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bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Review of “In the Country”
By: Mia Alvar
This was one of the rare times where I have read a whole collection of short stories and liked all of them. My theory is that I had felt a personal connection while reading these nine stories. I thought about my maternal grandmother, my Lola, and did she have similar experiences to the characters of each of these stories? Some of the stories had funny moments and others were serious and sad. Alvar focused on the 70s and 80s, the time she grew up in and highlights the experiences of Filipino people whether they were in America, Bahrain, or still in the Philippines. We get perspectives of mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, and wives, and she shows the struggle of loving your country and want to escape the horrors of it. The bookend stories were the darkest stories to me to read and had the saddest endings. The one of the stories took place during 9/11. The food referenced in a couple of the stories wasn’t described in detail, but it did make me hungry. This was a good, but sad story collection that is another step in my journey on connecting more with my Filipino culture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
whatannikareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really enjoyed this book! I'm not really one for short stories but I appreciated these lengthier ones that really developed the plot and while they didn't constitute a happy ending, they wrapped up at a spot that I could live with.
I also really appreciate the diversity in perspective from each of these stories and yet it maintained the shared thread—it isn't so in-your-face blatantly Filipino, but incorporates lots of Filipino cultural elements that are recognizable but can still be digested across a wide audience. It's really interesting insight even for me to what life might be like for OFW (overseas Filipino workers) in the Middle East, or if my family had immigrated to the East Coast, or if my family had stayed in the PH.
Like many have said before, the final story that takes on the book's title is the star of the show. It revolves around the period of martial law in the Philippines and the impending overthrow of it, following a nurse and her journalist husband. I loved the way it unfolded; it's a story that jumps time between the first years and the end years until the final climactic moment and just ends so poignantly. I really want my mom to read this book as she was around Milagros's (the main character) age at this time in the 70s/80s. It makes me happy to recommend her this book and have her life be represented in such a beautifully written way.
I marked it down a few points because two of the stories I liked less than others, but personal taste! Still a really solid group of stories that kept me hooked on reading.
I also really appreciate the diversity in perspective from each of these stories and yet it maintained the shared thread—it isn't so in-your-face blatantly Filipino, but incorporates lots of Filipino cultural elements that are recognizable but can still be digested across a wide audience. It's really interesting insight even for me to what life might be like for OFW (overseas Filipino workers) in the Middle East, or if my family had immigrated to the East Coast, or if my family had stayed in the PH.
Like many have said before, the final story that takes on the book's title is the star of the show. It revolves around the period of martial law in the Philippines and the impending overthrow of it, following a nurse and her journalist husband. I loved the way it unfolded; it's a story that jumps time between the first years and the end years until the final climactic moment and just ends so poignantly. I really want my mom to read this book as she was around Milagros's (the main character) age at this time in the 70s/80s. It makes me happy to recommend her this book and have her life be represented in such a beautifully written way.
I marked it down a few points because two of the stories I liked less than others, but personal taste! Still a really solid group of stories that kept me hooked on reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, and Grief