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Title: very near yet very far
Review: Very fascinating but also very pretentious ---. It appears that the author has spent some time in the Philippines --- as he peppers the narrative with lots of Philippine words but somehow he misses the nuances and sometimes inappropriately uses words in context and thus falls flat when read by Filipinos. Of course I am sure that this book garnered or is garnering critical reviews especially of the depiction of scary and exotic Manila. But that's what it is really - it is an exotified Manila, close yet far from the truth. I didn't even finish the book - as soon as I was in the section where the the protagonist was instructed to go to Patay (Death) hotel, I put the book down. Who the hell in the Philippines would name a hotel that way? It's just makes a mockery of Manila which, given, is a very tired, dirty city.
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