Customer Reviews

Manila: A Memoir of Love & Loss (Sustainability & the Environment)

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Purita de Gonzalez's account of prewar and WWII Manila will tug at the heartstrings of anyone with some knowledge of what a gracious city Manila was before the Japanese destroyed it in the last months of WWII. One's mind boggles to learn that the Basque community in Manila regularly performed Basque folk dances, or that there was tension between Francoist and pro-Republic Spaniards in Manila. (The Basques, despite generally conservative cultural leanings, were for the secular, even atheistic, Republic, because it guaranteed the political autonomy of the Basque region, whereas Franco was centralist and hostile to regional identities.) These aspects of prewar life in Manila (albeit, of the Hispanic community), from the viewpoint of a current reader, seem quaint and alien, but also touching. My heart broke when she described the sufferings of her female relatives at the hands of the Japanese. I wonder whatever happened to the young man she loved, and whose name she never mentions in the book?

I bought this book while on vacation in Sydney in 2000. I read the book in 2 days as it was engaging and very hard to put down. I've always loved hearing about prewar Manila from my grandparents and their friends - it was a gracious, happy time where the city truly was 'the pearl of the orient'. The book starts off with Purita's childhood memories - her school life, everyday activities with friends and family. As someone who lives in Manila now, these mundane activities were fascinating as most of the places she described no longer exist. Through Purita's memoirs, you get a glimpse into the life of a family living through this golden age. Which makes the coming of war and the atrocities committed during the war (and documented very honestly and graphically) all the more heartbreaking. As it hints in the title, this is a story of love and loss -- the loss of Purita's innocence, her first love and the permanent loss of the city that Manila once was. I have to add that the photos in this book are also worth seeing. I have purchased 2 more copies of this book which I have lent to many friends and family members. They all loved it as well. Purita, thank you for sharing your memories.

This book has been an excellent, excellent read. I particularly enjoyed the way in which the author (Purita) painted a picture of Manila before, during and after the war.

A friend of mine lent me a book and I am now buying it for my parents.