Scan barcode
mandirigma's review against another edition
3.0
I'm so torn on this.
There is a great story in here about the Balangiga Massacre, a moment in Philippine history that I had no idea occurred until reading this book. Each time a chapter focused on this part of the story, I couldn't put the book down.
But that story is buried under two(-ish?) other separate stories. One about a Filipino woman who is returning to her homeland for the first time after a long period of grief, and another about a white woman coming to the Philippines to shoot a film but also try to better understand the death of her famous father and the relationship he had with her mother. Insurrecto is really a combination of three different novels, but unfortunately, none of them feel finished.
There are a million references here to pop culture and Filipino history throughout the entire 20th century. If you don't have an encyclopedic knowledge about that stuff, there's a lot you will want to look up. Also the language feels like you're drifting into and out of each character's stream of consciousness, and it's often hard to follow where one character shifts to another. I tried to listen to the audiobook as well, but that was even more difficult to follow.
A lot of people have used the word "kaleidoscopic" to describe the book, but for me it felt like trying to navigate through a tangle of threads to find the one that led to something bigger. The best parts of the book were the ones dedicated to a single character -- for example, the ones that took a deep dive into Virginie's past, but even Virginie's story felt a little unfinished to me. The story about the Balangiga Massacre was supposed to be Chiara's film and Magsalin's rewrites -- a detail I'd forgotten about by the end of the book because it was impossible to tell which parts of the story were Chiara's and which parts were Magsalin's.
I wish I hadn't chosen this as the first book of the year to read, because I needed to spend more time on it than I was willing. For the first half of the book, I really tried to just go with the flow and ignored my own confusion, but by the second half I felt like I was just trying to make it to the finish. I might come back to this later in the year to give it another shot, but as of now it wasn't the book I was looking for, I guess.
There is a great story in here about the Balangiga Massacre, a moment in Philippine history that I had no idea occurred until reading this book. Each time a chapter focused on this part of the story, I couldn't put the book down.
But that story is buried under two(-ish?) other separate stories. One about a Filipino woman who is returning to her homeland for the first time after a long period of grief, and another about a white woman coming to the Philippines to shoot a film but also try to better understand the death of her famous father and the relationship he had with her mother. Insurrecto is really a combination of three different novels, but unfortunately, none of them feel finished.
There are a million references here to pop culture and Filipino history throughout the entire 20th century. If you don't have an encyclopedic knowledge about that stuff, there's a lot you will want to look up. Also the language feels like you're drifting into and out of each character's stream of consciousness, and it's often hard to follow where one character shifts to another. I tried to listen to the audiobook as well, but that was even more difficult to follow.
A lot of people have used the word "kaleidoscopic" to describe the book, but for me it felt like trying to navigate through a tangle of threads to find the one that led to something bigger. The best parts of the book were the ones dedicated to a single character -- for example, the ones that took a deep dive into Virginie's past, but even Virginie's story felt a little unfinished to me. The story about the Balangiga Massacre was supposed to be Chiara's film and Magsalin's rewrites -- a detail I'd forgotten about by the end of the book because it was impossible to tell which parts of the story were Chiara's and which parts were Magsalin's.
I wish I hadn't chosen this as the first book of the year to read, because I needed to spend more time on it than I was willing. For the first half of the book, I really tried to just go with the flow and ignored my own confusion, but by the second half I felt like I was just trying to make it to the finish. I might come back to this later in the year to give it another shot, but as of now it wasn't the book I was looking for, I guess.
thebobsphere's review against another edition
4.0
If I could summarise Insurrecto in one word it would be meta. This novel’s plot just self references itself constantly,
A film makers daughter enlists the help of a translator to help her find her father, who was missing after he shot a film about American soldiers slaughtering thousands of Philippine residents on the island of Samar. The daughter, also decides to write a film script about this event while the translator writes her own version of the slaughtering. The end result is a novel which encompasses many topics: media distortion of reality, PTSD, materialism and many more.
Consisting of irregularly numbered chapters, mashed up and intersecting timelines and a lot of diversions, Insurrecto sometimes feels like a game of sorts but the message comes out clear and it’s not too difficult to join the dots, after all if fiction was easy going would it be a satisfying read?
Before reading Insurrecto, I have never heard of the massacre on Samar, I’ve always maintained that fiction should help create awareness and open the reader’s eyes. Insurrecto definitely does that and at the same time, is a unique read.
A film makers daughter enlists the help of a translator to help her find her father, who was missing after he shot a film about American soldiers slaughtering thousands of Philippine residents on the island of Samar. The daughter, also decides to write a film script about this event while the translator writes her own version of the slaughtering. The end result is a novel which encompasses many topics: media distortion of reality, PTSD, materialism and many more.
Consisting of irregularly numbered chapters, mashed up and intersecting timelines and a lot of diversions, Insurrecto sometimes feels like a game of sorts but the message comes out clear and it’s not too difficult to join the dots, after all if fiction was easy going would it be a satisfying read?
Before reading Insurrecto, I have never heard of the massacre on Samar, I’ve always maintained that fiction should help create awareness and open the reader’s eyes. Insurrecto definitely does that and at the same time, is a unique read.
reianb's review against another edition
Check out my post on IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/CObB32VrQEm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
This book was confusing but good
This book was confusing but good
squidjum's review against another edition
3.0
I strongly feel my experience of this book would benefit from a reread.
tjasa_f's review against another edition
3.0
Narrative too jumpy for me and a bit confusing to read. But, overall, an interesting concept and good writing!
octaviaelise's review against another edition
1.0
Dnf…I simply can’t.
Met her, she’s a super nice and smart woman but I cannot process her style of writing. It’s messy, difficult to follow, redundant, and sometimes unnecessary.
Met her, she’s a super nice and smart woman but I cannot process her style of writing. It’s messy, difficult to follow, redundant, and sometimes unnecessary.
ayumi_can_read's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
the miseducation of my Fil-Am history