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The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata
Edward Said wrote that the role of the intellectual is to present altenative narratives on history other than those provided by the “combatants” who claim entitlement to official memory and national identity-who propagate “ heroic anthems sung in order to sweep all before them.” In this fearlessly intellectual novel, Gina Apostol takes on the keepers of official memory and creates a new, atonal anthem that defies single ownership and, in fact, can only be performed by the many- by multiple voices in multiple readings Raymundo Mata, appropriately blind, exists in a parallel universe where perception is always in question, and memory and the Filipino identity are turned inside out.-Eric Gamalinda
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
179 people are currently reading
2894 people want to read
About the author
Gina Apostol
19 books344 followersGina Apostol was born in Manila and lives in New York. Her first novel, Bibliolepsy, won the 1998 Philippine National Book Award for Fiction. She just completed her third novel, The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata, a comic historical novel-in-footnotes about the Philippine war for independence against Spain and America in 1896.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
November 24, 2021
A Send-Up Too Far
OK I get it: Filipino history is complicated, as is the country itself which only shares this complicated history and not much else among its 7,640 islands, its diverse ethnicity, its approximately 180 languages (more than 20 are official in various regions), and a tradition of being governed from the Americas (first Mexico and then the United States). So any literate novel about the place is bound to be complicated if it claims authenticity.
The country’s greatest national hero is José Rizal, executed by the Spanish authorities in 1896 for his involvement in an attempted revolution. He actually was in Europe while its events were underway and had nothing to do with their planning. His crime? Publishing a novel, while in Europe, which his summary court martial felt initiated the sedition. Makes the Declaration of Independence look somewhat pedestrian, doesn’t it?
Raymundo Mata is Gina Apostol’s fictional protagonist (well, sort of). Mata’s purported memoir of 19th century Filipino life and his involvement with Rizal and the revolution is the bass line, as it were, of the book. At times the memoir is barely readable, sometimes written in indecipherable code, and continuously making reference to obscure events, concerns and people.
But the main story, the melody of the book, is not the memoir. Rather it is the cultural and academic controversy that envelops it. The provenance and authenticity of the memoir is a matter of debate put forward in polemical forewords and afterwords. And the text itself is buried in explanatory footnotes à la the worst doctoral dissertations. The book is densely satirical in other words.
But it is far too dense for me. The inside jokes and subtle references are beyond comprehension for anyone with only a passing knowledge of The Philippines. I suspect that even natives would have difficulty with much of it. Apostol’s parodies of academic cat fights are amusing but even they are a bit burlesqued for my taste. So while undoubtedly witty and scathingly self-referential, I don’t think it’s a piece of literature that travels well.
OK I get it: Filipino history is complicated, as is the country itself which only shares this complicated history and not much else among its 7,640 islands, its diverse ethnicity, its approximately 180 languages (more than 20 are official in various regions), and a tradition of being governed from the Americas (first Mexico and then the United States). So any literate novel about the place is bound to be complicated if it claims authenticity.
The country’s greatest national hero is José Rizal, executed by the Spanish authorities in 1896 for his involvement in an attempted revolution. He actually was in Europe while its events were underway and had nothing to do with their planning. His crime? Publishing a novel, while in Europe, which his summary court martial felt initiated the sedition. Makes the Declaration of Independence look somewhat pedestrian, doesn’t it?
Raymundo Mata is Gina Apostol’s fictional protagonist (well, sort of). Mata’s purported memoir of 19th century Filipino life and his involvement with Rizal and the revolution is the bass line, as it were, of the book. At times the memoir is barely readable, sometimes written in indecipherable code, and continuously making reference to obscure events, concerns and people.
But the main story, the melody of the book, is not the memoir. Rather it is the cultural and academic controversy that envelops it. The provenance and authenticity of the memoir is a matter of debate put forward in polemical forewords and afterwords. And the text itself is buried in explanatory footnotes à la the worst doctoral dissertations. The book is densely satirical in other words.
But it is far too dense for me. The inside jokes and subtle references are beyond comprehension for anyone with only a passing knowledge of The Philippines. I suspect that even natives would have difficulty with much of it. Apostol’s parodies of academic cat fights are amusing but even they are a bit burlesqued for my taste. So while undoubtedly witty and scathingly self-referential, I don’t think it’s a piece of literature that travels well.
May 12, 2024
In her third novel, Gina Apostol invents a slippery memoirist, Raymundo Mata, and uses his narrative to parallel that of the real Filipino writer and nationalist José Rizal, while also telling the story of the Philippine Revolution. That would be chewy enough on its own, but we then have two academics and Mata’s translator arguing over the meaning of it all in copious footnotes and supplementary essays that essentially create a second book within the book. It’s replete with wordplay – even the names are puns – and dense and fact-fictional in a similar way to Insurrecto.
It runs out of steam a bit in the second half; the longer entries from Mata are less compelling without commentary and the running joke of people saying ‘sssh’ in footnotes goes on way too long. I get the impression that while the earlier parts are entertaining in themselves, the later parts are reliant upon the reader knowing some of the context, and things were probably going over my head. Of course, that’s also a good reason to read it – I learned a lot from it too.
