“When I was still in my high school years, a friend of mine wrote a chapter or a partial content of a certain story in a notebook and gave it to somebody who wants to continue to write until the whole story end. I never knew that a certain style or technique was popularized in the past and it was called dugtungan or connecting novel.
A dugtungan or connecting novel, is a unique Filipino tradition popularize in the 19th to 20th century that draws on the spirit of teamwork and collaboration, in which a writer writes a chapter and hands it off to the other writer and so on, creating unpredictable and exciting story.
Till now, the memories are still fresh and time to time, I discovered that dugtungan was on its feet to start its journey to be read and love again by Filipinos.
Hopefully, a group of Filipinos around Philippines, Singapore and San Francisco were able to create a masterpiece using dugtungan, a novel that surrounds with great sorrow, rejection, destiny, age and curse that caused by love and beauty. Half chic-lit and half historical fiction, Angelica's Daughters: A Dugtungan Novel, creates a dark atmosphere of love and mix-Filipino culture making the reader interested to know Angelica's past and future daughters.
In 8 years of marriage, Tess, the protagonist, an obsessive wife trying to move on of her broken marriage to Tonio by going back to the Philippines, meeting with her favorite cousin Paolo and Lola Josefina (who fall in love to her young dance instructor), suggested by her mother and sister Luz. Hoping to forget everything in the past by knowing Angelica, through her written words by letters and thorned journal given by Jesusa. Tess realized, that the answers that she's looking for can be found in her past and in the place where she belong.
Day by day, by reading letters of Angelica, solved there problem until a caller from Cebu, invited them to come and share facts bout Angelica. They met Dina, the daughter of Elenita and the girl who fall in love to Mike who have a wife and a child. Another problem to be solve, after a great disaster in the Cebu, they realized that they need to attend the Tayabas festival which held for 4 days.
The went back and enjoyed the life in the province, the freshness of the air, the delicious food served by the family and a happy reunion of Angelica's daughters.
In the end, Angelica and her daughters realized, that love can cause trouble and sorrow but only God who helps and find your true destined partner in the Earth. There are thousands or millions of chances to be with somebody, don't be so fool, believing to only one person that can be with you. For the grandmother, age doesn't matter, if you love each other, go for it. Think of the possibilities before working with a new relationship.
I do recommend this book to everyone who really interested in reading new style of writing and chic-lit, an easy read and very interesting. I can't stop from reading yesterday, the void and the space between the book and characters are feared to be the best. Thumbs up!
Thanks to Anvil, for giving me the chance to read a free book to be reviewed. Status, 1 out of 2 books, done reading and hoping to finish it till the end of the month and special thanks to Fantanghiro.
Rating - Angelica's Daughters: A Dugtungan Novel by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Susan Evangelista, Veronica Montes, Nadine Sarreal and Erma M. Cuizon. 5 Sweets added with Angelica's special tsokolate-espeso (mixture of egg, milk and chocolate, producing a stickier chocolate solution, you should need to spoon it rather than sip it). I gave it 5 since the whole thing was well-written and very unique in a sense of writing technique. Not only that, it shows what love can cause and affect negative and positive towards the person itself. Soon in your life you can find the perfect match for you.”
KwesiFriends wrote this review Thursday, December 16, 2010.
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