Get Bulaklak Sa City Jail Portrayed By Lualhati Bautista Readable In Paperback
was a very exciting book and i'll recommend it to my friends This is the second novel of Lualhati Bautista that I've read, The other one was Dekada ' or Thes which was one of her more popular novels, Both novels showed a strong indication of Bautista's feminism, having Filipino women protagonists that go against the cultural limitations being enforced on them, Both also used Philippine societal issues as their backdrops to tell a story, In Dekada ', the backdrop was the brutality and corruption during the Martial Law by the Marcos regime, Bulaklak sa City Jail, on the other hand, tackles the poor prison conditions and the outdated and unfair justice system of the country.
Bulaklak sa City Jail is the story ofyear old Angela who finds herself in a desperate situation after she was penalized for frustrated murder.
While awaiting her trial, she was sent to Manila City Jail where she met different types of women who committed the pettiest or most horrendous of crimes.
But despite their rough surface, each of these women have their own stories to tell, most of which were similar to Angela's own experiences,
Characters
I love how the women in City Jail were given the spotlight, Each had a moment for their own story, and each story served to deepen and flesh them out, This made me sympathize with them, even with Barang one of the antagonistic forces inside the jail, I understood Yolly's pain that led her to commit suicide when Lando was sent away, because Lualhati vividly painted the trauma she went through in her childhood, the pain and abandonment she suffered through the hands of her own mother.
I understood Viring's anger at the husband who beat her, and the torment of losing her child in the prison where she was sent after she killed her abusive husband.
My heart melted at Tonya's softheartedness for children, It broke the stereotype of stonehearted lesbians in prison,
All the side characters were strong, and I see how Lualhati intended them to complement and be foil characters for the protagonist, Angela.
However, that's where the problem lies,
Yolly, Viring, Tonya, Nora, Isabela, . . all these were strong characters that have compelling stories to tell, Angela paled in comparison to them, Angela's story was handed to us in bits and pieces, mostly through the technique of telling, I think it would have been more effective had Bautista shown the severity of Angela's childhood, What we knew of her childhood was mostly set aside, Bautista focused on her relationship with Crisanto, I find it hard, then, to sympathize with her character, Yolly's obssession with Lando was justified by her grim childhood but Angela's strong feelings for Crisanto appeared to be no more than a lack of thinking in her part.
She knew that Crisanto had a livein partner Adela and still she continued to see him, and it wasn't justified clearly why, She also acted impulsively and stupidly throughout the story, By the second act, she started to get on my nerves,
If it was for Angela alone, I wouldn't have continued reading, Thank God for the other characters,
Writing Style
Bautista's writing style was blunt, The language she used was course, which makes sense since she was telling the story of people who lived in an environment that use that kind of vernacular.
I just think the prose could have benefitted more if Bautista favored showing rather than telling, There are moments where she could have extracted more emotional response from the readers by using a different diction or subtly imply rather than tell.
But maybe that's just a personal preference,
Overall, Bautista's prose was not bad, But it was not brilliant either,
Plot
I love the plot, At first, I thought it would be depressing, Compared to the antagonistic forces, Angela was powerless, But I'm glad Bautista opted to end everything in a hopeful note, And it's not just luck, Angela got out of prison because of the sympathy and help of the women who were in similar situations as her, It's a good message to send to your readers and it certainly made an impact to me,
To end this review, I would say that Bulaklak sa City Jail is a good read, It has its ups and downs, just like any other book but it is worth it, It achieved what it was set to do: it dished out a commentary about the judicial system and how the fight is tipped against the poor, specifically the women.
It also entertained me. Others said that they found it boring, Yes, there can be slow moments, But I think it was a necessity rather than a flaw, Bautista was setting the stage for her characters, And if you stuck long enough, you'd find that it pays off in the end, Nakahantad ang katotohanan sa harapan nating lahat, Marami bang mga mata ang nakakakita ng taas, luwang, at lalim ng mga bagaybagay para maging totoo ang mga ito Marami bang utak ang nakakatkat para busisiin ang mga bagay bagay at maunawaan ang lalim nito
Nang mabasa ko ang screenplay ng Bulaklak sa City Jail ni Lualhati ay naglaro agad sa aking imahinasyon ang mga tauhan nito dahil nakilala kong totoo ang mga taong ito.
Yon ang kagandahan ng mga karakter ni Lualhati, Hindi sila likha ng isipan kundi mga totoong tao sila, Mga taong nakakasalamuha natin arawaraw kamaganak, kaibigan, kapatid, kakilala, kaklase, kapitbahay, Mga taong kilala natin kaya madali nating maunawaan ang kanilang taas, luwang at lalim, Kailangan yon upang maangkin natin ang kanilang kuwento at paniwalaan,
Sa maraming salamin na iniharap ni Lualhati Bautista sa harap natin, isa sa pinakamalinaw ay ang Bulaklak sa City Jail at gayundin, . . isa sa pinakamatalas! i want to read it This book has strong points but they are just enough to offset its weak points, In other words, I found some pages peppered with brilliantly written scenes but there were also those parts that made me sigh with boredom,
Not that Bautista wrote anything less skillfully than in her earlier books that I recently read and liked, e, g. , sitelinkDesaparesidosor sitelinkGapostars, but her approach in presenting Bulaklak ng sa City Jail seems, to me, like a rehash of the two.
In this book, there is just a new female protagonist in the person of ay/o Angela Gutierrez and instead exposing the excesses of the USMarcos regime in Desaparesidos or the evil brought about by the continued presence of the U.
S. Military bases in 'Gapo, what Bautista tackled here are the sad condition of the prison and even the justice system in our country, the Philippines.
Then on the macro level, the insufficient space for the inmates, the warden left with no choice but to allow the inmates' children to stay inside the prison compound and allowing prisoners to have sex in the vicinity, reflect badly to the economic condition of the country and the rampant graft and corruption in all government levels.
What I am trying to say by giving this book justmeans It's okay!is that even if the book is brave enough to expose the real conditions of the prison system in thes, I found it quite formulaic considering that I've read the earlier brilliant works of Bautista.
If this were my first Bautista, I have no doubt that I would have given this a higher rating, Since Bautista is still alive, I hate to imagine that she might now be writing a novel using another political issue as a backdrop, She has used the USMarcos regime, U, S. Military Bases, Martial Law for Dekada ', What could she think of next The Philippine's dispute with China over Scarborough Shoal The warlords in Mindanao that ordered the Maguindanao massacre The political dynasties in the provinces Or why not go historical and write about the Comfort Women during the Japanese occupation here in Manila That would be perfect because Bautista has this fondness for having a female protagonist who is a victim of some kind of lapses in the system and better to have that female a mother also so all the mothers out there would rally behind her book.
Bautista's game plan, for me, is becoming too predictable already,
I hope Bautista will think twice because I like her writing style and I hope she will try another formula in her next book.
But not having a sex maniac mother and pass it for a feminist like what she did in Bata, Bata, . . please. "Humorous, direct and factual. " Ang Bulaklak sa City Jail ay isang tunay na obra maestra, Isang matapang na paglalathala sa buhay sa likod ng mga rehas, literal man na rehas o rehas na tayo mismo ang gumawa, Naipakita din dito, na sa likod ng pinakamadidilim na apat na sulok ng kulungan, mayroon at mayroong liwanag na maaaninag kahit pa katiting at sinlaki lng ito ng butil ng bigas.
sa isang lipunang mapanghusga, kawawa ang mga taong walang sariling boses upang ipaliwanag ang kanilang mga sarili, kung ano ang makita ng mga mata at marinig ng mga tainga ng karamihan sa atin, iyon na ang kadalasang pinaniniwalaan natin, ang hindi alam ng karamihan ay mayroon pang higit na kuwento sa kuwentong mabilis nating husgahan,
bilang isang manunulat, may kapangyarihan ka, at sapat na kakayahan upang mabigyan ng sariling boses ang mga taong hindi madalas napapansin ng lipunanat iyon ang nakakapukaw na istilo ni ms.
lualhati bautista sa kanyang mga akda, malaki ang respeto ko sa manunulat na ito at masasabi kong siya nga ay tunay na alagad ng sining at anak ng literaturang pilipino,
ang nobelang bulaklak sa city jail ay sumasalamin sa mga pangkaraniwang kuwento at tagpo sa mga piitan ng bansamarumi, mabaho, masikip, at hindi maikakailang may pangaabusong nagaganap.
maaaring ang ilan sa atin ay mabilis na huhusga, na kesyo kriminal naman ang mga taong nasa loob ng mga piitang ito, ngunit sa kabila ng lahat, ang hindi naiintindihan ng marami, sa loob ng mga bakal na rehas ay nananatili pa rin silang mga tao na may sariling kuwento, lalo na't sariling karapatan.
maraming mga bagay ang naituro sa akin ang nobelang ito, binuksan nito ang aking isipan sa mga problemang hindi natin lubusang naiintindihan,
kilala si ms, lualhati bautista bilang isa sa mga manunulat na nagbibigay boses sa mga kababaihang hindi napapakinggan ng lipunan, ngunit para sa akin, ang nobelang ito ay hindi lang tungkol sa isang babae at ang mga kinahaharap niyang problema sa loob ng isang kulungan, hindi lang din tungkol sa isang inang gagawin ang lahat para sa karapatang makapiling ang kanyang anak.
pero mas higit na ang nobelang ito ay isang katotohanang nararapat lang na mabasa ng lahat dahil ang bawat tauhan sa nobelang ito ay matagumpay na naisulat ng manunulat sa paraang masasabi mong totoong tao silanagkakamali.
nasasaktan. nagsisisi. natatakot. at bumabangon. It's like the movie "Miracle in Cell No,," but in an semiopposite way, none
Gustong gusto ko talaga ang mga nobela ni Lualhati Bautista, Hindi bumababa sa tatlong bituin three ang ratings ko sa kanyang mga libro kahit pa masasabing iisa ang estilong ginagamit niya sa kanyang mga kuwento dahil palaging bida ang babae, at kadalasan ay tumatalakay ito sa isang makabuluhan at napapanahong isyu.
Hindi na iba ang Bulaklak Sa City Jail sa mga obra ni Lualhati Bautista, Tulad ng kuwento ng isang inang si Amanda at ng kanyang pamilya sa panahon ng Martial Law sa sitelink Dekada ', ng babaeng si Lea at kung paano niya inalagaan at pinalaki ang kanyang mga anak sa magkaibang lalake sa sitelink Bata, Bata.
. . Pa'no Ka Ginawa, ng babaeng si Anna at ang paghahanap niya sa kanyang anak kasama ng iba pang mga naging biktima ng Batas Militar sa sitelink Desaparesidos, at ng malalim na ugnayan ng mga Pilipino at Amerikano sa sitelink 'Gapo, halos ganito rin ang tema sa librong itoisang babae sa gitna ng isang isyung panlipunan.
Ang Bulaklak Sa City Jail ay kuwento ng babaeng si Angela Gutierrez, simpleng waitress sa isang beer garden na nakulong sa salang nabigong pagpatay o frustrated murder sa asawa ng kanyang kalaguyong si Crisanto.
Sa kanyang pagkakakulong ay naranasan ni Angela ang buhay ng isang preso at ang tunay nilang kalagayan sa loob ng bilangguan na puno ng pangaabuso at hindi makataong pagtrato.
Sa pinakapayak na paglalarawan, sumesentro ang istorya sa buhay ng mga bilanggo at ang pakikipaglaban sa kanilang karapatang pantao,
Maganda ang naging simula ng kuwento o ang 'premise' ng Bulaklak Sa City Jail, Ipinakilala tayo ni Lualhati Bautista sa isang mundong malayo sa pangkaraniwang nararanasan natin, Dito natin malalaman na ang mundong ginagalawan ng mga bilanggo ay talaga namang nakakaawa at ang kalagayan ng mga nasa loob ng bilangguan ay tila isang mabigat na pasanin.
Nariyan ang hindi makatao at hindi pantay na pagtrato ng mga preso sa kanilang mga kapwa preso, ang maruming pasilidad na siyang nagdudulot ng sakit sa mga nakapiit dito, at ang pangaabuso ng mga may katungkulan sa karapatan ng bawat bilanggo.
Kung ihahalintulad ko ang Bulaklak Sa City Jail sa ibang nobela, masasabi kong ito ay tila ba Tagalog version ng mga nobela ni sitelink John Grisham.
Tulad ng mga obra ni Grisham, kitang kita ang pagkakaroon ng temang legal nito lalo na sa kalagitnaan hanggang sa pagtatapos ng kuwento, kung saan halos umikot na ang buong istorya sa kaso ni Angela at sa kanyang paglilitis.
Dahil hindi ako masyadong mahilig sa mga kuwento tungkol sa batas o legal fiction take note: hindi masyado, medyo nabawasan nang kaunti ang interes ko sa kalagitnaan ng istorya.
Sa kabuuan,
nagustuhan ko naman ang Bulaklak Sa City Jail, Balak ko pa ring maging completist ng mga libro ni Lualhati Bautista, Susunod kong babasahin ang sitelink In SisterhoodLea at Lualhati, pagkatapos ay sitelink Sixty In The City, Bagamat mukhang matatagalan pa naman iyon, .