As with Insurrecto, I found the experience of reading this book rewarding and enriching, even when it was difficult. It helps that the bickering surrounding Mata’s memoir is frequently hilarious (I loved the fact that the last of six(!) prefaces to Mata’s text, themselves annotated and footnoted, is titled ‘On With the Book!’ – well, quite!). One for fans of Lote, Pale Fire and Book of Numbers.
It runs out of steam a bit in the second half; the longer entries from Mata are less compelling without commentary and the running joke of people saying ‘sssh’ in footnotes goes on way too long. I get the impression that while the earlier parts are entertaining in themselves, the later parts are reliant upon the reader knowing some of the context, and things were probably going over my head. Of course, that’s also a good reason to read it – I learned a lot from it too.
As with Insurrecto, I found the experience of reading this book rewarding and enriching, even when it was difficult. It helps that the bickering surrounding Mata’s memoir is frequently hilarious (I loved the fact that the last of six(!) prefaces to Mata’s text, themselves annotated and footnoted, is titled ‘On With the Book!’ – well, quite!). One for fans of Lote, Pale Fire and Book of Numbers.
July 3, 2016
Hilarious, irreverent, ruthless, this novel purports to be a revolutionary hero's memoir as footnoted by three so-called experts--a translator, a nomadic psychoanalyst, and a somewhat deranged historian--poking fun at history, academics, and national heroes as it exposes the perils of interpretation, translation, and analysis, and questions perceptions of truth and the veracity of memory. It is exuberant and highly nuanced wordplay at its best (and worst), challenging only insofar as it sometimes bogged down the flow of the story when it squeezed out every little pun.
I, who grew up in the Philippines and who studied this history (or at least the historical aspects in this fiction) in school for a good chunk of my life, found myself learning lots of new things and yearning for more. It is a satirical view, as well as a stringent questioning of this popular part of our history--a farce, as she calls it (the book, not the history, though some may disagree). And though it was sometimes difficult to separate fact from fiction, I got it, for the most part (even though the footnotes were extremely difficult to read, I eventually got used to it, to my surprise).
For those less patient or more ocularly challenged, I suggest using a magnifying glass. Sorry, no ebook versions at this time.
Request to the publisher: please make an ebook version, or at least more readable (I.e. Bigger font) footnotes. After all, they're not really footnotes but stories in themselves; the footnotes are just a literary device, so let us please read them with greater ease.
Which brings me to the multi-framing of the various stories. In this 'memoir,' we have several nested stories and various storylines occurring concurrently above, below, or around each other. The footnoters have their own squabbles; Raymundo, who has his own story, is witness to the people he came in contact with, each with their own stories; Rizal, who has his own life story, has his novels, each with their own stories. And all these intersect, overlap, and interact in their own roundabout ways to create a story of the revolution.
If you're interested in Philippine history and culture, this can be an interesting and unique read. Remember not to take the characters too seriously and you'll be fine. The highly nuanced and sometimes culture-specific humor and wordplay may be lost on some people, but they weren't lost to me! It is also a boldly modern approach to novel-writing.
Gina Apostol has now become one of my favorite writers of all time. Her latest, Gun Dealers' Daughter, is an easier read, though still historical, modern, lyrical, and playful. She doesn't seem to be afraid to push the envelope and I truly appreciate her as an artist for that.
I, who grew up in the Philippines and who studied this history (or at least the historical aspects in this fiction) in school for a good chunk of my life, found myself learning lots of new things and yearning for more. It is a satirical view, as well as a stringent questioning of this popular part of our history--a farce, as she calls it (the book, not the history, though some may disagree). And though it was sometimes difficult to separate fact from fiction, I got it, for the most part (even though the footnotes were extremely difficult to read, I eventually got used to it, to my surprise).
For those less patient or more ocularly challenged, I suggest using a magnifying glass. Sorry, no ebook versions at this time.
Request to the publisher: please make an ebook version, or at least more readable (I.e. Bigger font) footnotes. After all, they're not really footnotes but stories in themselves; the footnotes are just a literary device, so let us please read them with greater ease.
Which brings me to the multi-framing of the various stories. In this 'memoir,' we have several nested stories and various storylines occurring concurrently above, below, or around each other. The footnoters have their own squabbles; Raymundo, who has his own story, is witness to the people he came in contact with, each with their own stories; Rizal, who has his own life story, has his novels, each with their own stories. And all these intersect, overlap, and interact in their own roundabout ways to create a story of the revolution.
If you're interested in Philippine history and culture, this can be an interesting and unique read. Remember not to take the characters too seriously and you'll be fine. The highly nuanced and sometimes culture-specific humor and wordplay may be lost on some people, but they weren't lost to me! It is also a boldly modern approach to novel-writing.
Gina Apostol has now become one of my favorite writers of all time. Her latest, Gun Dealers' Daughter, is an easier read, though still historical, modern, lyrical, and playful. She doesn't seem to be afraid to push the envelope and I truly appreciate her as an artist for that.
July 19, 2023
Ne parlo in questo videino, ci becchiamo li!
https://youtu.be/p8dOHqLHbJc
https://youtu.be/p8dOHqLHbJc
March 19, 2021
“The Philippines may be the only country whose war of independence began with a novel (and a first novel at that) – Rizal’s ‘Noli Me Tangere’ (‘Touch-Me-Not’)…Our notion of freedom began with fiction, which may explain why it remains an illusion.”
