LESSON

5 Composing Academic Writing: Book Review

QUARTER IV

Name: _______________________________ Date: _______________

Subject: ___________ Grade Level- Section: ___________

A book review describes and evaluates a work of fiction or nonfiction and offers the book’s overall
purpose, structure, style of narration to the unknown readers. It tells not only what a book is about, but also
how successful it is at what it is trying to do. It is a sneak peek at a book, not a summary.
As a reviewer, you bring together the two strands of accurate, analytical reading and strong, personal
response when you indicate what the book is about and what it meant to readers. Hence, in writing a book
review, you combine your skills of describing the content of the pages, analyzing how the book achieved its
purpose, and expressing your most personal comments, reactions and suggestions.
But before you start writing a book review, you have to read the book first and ask yourself these
questions: What are the author’s viewpoint and purpose? What are the author’s main points? What kind of
evidence does the author use to prove his or her points? How does this book relate to other books on the
same topic? Does the author have the necessary expertise to write the book? What are the most appropriate
criteria by which to judge the book? How successful do you think the author was in carrying out the overall
purposes of the book?
If it is a short review, you may not be able to fulfill your purpose. If it is too long, it may stray too much of
the plot or of the content, you may lose the interest of your readers. Take this general guideline: the length of
the review depends upon the length of the book itself, and a review should not be less than 100 words. Longer
books usually asks for more than 500 words.
A book review title should be based on your total impression of a book. Similar to creating passwords,
strong titles might be “Drew girl power to new height”, “A night owl that seldom sleeps even during daytime,”
“Beautiful illustrations with a story to match,” “Perfect for a weekend getaway” while weak titles are: “State of
the art book,” “Five stars,” “A breath of fresh air,” “Fast and furious.”
Learning Task 1: Fill in the Blank: Fill in the blank with the correct words.

conclusion praisesintroduction analysis evidence

impression read response viewpoint 100

1. The ____ of a book review gives a brief overview of the plot.

2. The ____ analyzes the writing style and techniques used by the author.
3. In the ____ section, you express your thoughts and feelings about the book.
4. A good book review should include both ____ and criticisms.
5. It is important to provide ____ to support your opinions in the review.
6. Before writing a book review, you must first _ the book.
7. A book review combines skills of describing the content, analyzing how the book achieved its purpose,
and expressing personal _.
8. When writing a book review, consider the author’s _ and purpose.
9. The length of a review should depend on the length of the book itself and should not be less than _ words.
10. A book review title should be based on your _ impression of the book.

Learning Task 2: Read the 3 examples book review of Noli Me Tangere. Choose 1 book review and fill in the
matrix with the information provided by the writer about the text. Summarize your answer in only ONE (1)
SENTENCE each part of the book review.

INTRODUCTION
ANALYSIS
CRITIQUE
EVIDENCES
CONCLUSION

How do you START writing a book review?

1. Identify the book by author, title, and sometimes publishing information.
2. Specify the type of book (for example: fiction, nonfiction, biography, and autobiography). Help your readers
to review with perspective.
3. Mention the book’s theme.
4. Include background, if necessary, to enable reader/s to place the book into a specific context.
5. You may also use an interesting quote, an interesting fact, or an explanation of a concept or term.
What do you DO with the content?
1. For nonfiction books like biography, history and the like: pay primary attention to the major points (the
argument) the author is putting forth and to the sources the author has drawn upon to back up his/her point of
view.
2. For fictional works such as novels, chic lit, graphic novels, manga: Pay attention primarily to the novel or
book’s setting, plot, style, characters, theme/s, use of language and voice. Caution: Do not give away the story
for no one appreciates a spoiler!
3. Provide your reactions to the book.
4. Describe the book.
5. Respond to the author’s opinions and analyze it.
6. Explore issues the book raises.

How do you CONCLUDE?

1. Relate your argument to other books or authors.
2. Relate the book to larger issues.
3. Tie together issues raised in the review.
4. Briefly restate your main points and your thesis statement.
5. Indicate how well the book has achieved its goal, what possibilities are suggested by the book, what the
book has left out, how the book compares to others on the subject, what specific points are not convincing, and
what personal experiences you’ve had related to the subject.

How do you REVISE the draft?

1. Allow time to elapse, at least a day, before starting your revision.
2. Correct grammatical mistakes and punctuation as you find them.
3. Read your paper through again looking for unity, organization and logical development.
4. If necessary, do not hesitate to make major revisions in your draft.
5. Verify quotations for accuracy and check the format and content of references.

