You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
A review by alexiacambaling
But for the Lovers by Wilfrido D. Nolledo
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Primarily written in English, But for the Lovers also makes use of Tagalog and Spanish in dialogue in a book that feels like a kaleidoscope, an intimate look into the lives of the residents of a boarding house trying to survive in Japanese occupied Manila. I got to know about this book because of a recently released tv series about the said time period and this book was recommended. But while that show is set at the start of the war (at least at the time of this review), this book is set during its dying days.
This book is dense, heavy, and rich with allusion and allegory. It is a demanding and rewarding book, beautifully written but sometimes opaque and full of references. This, I did not mind. I think it makes it rereadable. At times, I also felt like the book relies on the reader knowing what happens. The boarders in this book are trying to survive, waiting for liberation, but the readers know the steep cost of that liberation. The book is dark, at times comic, but also somewhat hopeful. It is a book that like many classics of Philippine literature, deals with the question of the Filipino identity. Of course, there is a war and such questions always arise in fraught times.
The Manila of this book is a ruined city, destined to be even more ruined and devastated. In the memories of those inhabit it, it is a beautiful pearl, a city of culture, of churches and theatres. A lot of art and literature set in this time period before and during World War II have a certain tendency to romanticize the city in a way that makes one wonder how beautiful it must have been, how different from the city today. In this novel, the city is in despair, but it is alive. The citizens do not thrive, but they keep living and surviving in Manila until the bitter battle that concluded the occupation.
It's no exaggeration for me to say that I have never read anything like this book. I've read some novels that experiment with style but nothing like But for the Lovers. It is genuinely one of the best books I've read and I feel no shame in admitting that I don't fully understand everything but I do know what it stood for. It is a postcolonial masterpiece and anti-imperialist. The soul of the Filipino people is downtrodden in this novel and in that time period, but alive and will continue to live on. It's a book I'll continue to think about and will someday re-read.
This book is dense, heavy, and rich with allusion and allegory. It is a demanding and rewarding book, beautifully written but sometimes opaque and full of references. This, I did not mind. I think it makes it rereadable. At times, I also felt like the book relies on the reader knowing what happens. The boarders in this book are trying to survive, waiting for liberation, but the readers know the steep cost of that liberation. The book is dark, at times comic, but also somewhat hopeful. It is a book that like many classics of Philippine literature, deals with the question of the Filipino identity. Of course, there is a war and such questions always arise in fraught times.
The Manila of this book is a ruined city, destined to be even more ruined and devastated. In the memories of those inhabit it, it is a beautiful pearl, a city of culture, of churches and theatres. A lot of art and literature set in this time period before and during World War II have a certain tendency to romanticize the city in a way that makes one wonder how beautiful it must have been, how different from the city today. In this novel, the city is in despair, but it is alive. The citizens do not thrive, but they keep living and surviving in Manila until the bitter battle that concluded the occupation.
It's no exaggeration for me to say that I have never read anything like this book. I've read some novels that experiment with style but nothing like But for the Lovers. It is genuinely one of the best books I've read and I feel no shame in admitting that I don't fully understand everything but I do know what it stood for. It is a postcolonial masterpiece and anti-imperialist. The soul of the Filipino people is downtrodden in this novel and in that time period, but alive and will continue to live on. It's a book I'll continue to think about and will someday re-read.