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CECILIA MANGUERRA BRAINARD: PHILIPPINE AMERICAN WRITER CALIFORNIA CEBU
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Expertly written by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard (USC Adjunct Professor and teacher at the UCLA-Extension's Writers Program), Magdalena is set in the chaotic backdrop of twentieth century East Asia. A romantic, powerful tale of three generations of Filipino women, written with a close eye on the terrors of war and the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II, Magdalena is an intense, involving, highly recommended saga that documents author Cecilia Manguerra Brainard as a gifted author with a mastery of story telling that will keep the reader's total attention and engagement from first page to last! ~ Midwest Book Review
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Cecilia Manguerra Brainard has written an ambitious novel of forbidden love. Set against the turbulent history of East Asia in the twentieth century and by turns erotic and tragic, Magdalena vividly depicts three generations of strong Filipino women.~ Aimee Liu, author of Cloud Mountain
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With her second novel, Magdalena, Cecilia Brainard adds new portraits to the gallery in Philippine literature. She has always had a strong sense of place. Here, she provides an inner landscape as well. Together, these provide the coordinate for the family secrets that bind the characters as securely as bloodlines. By the end they have glimpsed who they have become, allowing the novel beyond its last page, to live on in the readers’ thoughts.~ Linda Ty-Casper, author of The Stranded Whale
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In this novel, Brainard blends a series of multiple perspectives to create a polyphoney of voices that enacts Philippines society ... The narrative is a nuanced vision of the workings of culture, social obligation, social class, obligation and the Filipino personality.~ Rocio G. Davis, author of Transcultural Reinventions: Asian Amerian and Asian Canadian Short Story Cycles.
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Cecilia Manguerra Brainard brings us another delightful book Magdalena. In her new novel, the author takes us back to a romantic era before our time in the Philippines, painting a rich portrait of one family's dramatic legacy. Magdalena flows like classic literature, following the style of many romantic women authors such as Charlotte Bronte and Luisa May Alcott, and even more contemporary writers such as Isabelle Allende and Amy Tan.
Although it is a quick read, the relationships between characters are so dramatic and so intertwined that it almost leaves you wanting to learn more! Brainard's style of storytelling welcomes her readers into a very familiar and intimate circle of storytelling; stirring memories of being wrapped around your lola's knee, as she tells you stories about the greatness of your family legacy and about life way back when. ~ Christina Dehaven, New Filipina (www.newfilipina.com)
Contact Cbrainard@aol.com for more information about the Book Signings. If you'd like Cecilia Brainard to speak to your class or group, don't hesitate contacting her.
CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT OF MAGDALENA
CLICK HERE TO READ A BOOK REVIEW BY WORLD LITERATURE TODAY, April-June 2003
CLICK HERE TO READ A BOOK REVIEW BY BABAYLAN SPEAKS, March 2003
E-mail questions/comments
to cbrainard@aol.com
Copyright © 2007 Cecilia
Manguerra Brainard
