Gina Apostol
Author of Insurrecto
About the Author
Image credit: wikipedia
Works by Gina Apostol
Associated Works
Charlie Chan Is Dead 2: At Home in the World: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian-American Fiction (2004) — Contributor — 90 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1963
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- Philippines
- Country (for map)
- Philippines
- Birthplace
- Manila, Philippines
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines
Massachusetts, USA - Education
- University of the Philippines
Johns Hopkins University, MFA
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 7
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 459
- Popularity
- #53,510
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 31
The narrative centers on four people – a photographer in 1901, a scriptwriter in the 1970s, the daughter of the scriptwriter who is making a film of the incident in present times, and a translator (also in present times). There is disagreement between the daughter, Chiara, and translator, Magsalin, over whose perspective should take precedence in the film.
“She had a conversion into the world of the Filipino insurrectos of 1901, Chiara says. That is not the correct term, Magsalin says. What? They were revolutionaries, Magsalin says. It was not an insurrection. Chiara ignores her.”
At first, it felt like someone picked chapter numbers out of a hat. To complicate matters, there are three different timelines. I am not sure what the author accomplished by jumbling up the chapters. This period in history is already largely “forgotten,” so why not tell it in a more straight-forward manner? It is very artistic, but this is not a book for anyone that prefers linear storytelling.
This book would have easily been 4 stars if it had been organized differently. I recommend reading the author’s End Notes and Essay, which are more direct and convey essential background that the narrative does not provide. I plan to read non-fiction to learn more about this period in history.… (more)