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The Ideal Woman, a new book by Roy Espiritu, is not about what you might think. It sounds like it might be about looking for the woman that one finds ideal, or who the ideal woman is, or how to become the ideal woman. Instead, it is one woman’s journey, torn between two worlds and two cultures, two countries and two lives, where she is often put on a pedestal because of her looks but then looked at sideways due to her heritage. She is often forced to walk a fine line, and trying to find herself and what she wants for her life.
The book follows the life of a woman named Pearl and her family. It centers on Pearl, but because of the importance of her heritage, her family is a big focus as well. Pearl has a Filipino mother and white father, which causes strife between both families, although both adore Pearl. Pearl spends her time mostly in the USA, but also spends plenty of it in the Philippines, where many people apotheosize her for her looks. One family fixates on her, and wants her for their son. A courting process begins, and Pearl has to decide how she wants to live her life and what she really wants. How she “behaves”, dresses, thinks, acts, dresses, even her family’s history comes into play.
It is an interesting read, trying to understand the struggle of walking between two worlds, never really being in either, having to make her own way and decide for herself. The family bond is strong, sometimes and in some cases, suffocating, as Pearl and her families journey on.
More About the Book
Imagine a country of more than 7,000 islands, populated by people from every corner of the Earth.
Welcome to the Philippines, home to one of the richest and most diverse cultures in the world.
Filipino immigrant and author Roy Espiritu’s new book, “The Ideal Woman”, tells the story of a mother and her daughter caught between American and Filipino culture, three generations of women embedded in the daily life of a highly traditional society. Side-by-side with the beauty of these traditions come difficulties, double standards, tragedies and bravery.
“I wanted to examine every angle of Filipino culture and reveal its beauty, even with its faults,” Espiritu said.
Just as “The Ideal Woman” is a story with a genuine setting, it is also based on real incidents of injustice and violence. It is a complex and nuanced tale of romance and courtship between two cultures that are sometimes dramatically different.
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