Book Review: In Ilustrado and Eight Lives Lived, Which Life is Worth Writing About?

Book Review: In Ilustrado and Eight Lives Lived, Which Life is Worth Writing About?

Published on September 25, 2010

By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
The award-winning novel Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco follows the tradition of ‘the great Filipino novel’: it is political and outwardly rooting for social change. Its title alone is pregnant with possibilities of exhortation and uprisings. After all, the original Ilustrados in Philippine history launched the Propaganda Movement more than a century ago, creating literary gems that inspired Filipinos to unite and revolt against colonialism.

Today Syjuco refurbished the memory of the Ilustrado and in his acclaimed debut novel, called on migrant Filipinos to become like modern-day Ilustrados. Syjuco himself is an expat Filipino when he wrote it. He studied literature abroad and worked at various odd jobs while in university. He is currently based in Australia.

Ilustrado has won two top literary awards – a Palanca award and the Man Asian Literary Prize, the latter being the first for any Filipino writer- before it was published this year in the Philippines, North America, Canada, UK and Australia..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/09/25/book-review-in-ilustrado-and-eight-lives-lived-which-life-is-worth-writing-about/