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Juggernaut
Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, historical accounts, and social issues, “Juggernaut”, presents a nuanced exploration of the struggles faced by working-class Filipinos. The poems encapsulate the hardships and triumphs of overworked healthcare workers, the impact of resource depletion on the islands, and the pervasive corruption perpetuating injustice throughout the decades. Additionally, the collection delves into themes of longing, family, folklore, death, and dying while incorporating scientific concepts and speculative elements like the expanding universe to offer a fresh and innovative perspective.
- GenresPoetry
190 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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January 20, 2026Find me elsewhere: My Patreon | My Bluesky account
This is a fascinating and really substantial poetry collection, with almost 200 pages of often very dense text. As I kept on reading, I felt that the best way to describe it would be "maximalist" - Alyza Taguilaso's approach is exactly the opposite of minimalism. There is a profusion of imagery, topics, emotions, memories. I think Juggernaut is a very apt title! This book pushes forward with all that it's got.
I constantly had the impression while reading that this volume aimed for as complete coverage of everything as possible. The poems come from over a decade of publications and have a wide range of themes. There are even specific individual pieces that are structured after the alphabet, with something for each letter. It's very different from a lot of fashionable minimalist work, and at first I thought it would be difficult to get through - I confess, I enjoy that poetry books are usually short and don't have very many words on a page XD But I ended up reading it fast because the maximalist, baroque approach drew me in. I also very much appreciated both the substantial speculative element, and that many poems had to do with the author's day job as a medical doctor, and specifically a surgeon. (I am not an MD, but I am a semi-lapsed health scientist, so this was personally relatable on that particular level, too.) I was a bit hesitant at the very first poems because I felt that they dealt with specific kinds of resentment, but this soon gave way to a very wide range of emotions - there truly was a bit of everything from grief to joy to an expansive, cosmic feeling. I read some of these poems in various magazines before (two of them were even published by my spouse R.B. Lemberg, in Stone Telling), but here the overarching structure also gave everything an additional dimension too - they were an entirely different experience.
I would definitely read another thick volume!
___
Source of the book: Gift from Charles A. Tan, who sent me a box of recent SFF from the Philippines - thank you so much!
This is a fascinating and really substantial poetry collection, with almost 200 pages of often very dense text. As I kept on reading, I felt that the best way to describe it would be "maximalist" - Alyza Taguilaso's approach is exactly the opposite of minimalism. There is a profusion of imagery, topics, emotions, memories. I think Juggernaut is a very apt title! This book pushes forward with all that it's got.
I constantly had the impression while reading that this volume aimed for as complete coverage of everything as possible. The poems come from over a decade of publications and have a wide range of themes. There are even specific individual pieces that are structured after the alphabet, with something for each letter. It's very different from a lot of fashionable minimalist work, and at first I thought it would be difficult to get through - I confess, I enjoy that poetry books are usually short and don't have very many words on a page XD But I ended up reading it fast because the maximalist, baroque approach drew me in. I also very much appreciated both the substantial speculative element, and that many poems had to do with the author's day job as a medical doctor, and specifically a surgeon. (I am not an MD, but I am a semi-lapsed health scientist, so this was personally relatable on that particular level, too.) I was a bit hesitant at the very first poems because I felt that they dealt with specific kinds of resentment, but this soon gave way to a very wide range of emotions - there truly was a bit of everything from grief to joy to an expansive, cosmic feeling. I read some of these poems in various magazines before (two of them were even published by my spouse R.B. Lemberg, in Stone Telling), but here the overarching structure also gave everything an additional dimension too - they were an entirely different experience.
I would definitely read another thick volume!
___
Source of the book: Gift from Charles A. Tan, who sent me a box of recent SFF from the Philippines - thank you so much!
April 12, 2025
To sum up my experience, it was a cathartic one as the author penned a collection of poems that is equally heartwarming and relevant.
I enjoyed how the author critically balanced her personal experiences with social commentary which made the pieces inspiring and relatable
The author also showcased her expertise by exploring various forms of poetry that uses different forms of speech. Some of my favorites are Divinity, Evidence, and Inedia.
Divinity is a piece that scrutinizes how faith and belief work as one. From socially-accepted credence to anecdotes, the author formed a two-pager that raises the question most of us are scared to discuss.
Evidence is a masterpiece that highlights how corrupt our justice system is by painting a picture of the bloody reality that continue to frequent our busy streets.
Lastly, Inedia is a piece about discovery. With various references that span through time, this one showcased the author’s wit.
Overall, what a book! I rated most of the pieces 3.5 to five stars!
I enjoyed how the author critically balanced her personal experiences with social commentary which made the pieces inspiring and relatable
The author also showcased her expertise by exploring various forms of poetry that uses different forms of speech. Some of my favorites are Divinity, Evidence, and Inedia.
Divinity is a piece that scrutinizes how faith and belief work as one. From socially-accepted credence to anecdotes, the author formed a two-pager that raises the question most of us are scared to discuss.