The novel takes the form of a discovered memoir by a fictionized character during the revolution named Raymundo Mata – a man nearing blindness. Mata’s journal (written in Spanish and a variety of Filipino languages) is a hodgepodge of letters from family, travel chronicles, dossiers of revolutionaries, codes, notes on meetings with Rizal, and thoughts written while imprisoned by American forces. His peculiar entries are analyzed and argued (more like squabbling!) in rivaling footnotes by three interesting personalities, who add uniqueness, color, and wit (very!) to this book. Estrella Espejo, an editor now living in a sanitarium because of a particularly trying project; the English-language translator who goes by the pseudonym Mimi C. Magsalin (also a character in Insurrecto); and Diwata Drake, a Milwaukee-based scholar of ‘Filipino experience’.
I think readers of this book must have at least a basic context of the Philippine revolution. The beginning reads like cluttered texts, which at one point I contemplated skipping, but glad I persevered. As soon as I was able to follow the story, I understood their significance.
The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata has 46 entries and #24 is my favorite. Here, Mata bared how he felt while reading Noli Me Tangere for the first time. “It was a bolt - a thunder bolt. A rain of bricks, a lightning zap. A pummeling of mountains, a heaving, violent storm at sea – a whiplash. A typhoon, an earthquake. The end of a world. And I was in ruins. It struck me dumb. It changed my life and the world was new when I was done.”
Goosebumps! I still remember my own experience reading the Tagalog version in high school. Powerful. Unforgettable.
The novel takes the form of a discovered memoir by a fictionized character during the revolution named Raymundo Mata – a man nearing blindness. Mata’s journal (written in Spanish and a variety of Filipino languages) is a hodgepodge of letters from family, travel chronicles, dossiers of revolutionaries, codes, notes on meetings with Rizal, and thoughts written while imprisoned by American forces. His peculiar entries are analyzed and argued (more like squabbling!) in rivaling footnotes by three interesting personalities, who add uniqueness, color, and wit (very!) to this book. Estrella Espejo, an editor now living in a sanitarium because of a particularly trying project; the English-language translator who goes by the pseudonym Mimi C. Magsalin (also a character in Insurrecto); and Diwata Drake, a Milwaukee-based scholar of ‘Filipino experience’.
I think readers of this book must have at least a basic context of the Philippine revolution. The beginning reads like cluttered texts, which at one point I contemplated skipping, but glad I persevered. As soon as I was able to follow the story, I understood their significance.
The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata has 46 entries and #24 is my favorite. Here, Mata bared how he felt while reading Noli Me Tangere for the first time. “It was a bolt - a thunder bolt. A rain of bricks, a lightning zap. A pummeling of mountains, a heaving, violent storm at sea – a whiplash. A typhoon, an earthquake. The end of a world. And I was in ruins. It struck me dumb. It changed my life and the world was new when I was done.”
Goosebumps! I still remember my own experience reading the Tagalog version in high school. Powerful. Unforgettable.
August 26, 2023
Un'esperienza di lettura coinvolgente, un po' folle e (a tratti) molto divertente.
Non mi soffermo sulla trama perché secondo me la descrizione del libro presente su Goodreads è super centrata ed esaustiva (per una volta).
"La rivoluzione secondo Raymundo Mata" si basa essenzialmente sul gioco metaletterario messo in piedi dall'autrice (viene ritrovato un manoscritto in cui la rivoluzione filippina del 1898 viene raccontata appunto da Raymundo Mata); "gioco" che lo rende un romanzo non semplice da leggere, soprattutto nella prima metà, vista la quantità di note presenti che interrompono continuamente la lettura del manoscritto "principale". Proprio nelle note (ma non solo) vi è un continuo commento/dibattito tra le tre accademiche che lavorano a questo manoscritto ritrovato, che permette all'autrice da una parte di aggiungere informazioni (anche se non sempre vere) sulla storia filippina (che possono sicuramente aiutare nella lettura chi non ne sa molto), dall'altra di farsi beffe del mondo accademico e del suo modo di approcciare e commentare testi.
Un romanzo che sicuramente può non piacere a tutti, ma che personalmente mi ha sorpresa e conquistata.
Non mi soffermo sulla trama perché secondo me la descrizione del libro presente su Goodreads è super centrata ed esaustiva (per una volta).
"La rivoluzione secondo Raymundo Mata" si basa essenzialmente sul gioco metaletterario messo in piedi dall'autrice (viene ritrovato un manoscritto in cui la rivoluzione filippina del 1898 viene raccontata appunto da Raymundo Mata); "gioco" che lo rende un romanzo non semplice da leggere, soprattutto nella prima metà, vista la quantità di note presenti che interrompono continuamente la lettura del manoscritto "principale". Proprio nelle note (ma non solo) vi è un continuo commento/dibattito tra le tre accademiche che lavorano a questo manoscritto ritrovato, che permette all'autrice da una parte di aggiungere informazioni (anche se non sempre vere) sulla storia filippina (che possono sicuramente aiutare nella lettura chi non ne sa molto), dall'altra di farsi beffe del mondo accademico e del suo modo di approcciare e commentare testi.
Un romanzo che sicuramente può non piacere a tutti, ma che personalmente mi ha sorpresa e conquistata.
