I have a terribly complicated love-hate relationship with this book. Okay, maybe it's not that complicated because it's 20-80. I hate these books when the writer seems to write with a thesaurus in hand either in a desperate effort to impress with their first book or to prove to everyone that they're Intelligent with a capital I. Dialogue is unnatural and there are no distinct voices between the characters save when the author is being patronizing/engaging in a tired stereotype. If I were his editor, I'd chop off a lot of parts.BUT there were sentences, even paragraphs that I wanted to highlight and remember. There were also interesting bits, but I've mostly forgotten about them towards the end.I wanted to give this a higher rating to encourage Filipino authors to write more, and for publishers to give them a go, and readers worldwide to read their books but... meh. Oh my God. Is this the best novel done by a Filipino writer? (as the cover reviews say) Ohhh god, when I read that on the back cover I was literally like O_O. The amount of ass kissing CONTAINED in that single sentence? Fuck. Okay, but then again why am I not that surprised? Filipinos readers and writers are not exactly known in the literary world for being a group of virtuosos (unlike Japan's Murakami and Ishigawa).But what the hell am I expecting from a country where "fine literature" *ahem* books like "Bakit Di ka Crush ng Crush mo" "Precious Hearts Romances" and "She's Dating the Gangster" are consistently making a killer in the bestsellings lists?Dear Filipinos I hope to god that Miguel Syjuco isn't the best writer that you can offer, Cause if so... Then you are in deep SHIT. Love, Yes Me XXX
What do You think about Illustrado (2008)?
Really proud of the author of this book. Really impeccable!
—Garfield
I just couldn't get into this one. Didn't finish it.
—fallenangel
