Book Review of Cecilia Brainard's novel, The Newspaper Widow, by FOREWORD #mystery #Philippines

I'm happy to share an advanced review of my novel by FOREWORD Review (Jan. 15, 2018)
The Newspaper Widow, a novel by
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

published by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, and distributed in the US by Philippine American Literary House, it is available from Amazon.com

Softcover $18.95 (238pp)
978-971-506811-6

While at first glance The Newspaper Widow seems like a standard historical mystery, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Cecilia Manguerra Brainard’s novel is full and complex, overflowing with textured, fully realized characters who drive the story on every page.

Ines Maceda, the “newspaper widow,” aims to clear her son’s name. He has been accused of murdering a priest. In addition, Ines grieves for her deceased husband and combats the lingering trauma of earlier miscarriages. Her development is one of the shining elements of the novel—she feels tangible, rooted in the story and the setting.

The Newspaper Widow offers a nuanced glance into Filipino society circa 1908. It is a world rich with history, myth, and ritual; descriptions pulse with life, providing crucial insights into aspects of Filipino culture and world colonial history, such as encounters with the “Island of the Living Dead,” sectioned off to contain those inflicted with leprosy, and once the world’s largest leper colony.

While on the surface the book is a crime story, the plot is actually layered and unique. One of the novel’s greatest strengths is how it raises interesting, complicated questions about morality and justice while Ines searches for the priest’s true killer: Is death ever an apt punishment for a crime? Is revenge moral, or even necessary?

Refreshingly, nothing is black and white.

For all of The Newspaper Widow’s greatness, sometimes there are too many layers to the plot, and the ending falls a bit flat in comparison to the rest of the narrative. But flaws are minor; overall, this is a solid, satisfying work of literature.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard displays masterful storytelling skill in The Newspaper Widow, a unique, memorable mystery.

MYA ALEXICE (January/February 2018)

FOREWORD

Book Trailer of The Newspaper Widow on YouTube
https://youtu.be/cNe8rS3dAXU

Tags: #book #novel #Cebu #literature #writer #Filipino

Read also

Kirkus Review of Cecilia Brainard's When the Rainbow Goddess Wept

World Literature Today Review of Cecilia Brainard's Magdalena

Melus Journal Review of Magdalena by Cecilia Brainard's Magdalena

 Click here for Review of Cecilia Brainard's Growing Up Filipino by Booklist

Click here for School Library Journal of Cecilia Brainard's Growing Up Filipino