August 9, 2021
Putting random thoughts in a hidden tag because I wanted to edit my draft on this book review and reading experience:
June 1, 2021
This is the worst book I have ever read. I got 3/4 of the way through it and I couldn’t even finish. It wasn’t so much because of the content, though it is very dense and dry, but because of the sheer amount of referential material and knowledge of culture and history required to appreciate it. There are 3 or 4 contributors (about whose relations to the text I still am unsure) that include a myriad of footnotes throughout the book that serve not only as a distraction from the text itself, but as a superfluous bickering contest to see who can be the most childish and condescending. I kid you not, half of the footnotes are just these “scholars” shushing each other and name calling! If I were any of them I would be absolutely embarrassed for this to be published and read by an audience. I have to call into question the credibility of anyone who had anything to do with this book for allowing this to be published. I mean really.... they couldn’t just email their personal attacks and opinions to each other? Why subject the reader to this public display of pettiness. It is clear that these contributors have no respect for one another and over half of the footnotes do not provide one iota of information or background to help in understanding the material. But if somehow you can ignore the footnotes and read solely the main text, I challenge you to remember anything that happens from page to page or much less stay focused enough to intake the words themselves. The format of the book is written from an almost autobiographical, historical non-fiction standpoint- a collection of scattered diary entries arranged chronologically, translated, and footnoted to death. I don’t really know why it is labeled as Fiction... It is DENSE. And there are so many characters, aliases, language shifts, time jumps, etc. that it is hard to keep it all straight. Admittedly not my favorite genre of literature to begin with, but I didn’t even pick this book out for myself, so I blame my friend for putting me through this... If the Philippine Revolution is your favorite thing in the world, or you enjoy reading a book of personal journal passages (a la Diary of Anne Frank), then maybe you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise I cannot recommend this book any less. Do not buy this! These contributors should be ashamed of themselves and they don’t deserve your time or money.
August 26, 2021
This is the third novel by Apostol that I've read, and perhaps the most disturbing. Raymundo Mata is a fictional blind fellow traveler of Jose Rizal. Mata documents his bumbles through the origins of the Philippine revolt against Spain and the beginnings of resistance to the US invasion.
But, that's too simple. This is also a running critique of the challenges of translation and interpretation, expressed though copious footnotes between translators and editors. In addition, it's a penetrating look at the nature of historical sources and how to evaluate them.
Apostol is never an easy read, but all of here works are well worth the time. I haven't yet met a Philippino who has read her.
But, that's too simple. This is also a running critique of the challenges of translation and interpretation, expressed though copious footnotes between translators and editors. In addition, it's a penetrating look at the nature of historical sources and how to evaluate them.
Apostol is never an easy read, but all of here works are well worth the time. I haven't yet met a Philippino who has read her.
August 24, 2012
I read, or rather tried to read, this last year, cause it was required for my English class.
I couldn't finish it though, it was too confusing for me. The footnotes-- some of them where actually taking up the whole page, mainly because the footnotes has its own story going on. 3 or 4 people were actually "fighting" in the footnotes. By the end of the semester, some of my classmates were actually tempted to burn this book. Hahaha. :)
Maybe when I'm older, I'll try to finish it.
I couldn't finish it though, it was too confusing for me. The footnotes-- some of them where actually taking up the whole page, mainly because the footnotes has its own story going on. 3 or 4 people were actually "fighting" in the footnotes. By the end of the semester, some of my classmates were actually tempted to burn this book. Hahaha. :)
Maybe when I'm older, I'll try to finish it.
May 7, 2017
a captivating "linguistic deviltry," where it is tempting to say that the words have swallowed the worlds whole, but no, only left them with holes, sometimes shallow, sometimes hollow, sometimes hallowed.
"because nothing exists without an observer. Because the writer died while he was writing. Because encryption is a way of burying." It is not only the author that is dead; the text too, and death. For to die does not mean to be mute and inert, as this novel shows
"because nothing exists without an observer. Because the writer died while he was writing. Because encryption is a way of burying." It is not only the author that is dead; the text too, and death. For to die does not mean to be mute and inert, as this novel shows
May 19, 2021
Polyglottal pyrotechnics, anticolonial historiographies, academic pastiche, narrative anarchy, death by marginalia—Gina Apostol can do it all. I'm in awe of the craft, research, and sheer gumption that went into Revolution; this book is hard work and almost too clever but seriously earns its right to both. A searching exploration of how we read, and from reading make revelation, revolution, and the whole halo-halo world in between.
June 4, 2021
Wow Gina Apostol is just incredible, really. This is the second book I've read by her and I'm blown away again.
It's a pretty demanding read on many levels, but I actually found it a lot more straightforward and easy to follow than Insurrecto (which I also thought was pretty much perfect!).
Deserves a much better review than I can give it, hah.
It's a pretty demanding read on many levels, but I actually found it a lot more straightforward and easy to follow than Insurrecto (which I also thought was pretty much perfect!).
Deserves a much better review than I can give it, hah.
May 4, 2011
See my review here: http://www.ninosoriadeveyra.com/1/pos...
January 5, 2025
Libro con cui ho finito e iniziato l'anno e sento già sarà nelle migliori letture del 2025, per cui non mi pento di aver tradito Krasznahorkai in questa tradizione anche se mi guarda con disapprovazione dal comodino.
Il libro è complesso e semplice allo stesso tempo, con salti temporali eppure lineare data l'impostazione a diario, un'opera di fiction ma al contempo una testimonianza storica, una burla eppure carica di serietà.
