A love story with disconcerting implications that are not fully explored.
In Aguilar’s debut novel, an accomplished Filipina is unable to resist the wishes of a wealthy CEO.
Elizabeth Agustin is a Filipina from a wealthy family, educated at business school and then at law school in the United States. After her father’s death, she returns to the Philippines to be closer to her mother. She establishes an investment firm and becomes quite successful. Elizabeth is completely focused on her company and career, taking little time for fun, until she meets Ronaldo Mendoza, a CEO living in the penthouse of a hotel. Ronaldo and Elizabeth spend an increasing amount of time together, but Ronaldo’s marital status at first keeps them from pursuing a relationship. Even though Ronaldo has been separated from his wife for over five years (his wife is making the annulment difficult), Elizabeth resists. After three years of dating, Elizabeth finally gives in to Ronaldo and agrees to move in with him and consummate their relationship. She even bears him a son. They’re happy until a sudden incident brings their comfortable life crashing down. Aguilar separates the novel into four parts: The first recounts the beginning of Elizabeth and Ronaldo’s relationship; the second follows the escalation of their relationship when they fully commit to each other despite not being able to marry; the third part begins after a tragic accident leaves Elizabeth alone with only the secrets of her past. In her foolishness to rebel against her father’s wishes, Elizabeth fell into the traps of a patriarchal society in which women have few options in life. The fourth part describes the aftermath of the terrible accident and brings to light the alarming past connection Ronaldo and Elizabeth share. The story doesn’t benefit from this organization, which favors a surprise ending over character development. Similarly, the first-person point of view limits the depth to which Ronaldo’s character can be explored, while awkward word choices add a few stumbling blocks. Aguilar weaves the history and culture of the Philippines into the story but abruptly glosses over some plot points, particularly the death of a main character. As a woman, Elizabeth is self-aware in some respects yet—even though she’s a business owner, educated and financially self-sufficient—incapable of resisting the wiles of Ronaldo.
A love story with disconcerting implications that are not fully explored.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2014
ISBN: 978-1496985415
Page Count: 258
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Dec. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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