The Last Time I Saw Mother [Paperback]

Arlene J. Chai (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 1997

"AN OFTEN LYRICAL AND ALWAYS TOUGH-MINDED DEBUT . . . Provides rare insight into the three cultures--Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino--that coexist in the Philippines."
--The New York Times Book Review

Caridad's mother never writes. So when a letter arrives for her in Sydney from Manila, Caridad doesn't even recognize her mother's handwriting. There is more distance than just miles between the two women. And that is why Caridad is called home. Her mother needs to talk. And to reveal a secret that has been weighing heavily on her for years.

As Caridad hears at last the unspoken stories, and the never forgotten tragedy of the war years, she will learn a startling truth that will change her life forever. For Caridad is not who she thinks she is. . . .

"Beautifully written . . . Reading each chapter is like having a conversation with a close friend."
--Chicago Tribune

"A sensitive . . . portrait of a family of Filipina women . . . The novel illuminates much modern Philippine history."
--The Boston Globe

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When an oblique letter summons Caridad from Australia to her mother's side in the steamy Philippines, she travels there fearing loss. And loss she finds, but one that finally throws light on the whispers that dogged her life in this land where Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino cultures slap against one another. "The past defines us as much as the present," says Caridad. "Because mine was missing, I never felt whole." Four women--Caridad, her mother Thelma, aunt Emma, and cousin Ligaya--piece together the puzzle of a life begun in wartime. Their vantage points differ, but their stories are silver-tongued and spellbinding even as Ligaya's bitterness stains the pages and Emma's long, mute acceptance of fate's cruelty rings false. Wrapped around Caridad's story is a far bigger one of the years when the Japanese occupied the Philippines and American liberation forces decimated the country.

From Publishers Weekly

The central story in this interesting but uneven debut novel by Filipina author Chai concerns a woman who discovers the truth about her parentage. Caridad, a Filipino woman living in Sydney, Australia, with her teenage daughter, discovers on a trip home to Manila that her elderly mother, Thelma, is actually her aunt?and that her vivacious aunt Emma is her mother. Using multiple, shifting first-person perspectives, these three women, as well as Caridad's beautiful, bitter cousin, Ligaya, relate the long story of why this secret adoption took place. The voices of the four women are virtually identical, however, and sometimes lapse into cliched musings about life and love. More compelling is the seamlessly interwoven background Chai provides: 50 years of history in the Philippines?from the WWII Japanese invasion and its vividly recounted brutalities through the battle for liberation (in which systematic American bombing caused more damage than three years of Japanese occupation) to the Marcoses' 20-year rule and the subsequent People's Power revolution. Fascinating side lights illuminate the subtleties of race relations among native Filipinos and the other ethnic strands in the island's social fabric: "the Spaniards they feared and envied; the Chinese they hated and envied." Chai's prose is devoid of stylistic flourish and the narrative is often repetitious and digressive. When she tells of life in the evacuation camps or in war-decimated Manila, however, the descriptions are sensual and palpably detailed. Thus the truth about Caridad's past pales against Chai's evocation of her country's travails. $250,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild alternate.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition. edition (May 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449912345
• ISBN-13: 978-0449912348
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,507,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pinay Pride, September 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Time I Saw Mother (Hardcover)

"A remarkable first novel filled with family secrets and the intersection of personal and world histories, told through four mesmerizing voices." -- Amy Tan

Amy Tan summed it up perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it brought out my Filipina pride. I first learned about this book from a small commentary in one of the fashion magazines and bought it to read on my trip in Egypt. Okay, 5 years later I finally finish it!

Before the family secret was revealed, I had a very strong inclination of what the secret was that brought Caridad back to the Philippines. Fortunately, that wasn't the main focus of the book. The focus was on the relationships between these four women (sisters, aunts, cousins, daughters). Where Amy Tan focuses on the relationship between mothers and daughters, Arlene Chai emphasizes the extended family ties that Filipinos are known for.

Chai did a wonderful job of writing in 4 distinct voices...you can really hear the difference, while at the same time there is some similarity in they way they told their stories re-enforcing that these women are bonded to one another.

I also enjoyed the interweaving of the historical events into the personal lives of each character...it provided a mini-Filipino history, painfully reminded me of the stories my Lola (grandmother) shared with me about her experiences with WWII as well as flashbacked to the moment in time when I heard that Aquino was assassinated.

I also dig seeing Filipino words in a novel meant for pleasure and Chai explained the context of each Filipino word in away that wasn't simply a definition/translation. From the way she used the words, non-Tagalog speaking folks could guess what it meant.

The ending of the book was pleasantly touching, which was very refreshing because most of the other books that I recently finished left me with a blah feeling at the end.

Finally, I discovered an awesome quote in the book that fellow booklovers might appreciate. It's a statement that one of the characters in the book says in describing why he loved to read and how he read: "Much effort went into writing this... so one must do justice to the writer and read it carefully. Every word has a place in these pages. There is a reason why they are there."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WAR, WAR WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?, December 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Time I Saw Mother (Paperback)

This novel contains everything that a good novel should. It has pain and happiness, action and drama. The book also helps you to see life up-close. The suffering of the Japanese War and what it did to the country of Manila. How people did desperate things in desperate times. After you read this book, you feel so lucky to live in America in the 19th century. The story tells of the lives of four women who each shed new truth into the life of Caridad. She finally learns who see is just in time to see her mother leave her. I gave this novel 4 stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The turth must be told no mater how painful it is., October 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Time I Saw Mother (Hardcover)

The book "The Last Time I Say Mother" is one of the best books I read in recent months. In this story, telling the truth seems to threaten the relationships of three keepers of truth. The interesting story keeps the reader wanting to finish the book in one sitting to be able to find out the identities of the keepers of truth and also to be able to find the truth. The only letter that Caridad of Australia received, in her entire life, from Thelma of the Philippines, generated so many questions that can only be answered by going home to the Philippines. I think this book is more or less similar to "The Face On The Milk Carton", a heartwarming fiction novel that gives us a credible view of the faces that appear on milk cartons, newspapers, or some postal offices. Both stories are seeking for the truth before making any judgment on someone especially if the people involved are the people who gave you everything that you want in life. But if you like to learn about other cultures, like the Filipino culture, you must read "The Last Time I Saw Mother" by Arlene J. Chai.