Un'opera metaletteraria che alterna e intreccia riflessioni, critiche, e tanta ironia sul mondo accademico con un'analisi spietata, tramite un narratore inaffidabile, nella rivoluzione filippina, una excusatio per uno smascheramento del colonialismo.
Il protagonista è un ragazzo che affida fin da giovani le sue memorie a un diario e tramite le sue pagine lo vediamo crescere ma seguiamo anche la Storia del suo paese, di cui lui diventa un attore attivo, e conosciamo protagonisti reali. Sicuramente una conoscenza base della storia della regione serve per orientarsi un minimo oltre la fiction, fortunatamente abbiamo la possibilità di fare ricerche ogni pie' sospinto, anche se molti riferimenti sfuggono ugualmente è l'occasione per approfondire un angolo di mondo lontano da noi.
Ma protagoniste sono anche le commentatrici che si scontrano e dileggiano nelle note, ogni tanto in modo anche un po' ridondante, mostrando i limiti di una critica letteraria e psicologica che ricerca nelle parole dell'autore quello che lo studioso vuole vedere, spesso appiattendolo a un'unica immagine che di lui abbiamo e dimenticandone la tridimensionalità. Alcune teorie sono folli, altre stirate, eppure il battibeccare sul significato di anche solo una lettera diventa intrigante. Ad ogni modo questo è il tipo di humor che io apprezzo, quello sagace.
Alcuni aspetti, soprattutto delle fittizie introduzione mi hanno riportato alla mente Borges e Bolaño e quindi l'innamoramento è stato inevitabile.
Il libro è complesso e semplice allo stesso tempo, con salti temporali eppure lineare data l'impostazione a diario, un'opera di fiction ma al contempo una testimonianza storica, una burla eppure carica di serietà.
Un'opera metaletteraria che alterna e intreccia riflessioni, critiche, e tanta ironia sul mondo accademico con un'analisi spietata, tramite un narratore inaffidabile, nella rivoluzione filippina, una excusatio per uno smascheramento del colonialismo.
Il protagonista è un ragazzo che affida fin da giovani le sue memorie a un diario e tramite le sue pagine lo vediamo crescere ma seguiamo anche la Storia del suo paese, di cui lui diventa un attore attivo, e conosciamo protagonisti reali. Sicuramente una conoscenza base della storia della regione serve per orientarsi un minimo oltre la fiction, fortunatamente abbiamo la possibilità di fare ricerche ogni pie' sospinto, anche se molti riferimenti sfuggono ugualmente è l'occasione per approfondire un angolo di mondo lontano da noi.
Ma protagoniste sono anche le commentatrici che si scontrano e dileggiano nelle note, ogni tanto in modo anche un po' ridondante, mostrando i limiti di una critica letteraria e psicologica che ricerca nelle parole dell'autore quello che lo studioso vuole vedere, spesso appiattendolo a un'unica immagine che di lui abbiamo e dimenticandone la tridimensionalità. Alcune teorie sono folli, altre stirate, eppure il battibeccare sul significato di anche solo una lettera diventa intrigante. Ad ogni modo questo è il tipo di humor che io apprezzo, quello sagace.
Alcuni aspetti, soprattutto delle fittizie introduzione mi hanno riportato alla mente Borges e Bolaño e quindi l'innamoramento è stato inevitabile.
July 18, 2016
I am always generous to Filipinos writing in English because I want more books from them. I did have a problem with this faux-diary though. I think diaries are boring because they are often so solipsistic, the fact that this is a fake diary is even worse. I have always hated reading footnotes because it breaks up the flow, even of academic papers. This was much worse for a novel; a clever idea but one that ultimate slows down the book's energy. The subject matter was very interesting but I think I would not like Raymundo Mata; he is the kind of gross intellectual that you constantly hear from anyway. I feel like the voice used was uninteresting because it felt so pretentious. I admire Apostol's lack of need to pander to her readership; but she forgot to use storytelling skills to take us through the book. This was a very tedious read.
Read
April 11, 2020planning to re-read this
July 5, 2024
3.5
second apostol! devoured this for its genius, the footnotes is its strongest contrary to popular belief—theres just something so real about these three women that offers a dynamic perspective on history (and their own petty quarrels which are just so pleasurable to read than the text itself) by analyzing their own history and by extension my/the philippines’ history thats just sooo whoa, its fun to revisit these bouts of the revolution and its a treat even after taking KAS 1 as its not oversaturated but more of so many “OH YEAH” moments while reading. dr drake is literally just my prof which scares me, but the footnotes made this novel, point blank. the structure is historiographic metafiction at its finest, especially the metanarrative on reading and history when he was talking about noli, whoaaaa.
but what disinterested me is raymundo’s fragments, though i try my best not to dismiss it since the prowess apostol made to write this, god the research alone… but i just cant seem to care for this guy honestly, there may have been some parts where i was moved—like the latter fragments when he was going blind—but its always clouded by the fact that i appreciate it bc of how gina constructed it not really intense emotions to this Man. w Bibliolepsy (current contender for my favorite of her), I cared for Primi despite her sometimes annoying ambivalence. nevertheless, a great novel and she did say she wants to make her protagonist fun to be annoying, a little too annoying for mata, but this was so cool i want to have gina’s intelligence…
second apostol! devoured this for its genius, the footnotes is its strongest contrary to popular belief—theres just something so real about these three women that offers a dynamic perspective on history (and their own petty quarrels which are just so pleasurable to read than the text itself) by analyzing their own history and by extension my/the philippines’ history thats just sooo whoa, its fun to revisit these bouts of the revolution and its a treat even after taking KAS 1 as its not oversaturated but more of so many “OH YEAH” moments while reading. dr drake is literally just my prof which scares me, but the footnotes made this novel, point blank. the structure is historiographic metafiction at its finest, especially the metanarrative on reading and history when he was talking about noli, whoaaaa.
