It is no secret that I purchased this book because of its cover. I’m no big fan of historical fiction. It’s one of the few genres that I very rarely pick up, so it was quite a surprise that I decided to get this book.
Wincy Aquino Ong really did me good with this one. Now, I’m even more curious to start reading the works of Dr José Rizal. I’m also feeling the need to try Dracula again—I tried reading it before, but I just couldn’t connect with it.
The writing of this book was really enjoyable. It adheres to the vibe of its 1890s setting—it feels dated, yet it’s extremely digestible and surprisingly modern. I’m unsure how the author managed to do that, but it made my journey through the story truly fun.
This fictional Rizal also makes me wonder just how much research the author did when building these characters while trying to stay true to their history. As someone who actively avoids historical fiction, I have such a weak understanding of history that I couldn’t really tell how faithful these portrayals were to the people they were based on.
I enjoyed the characters in the story. I especially enjoyed the interactions between Dr Rizal and Father Sousa. I doubt the priest would have been as forgiving if it had been someone else, but it was fun to see him being somewhat welcoming of a contradictory perspective.
The decline of Pilar’s character (or rather, the way the story gradually distanced itself from her) disappointed me quite a bit. She was a central figure, a catalyst for everything that transpired, but by the end of the book, she went from being a pillar of the story to nothing more than a plot device.
Something I also came to realize as I inched closer to the end of the story was that the epistolary nature of the book had already spoiled what was going to happen. By about 80% of the way through the story, perhaps even earlier, I became slightly less interested because I already knew that Rizal would survive the dilemma. By then, my urge to finish rested mainly on one question: What was going to happen to Dracula?
I think reading this story made me a little more curious about the classics that inspired this fan fiction. More importantly, it encouraged me to pick up more Filipino works. It reminded me that a local writer can be just as creative as, or perhaps even more creative than, international ones.
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