I finally finished the final novel for my Introduction to Fiction class. What a novel this one is!
Falling under multiple genres like meta-fiction and postmodernism, Ilustrado tells the story of Miguel, a young aspiring writer whose mentor, Crispin, dies in a violent and mysterious way. In order to make sense of his death and possible murder, Miguel travels to the Manila, which is in great social unrest, to piece together Crispin's life and to search for the manuscript of the controversial novel Crispin was working on which went missing after his death.
This was really literary roller coaster, but in a good way. Interspersed with Miguel's narrative are excerpts from Crispin's past works and the biography that Miguel is working on while on his quest. Talk about intertextuality (with fictional text!).
Though it was a bit difficult to read through at first, this is a really good book. Very original and unique, Ilustrado brings to life unique and idiosyncratic characters while painting a picture of a city which is at the brink of a political and social turning point. A definite must-read, Ilustrado is what my literature classmates and I call "the Inception of Literature."
Now, for the problem at hand: how will I write an explication paper on this? D:
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