but what disinterested me is raymundo’s fragments, though i try my best not to dismiss it since the prowess apostol made to write this, god the research alone… but i just cant seem to care for this guy honestly, there may have been some parts where i was moved—like the latter fragments when he was going blind—but its always clouded by the fact that i appreciate it bc of how gina constructed it not really intense emotions to this Man. w Bibliolepsy (current contender for my favorite of her), I cared for Primi despite her sometimes annoying ambivalence. nevertheless, a great novel and she did say she wants to make her protagonist fun to be annoying, a little too annoying for mata, but this was so cool i want to have gina’s intelligence…
January 30, 2025
There are a handful of things I in theory really liked about this book but still the overall reading experience was quite exasperating and so much content, commentary and inside-jokes went over my head. The premise of the book as fragments of a semi-fictionalised revolutionary figure during the independence war, which are subsequently pieced together, translated and academically dissected via heavy footnoting - that premise in itself is terrific.
I love meta-fiction and breaking the 4th wall. For everyone who’s worked together on a shared document and indulged in banter in the track-changes/comments bar with their colleagues, this novel delivers on the fun you can have within the margins and engagement with a base source text. This is what happens with the three personalities who show up in the footnotes, the translator and 2 academics performing the exegesis on Mata’s autobiographical fragments. The standout discussion in the footnotes is on the nature of history-telling and language and added to that the complications of a national of many languages having passed/mediated through two successive colonial hands/tongues.
Unfortunately the fun of this book really ends with the fun you can have reading the scribbles in the margins by previous owners of a really boring garbled book randomly picked up at a second hand store. After a while it gets frustrating because of base text is mid and the scribbles too indecipherable.
I love meta-fiction and breaking the 4th wall. For everyone who’s worked together on a shared document and indulged in banter in the track-changes/comments bar with their colleagues, this novel delivers on the fun you can have within the margins and engagement with a base source text. This is what happens with the three personalities who show up in the footnotes, the translator and 2 academics performing the exegesis on Mata’s autobiographical fragments. The standout discussion in the footnotes is on the nature of history-telling and language and added to that the complications of a national of many languages having passed/mediated through two successive colonial hands/tongues.
Unfortunately the fun of this book really ends with the fun you can have reading the scribbles in the margins by previous owners of a really boring garbled book randomly picked up at a second hand store. After a while it gets frustrating because of base text is mid and the scribbles too indecipherable.
October 14, 2021
medyo daunting sa start but really picks up once it gets to the katipunan parts! (tsaka kumukonti naman yung footnotes as the book goes on tho ofc brilliant yung use of footnotes) also, her funniest book! as in natatawa ako nang malakas
March 4, 2023
This book is the most challenging thing I've read in a long time. Probably why it took me 8 months and more self-discipline then you'd think to finish it.
While it was super dense and often hard to follow, I really liked the concept of the there being three translators who all bicker about the interpretation of the text. It was funny and clever.
When that part died down towards the end of the book, it became even more of a slog as was falling to a 2-star for me as I schlepped through. It was only the epitaph with the nice and tidy revelation (or insinuation) that kept it as a solid 3-star read for me.
While it was super dense and often hard to follow, I really liked the concept of the there being three translators who all bicker about the interpretation of the text. It was funny and clever.
When that part died down towards the end of the book, it became even more of a slog as was falling to a 2-star for me as I schlepped through. It was only the epitaph with the nice and tidy revelation (or insinuation) that kept it as a solid 3-star read for me.
July 12, 2022
Hilarious, moving, inspiring.
August 9, 2020
I returned it! I didn’t like it! I gave it one star! It didn’t hold my interest and I just didn’t want to continue to read it!
March 7, 2021
I'm sure this book will be enjoyed by either native Philipinos or other who are familiar with that culture and languages, but for everyone else, forget it.
August 24, 2021
Raymundo Mata, an unknown figure, a footnote in history, gave us his very own footnoted historical memoir.
Having both read Insurrecto and now this book, I can really safely say that Gina Apostol is an incredibly brilliant writer. Writing both as Raymundo Mata, a revolutionary Katipunero who was but a passing name in history books, and as three academics—two historians and one translator (which seems to be a tease for her character in Insurrecto, or the other way around)—Apostol gave us this unceassingly entertaining, at times sacrilegious, irreverent; heartrending, poignant; but always so riveting and human, and thought-provokingly fresh perspective on the Spanish-occupied years of the Philippines; history we already know so well, and yet, in her deft hands, still astonished.
I utterly enjoy Raymundo Mata. Indeed, he was a real person, but this fictionalized life and character of him were compelling and unforgettable. If his life was even half as interesting as the one Apostol gave him, he's due for a memoir. His adventures on his own were always interesting; but the ones where his path intersected with names we know so well (Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini) were the best parts of this novel—especially the Rizal entries. Damn, that Rizal entries. As Dr. Diwata Drake, one of the footnoters of Mata's memoir, said, Rizal was oft-seen as a hero that we failed to see him as a human. And what human he was (at least based on Mata's time with him).
