BOOK REVIEW of The Newspaper Widow a Novel by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
PALH 2021 & University of Santo Tomas Publishing House 2017
By ANGELES DE LEON
Starting out as a riveting murder mystery, it took me along as it branched, twisted & turned along the way, it deepened into the story of a friendship between 2 women, of differing personalities from different cultures (one a Frenchwoman, the other a Chinese-Spanish-Native hybrid) as they mourned their lost loves, and struggled to survive in the clash of the early 1900’s American Colonial Period.
The customs, costumes, society, and details of those times gone by, ring true; they evoke tales of my own grandma. The characters are recognizable- - reminiscent of some folks I have met in the Visayan society of my day. Ubec, (Cebu named backwards) a southern Philippine island, is painted with the atmosphere redolent of the tropical islands where I grew up.
This slim book is enjoyable & engrossing- - like time-traveling to a bygone time & place, sharing the life of interesting characters, transporting us away from our current stressful times.
I enjoyed this just as much as 2 novels i’ve read, recently: Where Crawdads Sing, a NYTimes Bestseller with nearly 200,000 reviews in Amazon Books, & The Firekeeper’s Daughter, a Time Best YA Book of All Time.
For copies of the book:
In the US check out Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others; in the Philippines check out Lazada and Shopee
tags: Philippine novels, Filipino novels, Filipino books, Filipino mystery, Filipino murder mystery, Philippine literature books, Filipino detective novels
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