Evidence is a masterpiece that highlights how corrupt our justice system is by painting a picture of the bloody reality that continue to frequent our busy streets.
Lastly, Inedia is a piece about discovery. With various references that span through time, this one showcased the author’s wit.
Overall, what a book! I rated most of the pieces 3.5 to five stars!
April 9, 2025
4.5
rtf
rtf
April 19, 2025
"𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 — 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨."
Juggernaut is a poetry collection that doesn’t just speak, it resonates, lingers, and demands to be felt. Written by a doctor, the book reflects her experiences, offering raw, unfiltered reflections on the world as she has seen it, through the sterile walls of hospitals, the chaos of the pandemic, and the personal moments that shape a life.
Alyza's poetry is a mix of sharp social commentary with deeply intimate musings, shifting seamlessly from the detached observations of a medical professional to deeply personal wounds. The pandemic looms over some pieces, exposing the fragility of human existence, while other poems dive into universal emotions: loneliness, desire, and the ache of being misunderstood.
Her words are striking and profound in their impact. The imagery is evocative, sometimes clinical in its precision, yet never lacking in feeling. Whether she is dissecting the broken systems of the world or exposing the vulnerabilities of the heart, every poem carries an emotional weight that requires me to pause my reading every once in a while.
Juggernaut is a book that will make you reflect and at times, ache.. If you’re looking for a collection that cuts deep and doesn’t hold back, this is it.
Juggernaut is a poetry collection that doesn’t just speak, it resonates, lingers, and demands to be felt. Written by a doctor, the book reflects her experiences, offering raw, unfiltered reflections on the world as she has seen it, through the sterile walls of hospitals, the chaos of the pandemic, and the personal moments that shape a life.
Alyza's poetry is a mix of sharp social commentary with deeply intimate musings, shifting seamlessly from the detached observations of a medical professional to deeply personal wounds. The pandemic looms over some pieces, exposing the fragility of human existence, while other poems dive into universal emotions: loneliness, desire, and the ache of being misunderstood.
Her words are striking and profound in their impact. The imagery is evocative, sometimes clinical in its precision, yet never lacking in feeling. Whether she is dissecting the broken systems of the world or exposing the vulnerabilities of the heart, every poem carries an emotional weight that requires me to pause my reading every once in a while.
Juggernaut is a book that will make you reflect and at times, ache.. If you’re looking for a collection that cuts deep and doesn’t hold back, this is it.
May 14, 2025
💟𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4 🌟
‼️Disclaimer: I received a physical copy of the book as one of the hosts of the book tour spearheaded by The Filipino Shelf.
📚𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
"To believe in belief itself,
the difficulty necessity of faith. To love
and last long enough. To risk loss and becoming
lost from too much longing."
- Excerpt from the poem '𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵' in the book entitled Jaggernaut by Dr. Alyza Taguilaso
Jaggernaut is defined by the online Miriam-Webster dictionary as a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path.
I believe the title encompasses the whole vibe of the poetry collection since it showed themes on family, grief, death, experiences of the author being a doctor, societal and political issues, and allusion to history and literature. It evoked mixed emotions while I was reading it. I felt heaviness and sadness in some of the poems, in others I felt submerged into the words as if I was seeing the descriptions as movies in my head, and I am in awe with the narrative and writing. And most especially, this thought-provoking book has reminded me of what it means to be alive and to do good with others, with ourselves, and with the choices we have since our actions has consequences (history CAN repeat itself).
I enjoyed reading this book despite having a bit of a challenge with some of the medical terms since I don't have background with medicine. But a bit of Google and context clues helped me a lot. I would definitely recommend it to those who love poetry and is looking for a book that may widen your eyes to societal and historical issues.
‼️Disclaimer: I received a physical copy of the book as one of the hosts of the book tour spearheaded by The Filipino Shelf.
📚𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
"To believe in belief itself,
the difficulty necessity of faith. To love
and last long enough. To risk loss and becoming
lost from too much longing."
- Excerpt from the poem '𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵' in the book entitled Jaggernaut by Dr. Alyza Taguilaso
Jaggernaut is defined by the online Miriam-Webster dictionary as a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path.
I believe the title encompasses the whole vibe of the poetry collection since it showed themes on family, grief, death, experiences of the author being a doctor, societal and political issues, and allusion to history and literature. It evoked mixed emotions while I was reading it. I felt heaviness and sadness in some of the poems, in others I felt submerged into the words as if I was seeing the descriptions as movies in my head, and I am in awe with the narrative and writing. And most especially, this thought-provoking book has reminded me of what it means to be alive and to do good with others, with ourselves, and with the choices we have since our actions has consequences (history CAN repeat itself).
I enjoyed reading this book despite having a bit of a challenge with some of the medical terms since I don't have background with medicine. But a bit of Google and context clues helped me a lot. I would definitely recommend it to those who love poetry and is looking for a book that may widen your eyes to societal and historical issues.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews