Ilustrado
One of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2010. Shortlisted for the Best First Book in the 2011 Commonwealth Writers Prize.
Available Formats
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Ilustrado Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781741669107 Published: 01/06/2010 Imprint: Vintage Australia Extent: 320 pages Subject: Contemporary Fiction $32.95 RRP
Synopsis
Ilustrado opens with Crispin Salvador, lion of Philippine letters, dead in the Hudson River. His young acolyte, Miguel, sets out to investigate the author's suspicious death and the strange disappearance of an unfinished manuscript-a work that had been planned not just to return the once-great author to fame but to expose the corruption behind the rich families who have ruled the Philippines for generations. To understand the death, Miguel scours the life, charting Salvador's trajectory via his poetry, interviews, novels, polemics, and memoirs. The literary fragments become patterns become stories become epic: a family saga of four generations tracing 150 years of Philippine history forged under the Spanish, the Americans, and the Filipinos themselves. Finally, we are surprised to learn that this story belongs to young Miguel as much as to his lost mentor, and we are treated to an unhindered view of a society caught between reckless decay and hopeful progress. In the shifting terrain of this remarkably ambitious and daring first novel, Miguel Syjuco explores fatherhood, regret, revolution, and the mysteries of lives lived and abandoned.
News & Blog
More News & Blog
[caption id="attachment_2346" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The beautiful UWA grounds where the Opening Night Party was held"][/caption] Perth Writers’ Festival was a huge success over the weekend, and over the next few days I will be giving a run-down of some of the highlights and on–the-ground stories from this 4 day event. Perth Writers’...
In this year's The New York Times' Notable Books List
Editorial Reviews
"Tale of Filipino intelligentsia has magic to spare. Miguel Syjuco is a newcomer who rightfully holds top literary judges spellbound and his wildly entertaining Illustrado was the recipient of the 2008 Man Asia Literary Prize. Ilustrado is more a novel of wonderful parts than a completely successful whole. However, Syjuco is only in his mid-30s and he already has the wand of the enchanter." - Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
"There is much to admire here. The reader is truly immersed in key aspects of the Philippines - history, politics, youth culture and the expatriate experience. A talented writer willing to take risks." - David Messer, The Sydney Morning Herald
"A fine, flawed, frustrating and fascinating Moebius-strip of a novel." - Katherine England, Adelaide Review
"This is an extraordinary accomplishment for a debut novelist, a virtuoso display." - The Age
"Moving, powerful and perplexing. Ilustrado is an impressive debut from a young writer whose place in the literary pantheon must already be assured." - WA Review
"Syjuco is a writer already touched by greatness, but his truly uncommon gifts delight all the more when they are permitted to emerge subtly, without overture. But this is a remarkably impressive and utterly persuasive novel. Its author, unlike Crispin, may one day succeed with the Nobel committee. If he doesn't, he'll invent his own jury, and many of us will believe in it, claiming we were there to hear his bleakly funny acceptance speech." - Joseph O'Connor, The Guardian
"Syjuco is a prodigious talent. Ilustrado is a tour de force." - Linda Jaivin, The Monthly
"The novel is short, sharp and funny." - Joyce Hor-Chung Lau, The New York Times
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