And I have never imagined that I would have the time of my life following the fights of the footnoters in this memoir. Their various interruptions ranged from factual to fascinating, to Freudian at times and fraudulent even. And their afterwords, especially the translator's, left me shocked and hanging and asking for more.
I have so much more to say, but as is always the case, Apostol's erudite works always leave me feeling inadequate to construct a proper review that will give justice to its brilliance. But I can say as much that I've always known history was an interesting topic, but Gina Apostol made it so much more in this historical fiction. Really remarkable piece of work.
Having both read Insurrecto and now this book, I can really safely say that Gina Apostol is an incredibly brilliant writer. Writing both as Raymundo Mata, a revolutionary Katipunero who was but a passing name in history books, and as three academics—two historians and one translator (which seems to be a tease for her character in Insurrecto, or the other way around)—Apostol gave us this unceassingly entertaining, at times sacrilegious, irreverent; heartrending, poignant; but always so riveting and human, and thought-provokingly fresh perspective on the Spanish-occupied years of the Philippines; history we already know so well, and yet, in her deft hands, still astonished.
I utterly enjoy Raymundo Mata. Indeed, he was a real person, but this fictionalized life and character of him were compelling and unforgettable. If his life was even half as interesting as the one Apostol gave him, he's due for a memoir. His adventures on his own were always interesting; but the ones where his path intersected with names we know so well (Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini) were the best parts of this novel—especially the Rizal entries. Damn, that Rizal entries. As Dr. Diwata Drake, one of the footnoters of Mata's memoir, said, Rizal was oft-seen as a hero that we failed to see him as a human. And what human he was (at least based on Mata's time with him).
And I have never imagined that I would have the time of my life following the fights of the footnoters in this memoir. Their various interruptions ranged from factual to fascinating, to Freudian at times and fraudulent even. And their afterwords, especially the translator's, left me shocked and hanging and asking for more.
I have so much more to say, but as is always the case, Apostol's erudite works always leave me feeling inadequate to construct a proper review that will give justice to its brilliance. But I can say as much that I've always known history was an interesting topic, but Gina Apostol made it so much more in this historical fiction. Really remarkable piece of work.
March 17, 2022
Ok so… first of all there is an EXTREMELY limited group of people I would recommend this book to (actually I can’t even think of one at this moment). However, for just the right audience it is simply remarkable. I have always been intrigued by the ins and outs of language and this book explored that topic to its fullest extent, in ways I never thought imaginable.
Somewhere around 2/3 of the way through there was a too-long back and forth of the various commenters shh-ing each other which lost its playfulness pretty quickly. Otherwise, I found the footnotes to be hilarious, insightful, and annoying all at the same time. I think that was the point.
The part of this book that was the most difficult for me was that, at its most basic level, this is historical fiction taking place during and around the Filipino revolution. Before reading this book, I knew exactly three things about the Philippines: they are a chain of islands, they are a US territory, and they speak Tagalog. The book very much assumes that you have some basic background knowledge about the Philippines and it’s history which I was embarrassed not to already have. Throughout my journey with this book, I feel like I learned so much about both the culture and history of the Philippines, both of which are deeply rooted in language itself.
I certainly have NOT even come close to untangling the web of confusion that exists in this novel. But dang, I have some deep respect for the knots tied, buried, unraveled, and twisted by Gina Apóstol. I think this work is absolutely beautiful, while also being infuriating.
It was quite a mind bender when I realized I can never fully understand history when I read it in English. (Even when it is a translated work from a native author). For that deep revelation alone, I give this book 4 stars.
Somewhere around 2/3 of the way through there was a too-long back and forth of the various commenters shh-ing each other which lost its playfulness pretty quickly. Otherwise, I found the footnotes to be hilarious, insightful, and annoying all at the same time. I think that was the point.
The part of this book that was the most difficult for me was that, at its most basic level, this is historical fiction taking place during and around the Filipino revolution. Before reading this book, I knew exactly three things about the Philippines: they are a chain of islands, they are a US territory, and they speak Tagalog. The book very much assumes that you have some basic background knowledge about the Philippines and it’s history which I was embarrassed not to already have. Throughout my journey with this book, I feel like I learned so much about both the culture and history of the Philippines, both of which are deeply rooted in language itself.
I certainly have NOT even come close to untangling the web of confusion that exists in this novel. But dang, I have some deep respect for the knots tied, buried, unraveled, and twisted by Gina Apóstol. I think this work is absolutely beautiful, while also being infuriating.
It was quite a mind bender when I realized I can never fully understand history when I read it in English. (Even when it is a translated work from a native author). For that deep revelation alone, I give this book 4 stars.
August 29, 2022
This book is challenging— by this, I do not simply refer to its erudite vocabulary or prose, but to its metafictional and fragmentary depiction of the Philippine anticolonial struggle. I don't think I have read a work of fiction as heavily footnoted as this. In here, Apostol presents the found memoirs of a Katipunero who is a hapless and addled bookworm. It chronicles his youth, his education, and his involvement with the freedom movement. It also has a scholarly/editorial apparatus included with the voices of Dr. Diwata Drake (a psychoanalyst tasked to critique on the fin-de-siècle linguistics and psyche of the text), Dr. Estrella Espejo (an anticolonialist nationalist, that for some reason has been in a sanatorium in the entirety of the novel), and Mimi C. Magsalin (the translator/mediator of sorts of the two bickering scholars).
