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Task 14: Read a Book That is By an Author from Southeast Asia
By Book Riot · 164 posts · 1615 views
By Book Riot · 164 posts · 1615 views
last updated Dec 05, 2016 04:49AM
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Read Harder Challenge Plans: 2016
By Book Riot · 284 posts · 3115 views
By Book Riot · 284 posts · 3115 views
last updated Dec 19, 2017 10:57AM
What Members Thought
Aug 06, 2017
Cari
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review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories,
literary
The stories in this debut collection about the Filipino diaspora are deeply moving; "Esmeralda" especially took my breath away. Can't wait to read more from Alvar, who went to my high school (Marymount pride!).
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Oh man, this one started out great but I got bogged down by all the historical settings and politics that just didn't super capture my interest. Still, this was a glimpse inside a country and culture that I knew nothing about and the stories are very character-driven, which is definitely my bag. I would suggest this to fans of short stories like Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies.
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Beautiful collection of short stories about the Filipino diaspora. The stories feature characters in the Philippines, the Middle East, and America and are tied together by Alvar's powerful writing and wonderful insight into her characters.
I felt the collection started off strong but really kicked into high gear with the story "Esmeralda" about a Filipino maid in New York City who falls in love with a man whose office she is cleaning and then potentially loses him on 9/11 (the office was in the W ...more
I felt the collection started off strong but really kicked into high gear with the story "Esmeralda" about a Filipino maid in New York City who falls in love with a man whose office she is cleaning and then potentially loses him on 9/11 (the office was in the W ...more
Mia Alvar’s In The Country is the kind of short story collection you wish would never end.
Usually with collections like these, you can pick it up, read a story, put it back down and go on with your day. Not so with this one. Alvar’s character-driven stories of life in the Philippines are lush, layered and so compelling I couldn’t put it down.
The nine stories tell of the lives of Filipinos based mostly in Manila but also of their lives abroad in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Alvar writes f ...more
Usually with collections like these, you can pick it up, read a story, put it back down and go on with your day. Not so with this one. Alvar’s character-driven stories of life in the Philippines are lush, layered and so compelling I couldn’t put it down.
The nine stories tell of the lives of Filipinos based mostly in Manila but also of their lives abroad in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Alvar writes f ...more
Alvar writes short stories that feel like novels. I came away from the book with insight about the lives of Filipino expats, the experience of living under journalistic persecution, and much more.
Jun 01, 2015
Melle
marked it as to-read
Jun 21, 2015
Amy (folkpants)
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Aug 14, 2015
Shayla
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Sep 07, 2015
Noam
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Oct 10, 2015
shera
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Dec 16, 2015
Rachel Harlich
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Feb 18, 2016
Caitlin H
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Sep 28, 2016
Lori
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Mar 27, 2017
Ching-In
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May 19, 2017
Brooke Williams
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Jul 21, 2017
Kai
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Feb 26, 2018
Isabel
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May 01, 2019
EmJay
marked it as to-read
