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Title: Starts with a bang, ends with a whimper
Review: It starts interesting enough. Manila in the eyes of a Westerner. Garland manages to capture the grit and darkness of the city I live in. Thrilling, to say the least. But when it reaches part II (Rosa's story), it sucked big time. I don't know about readers outside the Philippines, but Rosa's part reads like something out of a high school textbook. It's cliche (at least on this part of the world); the bucolic setting, the pretty lass not marrying her provincial boyfriend, making it big in the city, and so on. This setting has been written so many times by other authors and probably students as well. The third part, also leaves much to be desired and seems irrelevant (I think).On second thought, contrary to press releases, Manila isn't even integral to the story. Sure Garland (being a frequent visitor) captured the mood, the language, the mannerisms, but his novel can take place anywhere in the world. After The Beach, I'm disappointed.
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