Never part of their guerrilla attacks, Hero patched up her comrades until she was snatched and incarcerated for two years, leaving her with badly broken hands. Hero hasn’t spoken to her parents since 1976 when she dropped out of medical school and became involved with the New People’s Army. Castillo explores that history through the story of Hero who comes to live with her uncle and aunt after being released from a prison camp. Set in the Californian city of Milpitas in the early ‘90s, it’s about a Filipino community and I’m ashamed to say that before I read it I knew next to nothing about the Philippines’ troubled history. Perhaps because I’ve only lived in one country, I’m perennially attracted to the immigrant experience in fiction which is why Elaine Castillo’s debut caught my eye.
0 kommentar(er)