The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata presents the viewing of history from an alternative standpoint — teeming with humor from the memoirist himself and the dialectical battle of the critics. Apostol weaves their voices together to illustrate moments of our history that may otherwise be footnotes.The metaphor isn't also lost on me that the titular character has nyctalopia, a degenerative night-blindness— which further suggests how the contemporary Filipino society may have forgotten our long history with fascism and violence (i.e. blindness, when Mata literally translates to eye in Filipino).
What an incredible feat Gina Apostol achieves here. There is a certain poetry to posthumous texts, even if it is from someone like Mundo Mata, who can be described as a chronic observer. The novel reminds me [us] of the revolutionary power of writing, and that of reading. To read truly is an act of resistance.
"Move on. Go. Remember, my child: Nothing exists without an observer."
The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata presents the viewing of history from an alternative standpoint — teeming with humor from the memoirist himself and the dialectical battle of the critics. Apostol weaves their voices together to illustrate moments of our history that may otherwise be footnotes.The metaphor isn't also lost on me that the titular character has nyctalopia, a degenerative night-blindness— which further suggests how the contemporary Filipino society may have forgotten our long history with fascism and violence (i.e. blindness, when Mata literally translates to eye in Filipino).
What an incredible feat Gina Apostol achieves here. There is a certain poetry to posthumous texts, even if it is from someone like Mundo Mata, who can be described as a chronic observer. The novel reminds me [us] of the revolutionary power of writing, and that of reading. To read truly is an act of resistance.
"Move on. Go. Remember, my child: Nothing exists without an observer."
June 10, 2022
Book 93 out of 200 books
"The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata" by Gina Apostol
"The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata" is a novel by Gina Apostol, and from its title, tells the story of one Raymundo Mata, a night-blind man in his late 2os or early 30s, during his presence in many of the groundbreaking, important events of the Philippine Revolution. From his sojourn to Dapitan to meet Jose Rizal and him curing Mata's ill-stricken eyes, to Mata witnessing Aguinaldo's plans on independence.
MY THOUGHTS:
Here's my 3 stars for this damned book! As I Filipino who loves history, this book has one of the worst types of show-don't-tell ways of depicting and narrating Philippine history yet!
The author shouldn't have added lengthy and unnecessary footnotes! She could've just added historical facts within the real life diaries rather than making semi-fictional historians and researches argue in the footnotes. I don't know if there is a story to this but she shouldn't have done this!
This novel was obnoxious in so many ways, I myself found it not to be appetizing because of the lacking of historical contexts most of the time, even with footnotes. While the overall story is just to me above average, Raymundo Mata being a more fascinating figure because he isn't mentioned in our history books, I disliked the overall prose of the novel but the story!
I won't recommend this book, even though it is the narrating of the memoirs of Mata, I'd recommend Nick Joaquin's "A Question of Heroes" better.
"The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata" by Gina Apostol
"The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata" is a novel by Gina Apostol, and from its title, tells the story of one Raymundo Mata, a night-blind man in his late 2os or early 30s, during his presence in many of the groundbreaking, important events of the Philippine Revolution. From his sojourn to Dapitan to meet Jose Rizal and him curing Mata's ill-stricken eyes, to Mata witnessing Aguinaldo's plans on independence.
MY THOUGHTS:
Here's my 3 stars for this damned book! As I Filipino who loves history, this book has one of the worst types of show-don't-tell ways of depicting and narrating Philippine history yet!
The author shouldn't have added lengthy and unnecessary footnotes! She could've just added historical facts within the real life diaries rather than making semi-fictional historians and researches argue in the footnotes. I don't know if there is a story to this but she shouldn't have done this!
This novel was obnoxious in so many ways, I myself found it not to be appetizing because of the lacking of historical contexts most of the time, even with footnotes. While the overall story is just to me above average, Raymundo Mata being a more fascinating figure because he isn't mentioned in our history books, I disliked the overall prose of the novel but the story!
I won't recommend this book, even though it is the narrating of the memoirs of Mata, I'd recommend Nick Joaquin's "A Question of Heroes" better.
February 7, 2023
For better or worse, the weight of my inadequacies as a reader inform my perception of The Revolution. I finished Insurrecto a few years ago, unable to form coherent thoughts at the end. I did know I wanted to return to Apostol, and this older-and-younger novel forced me to, first in the form of my own journal entries (in the midst of reading I actually liked Insurrecto much more than I remember!) and then in external research. Anyway, I can only guess that at some point in the past my brain got broken, because I love this novel and can connect it to recent literary loves Finnegans Wake and Borges. It's uncomfortably funny, it has an embedded historical fiction, it blurs the lines between written and spoken language and language through history and war. Most importantly, Revolution forced me to learn to read it, brilliantly paginated as a teacher. There is connecting tissue, say three quarters of the way in, which is a little more opaque, but that choice turns out to be intentional and explained if not wrapped up. If you pick up the book, prepare to focus on letters as much as words; This was the technical, among other kinds of blind spots, revealed for me.
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