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A review by forsan
America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This book focuses on three generations of Filipino immigrants in the Bay Area. The book opens (extremely compellingly) by focusing on Paz and her immigration , and then we turn to focus on her niece and daughter, both named Geronima (but with different nicknames, Hero and Roni). Hero, ultimately the main character, had joined the New People's Army in the Philippines in the 1970s and, after two years of imprisonment and torture, joined her aunt and their family in the US in the early 90s. The book follows the family and traces their joys and sorrows after Hero's arrival.
I really like this and think that it was really well done. I've read a lot of reviews complaining that the initial second-person prologue with Paz's story is more narratively compelling than the later sections; while I'd agree that that's true, the rest is stilly really well done. There are a lot of flashbacks to Hero's earlier years that were definitely confusing at first, though I think they started to make more sense later. Another thing that I really liked about this book was the use of language. Tagalog (and, occasionally, Pangasinense and Ilocano) is used pretty often throughout this book in recounting dialogue, and probably about half of it is translated--not being able to understand it was definitely a surprising reading experience, but I think it worked really well. I'd definitely recommend this one!
I really like this and think that it was really well done. I've read a lot of reviews complaining that the initial second-person prologue with Paz's story is more narratively compelling than the later sections; while I'd agree that that's true, the rest is stilly really well done. There are a lot of flashbacks to Hero's earlier years that were definitely confusing at first, though I think they started to make more sense later. Another thing that I really liked about this book was the use of language. Tagalog (and, occasionally, Pangasinense and Ilocano) is used pretty often throughout this book in recounting dialogue, and probably about half of it is translated--not being able to understand it was definitely a surprising reading experience, but I think it worked really well. I'd definitely recommend this one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Pedophilia