Book Review of Reine Arcache Melvin’s novel, The Betrayed

Here is Cecil­ia Brainard’s book review of Reine Arcache Melv­in’s nov­el, The Betrayed (Ate­neo 2018). http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/…/passion-in-the-time-of-…

” Reine Arcache Melvin, who has lived in Paris for years, has cre­at­ed a fine Fil­ipino nov­el. The work is exquis­ite­ly writ­ten; the lan­guage is ele­gant and unpre­ten­tious. The form of her work is straight­for­ward – we start from the begin­ning and con­tin­ue to the end. She uses alter­nat­ing points of view, which allow the readers to get into the minds of the sis­ters and Arturo. Melvin’s scenes and images are dark and edgy, which enhance sus­pense. She takes us to old and new Mani­la, and to the provinces of the South, with ease and clar­i­ty. She pep­pers her work with fas­ci­nat­ing Philip­pine myths, folk­lore, and super­sti­tions. Her fine depic­tion of Philip­pine soci­ety reveals the wide dichoto­my between the rich and poor. Her his­tor­i­cal ref­er­ences though fic­tion­al­ized ring true…”