***
I'm so disappointing! I bought another Oprah Book Club at the SM Mall of Asia last Thursday evening. At least I bought it for only P170. But that definitely breaks my resolve not to buy another Oprah Book.
But I couldn't help it!
"Daughter of Fortune" is by Isabel Allende ("House of the Spirits", "Eva Luna") who is one of my favorite authors. I'm not so sure if her style can be classified under magical realism but her books do cover that territory quite a bit.
I can't help comparing her with Amy Tan though. Both deal with women's experiences in their cultural context, most often multi-generational. But I've long abandoned Amy Tan because she's becoming too trite. Isabelle Allende has, on the one hand, maintained her deft style without going too melodramatic.
One really striking book by Isabel Allende is "Paula", which is an account of her harrowing experience as her daughter fell into a comma. She wrote that book to actually get her through each day that she took care of her daughter.
Last night I chanced upon "A Portrait in Sepia", also by Isabel Allende, which was sold at Book for Less for nearly P400 (hard cover). I was so ready to buy it but I know it is being too extravagant already. "A Portrait in Sepia" is the sequel to "Daugther of Fortune" so I figured I have to finish the latter first before buying the sequel. Hopefully the paperback is cheaper at National Bookstore.
I'm so going broke buying all these books! And I'm also running out of shelf space at home.
But I couldn't help it!
"Daughter of Fortune" is by Isabel Allende ("House of the Spirits", "Eva Luna") who is one of my favorite authors. I'm not so sure if her style can be classified under magical realism but her books do cover that territory quite a bit.
I can't help comparing her with Amy Tan though. Both deal with women's experiences in their cultural context, most often multi-generational. But I've long abandoned Amy Tan because she's becoming too trite. Isabelle Allende has, on the one hand, maintained her deft style without going too melodramatic.
One really striking book by Isabel Allende is "Paula", which is an account of her harrowing experience as her daughter fell into a comma. She wrote that book to actually get her through each day that she took care of her daughter.
Last night I chanced upon "A Portrait in Sepia", also by Isabel Allende, which was sold at Book for Less for nearly P400 (hard cover). I was so ready to buy it but I know it is being too extravagant already. "A Portrait in Sepia" is the sequel to "Daugther of Fortune" so I figured I have to finish the latter first before buying the sequel. Hopefully the paperback is cheaper at National Bookstore.
I'm so going broke buying all these books! And I'm also running out of shelf space at home.
***
The weekend was also spent watching the Australian Film Festival in Greenbelt 3. I watched this Hugh Jackman film last Friday. I caught "Somersault" with Japheth last Saturday. Both films were so silent! The dialogues were so sparse. Instead the characters are shown walking around deserted places for minutes on end. Very contemplative.
On the other hand, the Japanese film that I saw in Shangrila Mall yesterday was very boisterous. Surprising in fact because most Japanese films I've seen before were as silent as the couple of Australian films I last saw. The Japanese film I caught was titled "Kishiwada Bad Boys". It's a story of high school boys embroiled in every gang fight in their school. The audience were laughing their asses off but I could not stand all the violence. I left the theater without finishing the film.
On the other hand, the Japanese film that I saw in Shangrila Mall yesterday was very boisterous. Surprising in fact because most Japanese films I've seen before were as silent as the couple of Australian films I last saw. The Japanese film I caught was titled "Kishiwada Bad Boys". It's a story of high school boys embroiled in every gang fight in their school. The audience were laughing their asses off but I could not stand all the violence. I left the theater without finishing the film.
***
Tomorrow is the opening of the Korean Film Festival in nearby UP Diliman (just across the street from my office). Opening the festival is "Il Mare". It is the film on which "The Lake House" was based. I'm so going to be there tomorrow.
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