MAKAMISA: The Search for Rizal's Third Novel Ambeth R. Ocampo No Filipino can graduate from school without having read, or at least
pretend to read, the novels of the country's national hero, the Noli me
tangere & the El Filibusterismo. As such, the study of the life of
Jose Rizal & his works have become a burden & a joyless chore.
For anyone to enjoy Ambeth Ocampo's book "Makamisa", one first needs to
have a sincere appreciation of Rizal and his legacy.
In
"Makamisa", Ocampo takes us with him on a journey as he searches for
& eventually finds Rizal's unfinished third novel. Yes, Rizal had
not just one, but six unfinished stories, which I was happy to learn
about & read in this book. All these unfinished stories give us a
glimpse of the wealth of Rizal's imagination and his unfulfilled
potential, sadly cut short by his execution by the Spanish. Thus we are
left to forever wonder what else he could have accomplished.
And
on this year that we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of our
national hero, I hope we can truly say that our interest in Rizal is
still alive, because there is still more to learn for those who know to
look.
2 books short of my 50-book goal, but I'm still happy with my
approximate average of 4 books per month. Topping the list are
historical mysteries [more than half of which are by Anne Perry],
followed by the children's & young adult novels.
2010 Reads 01. "Defend and Betray" by Anne Perry 02. "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory 03. "A Breach of Promise" by Anne Perry 04. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer 05. "Crocodile on the Sandbank" by Elizabeth Peters 06. "A Sudden, Fearful Death" by Anne Perry 07. "Postsecret" by Frank Warren 08. "The Fire" by Katherine Neville 09. "Thief of Time" by Terry Pratchett 10. "Charmed Life" by Diana Wynne Jones 11. "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt 12. "Funeral in Blue" by Anne Perry 13. "Callander Square" by Anne Perry 14. "The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 15. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky 16. "At Some Disputed Barricade" by Anne Perry 17. "Band of Brothers" by Stephen E. Ambrose 18. "The Silent Cry" by Anne Perry 19. "Mr. Impossible" by Loretta Chase 20. "No Graves As Yet" by Anne Perry 21. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne 22. "The Meaning of Tingo" by Adam Jacot de Boinod 23. "The Last Cato" by Matilde Asensi 24. "The Boleyn Inheritance" by Philippa Gregory 25. "The Sins of the Wolf" by Anne Perry 26. "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett 27. "Jim Henson's Return to Labyrinth Volume 1" by Jake T. Forbes 28. "Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder" by Gyles Brandreth 29. "Jim Henson's Return to Labyrinth Volume 2" by Jake T. Forbes 30. "Jim Henson's Return to Labyrinth Volume 3" by Jake T. Forbes 31. "The Mythology Class" by Arnold Arre 32. "The Patient's Eyes" by David Pirie 33. "Book Lust" by Nancy Pearl 34. "Gaudy Night" by Dorothy L. Sayers 35. "Maisie Dobbs" by Jacqueline Winspear 36. "Pyramids" by Terry Pratchett 37. "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by A. Wolf" by Jon Sciezska 38. "Conrad's Fate" by Diana Wynne Jones 39. "The End of the Affair" by Graham Greene 40. "Looking Back" by Ambeth Ocampo 41. "The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff 1: You Wish" by Jason Lethcoe 42. "Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony" by Eoin Colfer 43. "The Prince of Mist" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 44. "Selyo: Philippine History in Postage Stamps" by Reynaldo Gamboa Alejandro, et al 45. "Stone Soup" by Jon J. Muth 46. "The Wizard Comes to Town" by Mercer Mayer 47. "Adele & Simon" by Barbara McClintock 48. "The Principles of Uncertainty" by Maira Kalman
And my Best Reads of 2010 [in the order they were read during the year]:
No Filipino can graduate from school without having read, or at least
pretend to read, the novels of the country's national hero, the Noli me
tangere & the El Filibusterismo. As such, the study of the life of
Jose Rizal & his works have become a burden & a joyless chore.
For anyone to enjoy Ambeth Ocampo's book "Makamisa", one first needs to
have a sincere appreciation of Rizal and his legacy.
