Ilustrado
Miguel Augusto Gabriel Jalbuena Syjuco
A narrator reminiscent of the author, Miguel Syjuco, follows the death of the exiled writer Crispin Salvador and the disappearance of his manuscript into a maze where family history, national history, and literary history collide. Blending political satire with metafiction, the novel traces a story of memory and identity shaped by migration and return.
Work Information
As the search for a missing manuscript unfolds, the memories of a country and a family rise in overlapping layers.
A young narrator chasing the traces of the missing writer Crispin Salvador pieces together fragments of Filipino family life, politics, and literature. With a daring structure and multiple voices, the debut novel portrays national memory and personal belonging at the same time.
Review Summaries
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Its layered structure, which combines political satire, family saga, and literary mystery, draws strong praise, while some readers find the density demanding. The sharp humor and strong historical awareness are often cited as reasons the novel feels substantial and rewarding.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Picador
- Published
- 2011-05-24
- Pages
- 336 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.24 x 1.83 x 22.86 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780312572938
- ISBN-10
- 031257293X
- Price
- 4285 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Historical
WINNER OF THE 2008 MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR It begins with a body. On a clear day in winter, the battered corpse of Crispin Salvador is pulled from the Hudson River. Gone, too, is the only manuscript of his final book, a work meant to rescue him from obscurity by exposing the crimes of the Filipino ruling families. Miguel, his student and only remaining friend, sets out for Manila to investigate. The result is a rich and dramatic family saga of four generations, tracing one hundred and fifty years of Philippine history forged under the Spanish, the Americans, and the Filipinos themselves. Exuberant and wise, wildly funny and deeply moving, Ilustrado is a daring and inventive debut novel that "begins as a murder mystery and develops into an ambitious exploration of cultural identity, ambition, and artistic purpose." ( The New Yorker ).
Miguel Syjuco received the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize and the Philippines' highest literary honor, the Palanca Award, for the unpublished manuscript of Ilustrado . Born and raised in Manila, he currently lives in Montreal.
Reviews
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Enjoyable
I read this book over a long period of time. This usually ruins some books for me but with Ilustrado, I was just able to enjoy it at different points in that span of time.
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The book is a gateway to know Phillipines
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Really thought provoking insight into a usually silenced voice in the Philippines - requires full attention and perseverance but really worthwhile!
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Takes a while before you get the hang of the different story lines. Eventually it will get easy and you start to enjoy it. Love the ending.
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I found it difficult to connect with the story or uncover the soul of this book. The narrative felt scattered, with timelines and characters lacking cohesion. There were frequent quoted passages that often disrupted the flow rather than enhancing it, and the prose leaned heavily toward verbosity without adding much to the reading experience. Despite my efforts, I had to stop around page 80 out of sheer frustration. It simply didn’t work for me.
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I ordered 12 different books simultaneously, including this one, from the seller BOOK LAB, and at least half of them seems to be the pirated copies. I am quite disappointed.