The last time I saw mother - Softcover

Chai, Arlene J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0091831032 ISBN 13: 9780091831035

Publisher: Random House, 1995

Synopsis

Set in the Philippines, a debut novel by this Australian writer, a tale of mothers and daughters, cultural identity and the healing power of truth.

About this title

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 the Publisher:

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0091831032
• ISBN 13: 9780091831035
• Binding: Paperback