions and show us how it can mold us for the better or for worse. How these circumstances can shape one generation and how that previous generation can shape the next and so on which leads to a cycle of turmoils. Although I really did not like how some of the characters decided and chose their path, I understood why they did that (does not mean I condone it tho, never but understandable considering all those different factors at those times).
It was great to be able to read about my own culture and the history of my country. I’ll definitely be into more Filipino literature.
It was great to be able to read about my own culture and the history of my country. I’ll definitely be into more Filipino literature.
This is a short and fast paced book that covered a hundred years and four generations. It made me realize how much society can shape our lives and affect our decisions in life that can turn out to be a lifelong turmoil. War, corruption, societal standards, they intersect, affect our decisions and show us how it can mold us for the better or for worse. How these circumstances can shape one generation and how that previous generation can shape the next and so on which leads to a cycle of turmoils. Although I really did not like how some of the characters decided and chose their path, I understood why they did that (does not mean I condone it tho, never but understandable considering all those different factors at those times).
It was great to be able to read about my own culture and the history of my country. I’ll definitely be into more Filipino literature.
It was great to be able to read about my own culture and the history of my country. I’ll definitely be into more Filipino literature.