The Last Time I Saw Mother: A Novel - Softcover

Chai, Arlene J. J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0449912345 ISBN 13: 9780449912348

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 1997

Synopsis

"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

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 Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0449912345
• ISBN 13: 9780449912348
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352