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A review by ariizolas
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
2.0
1.5 stars. everyone said this book wasn't a six of crows rip-off and i truly wanted to believe this book wasn't a six of crows rip-off but all these ensemble ya books just KEEP DISAPPOINTING ME
i could say a LOT but i'll limit myself to this- the aesthetic of this book is magnificent, but the writing just falls flat. as a filipino myself, enrique was a vast disappointment. i appreciate the attempt at diversity in his and zofia's characters, but it just comes off as if the author did cursory research on the colonial philippines and left it at that. the glorification of the ilustrados, filipino phrases that feel shoehorned in, enrique's character motivation, the fact that the author puts him in a monkey mask at the very end of the book - i'm aware roshani choksi is part filipina herself, but her handling of the ~diverse~ elements of this book is clumsy at best. a disappointment for sure.
i could say a LOT but i'll limit myself to this- the aesthetic of this book is magnificent, but the writing just falls flat. as a filipino myself, enrique was a vast disappointment. i appreciate the attempt at diversity in his and zofia's characters, but it just comes off as if the author did cursory research on the colonial philippines and left it at that. the glorification of the ilustrados, filipino phrases that feel shoehorned in, enrique's character motivation, the fact that the author puts him in a monkey mask at the very end of the book - i'm aware roshani choksi is part filipina herself, but her handling of the ~diverse~ elements of this book is clumsy at best. a disappointment for sure.