Learning Task 3: In your own words, write at least five pointers for writing a book review by answering the
questions below. Provide only ONE SENTENCE each question. Present your answer using the graphic
organizer below.

How do you What do you How do you

START writing a DO with the present the
book review? content? evidences?

How do you
How do you
REVISE the
CONCLUDE?
draft?
BOOK REVIEW A

Noli Me Tangere is a revolutionary book by our national hero, Jose Rizal, and is said to spark the revolution
against the Spanish rule in our country. This was areal required reading book for Filipino high school students
so I was able to read this book for our Filipino class. Or at least, I was able to read a condensed version of this
book, since our textbook back then contained summarized chapters with discussion questions (which we have
to summarize yet again and answer). We were also required to watch movies related to the book (and the
author), as well as watch a stage play and produce our own in high school. So I was really, pretty much
saturated by this then that I felt that I had no reason to read it again.

I remember liking it very much in high school. A few years later, when I was getting serious with reading more
local fiction, I realized that I haven't read the full text of Noli MeTangere. Because I was ambitious like that, I
said that I would read it in its entirety someday. I planned to read it last year but gave up after the first 100 or
so pages. ^^; Then the opportunity came again when it became our book club's book of the month for August,
so I thought: this is it. I thought I would be able to read it easier now, given that I've been venturing out of my
reading comfort zone lately.

Of course, I was wrong. I don't know if I was just simply busy, but Noli Me Tangere proved to be a difficult
read. It was easy for the first third or so, but I lagged so much after that I wasn't sure if I could finish it. Then I
got past 400 pages, and I realized that there were about 50+ pages of appendices that didn't count in the total
story, so it was just 150+ pages before the end. I powered through and finished 3am on the day of our
discussion. Buzzer beater!

To cut the long story short: as a piece of fiction, I didn't see Noli Me Tangere as a really good book. It had a lot
of good moments, but half the time, it was kind of dragging. There were a lot of chapters where nothing really
happened except the people were talking about what just happened in the previous chapter -- gossiping
characters, which is actually a very Filipino trait, but it felt like fodder in the story. The main characters were a
little one-dimensional, and I wonder why I actually liked reading about Crisostomo Ibarra back then when he
can be so...boring. Maria Clara was far from the strong female character that I liked reading in my books, and
in fact, I liked her best friend, Sinang, more. There was some kind of hope in Padre Damaso, who showed a bit
more depth in his character, but it wasn't until the very end.

Saying these makes me feel like I'm a bad Filipino, eep. :| But it's not that it's a bad book -- Rizal is a talented
writer and I liked several parts of the book for its descriptive but not purple writing. I really ended up still liking
the book in the end, despite the struggle. Maybe I was just really busy for August that's why it was hard to
read? But I figure there may be two other reasons for this: first is that even if I first heard of the story 11 years
ago, it was still too close to my schooling years that reading it again still felt too academic and I can't get out of
that mindset. Another is that...perhaps it's just not really my kind of book just yet.

I really, really appreciate the effort behind producing this book, as well as how it was instrumental to major
events in my country's history. I wanted to give this book 3 stars, but I felt like I owe this book something
because of what it sparked for my country's freedom. I am gratefu for that, and it makes the difficulty of reading
this book easier to forgive compared to the other difficult books I've read. Overall, it's okay, and I honor Jose
Rizal for it. I'm glad that I have finally read Noli Me Tangere and I will read the full text of its sequel someday
(not sure how soon, but someday!). But I totally understand now why we were given a condensed version back
in high school. :)
BOOK REVIEW B

I’ve read another book for the SEA Reading Challenge! I actually heard about this a while back but was a bit
intimidated to pick it up because it’s supposed to be immensely important in the world of Filipino literature. So
bear in mind that I’m writing this as an ordinary person who’s just trying to read more from the region she’s in
(this is not where you’d find a lot of academic analysis).

Noli Me Tangere, which means “Touch Me Not” in Latin, follows Crisóstomo Ibarra, who has returned to the
Philippines from his years abroad in Europe. Sadly, he finds that his father has died under the hands of the
cruel Father Damaso. Still, Ibarra is determined not to take his revenge, instead focusing his energies on
building a school and his fiancée, the beautiful María Clara. Soon, however, he finds that someone is still after
him and they do not want him to succeed.

At the same time, we’re introduced to Sisa, a poor peasant woman and her two sons. When they disappear,
she goes mad.

It took me a pretty long time (and the help of Wikipedia) to understand what was going on, but once I finished
reading it, I realised that it was a powerful indictment of corrupt clergy and an ‘upper class’ who were only pre-
occupied with their self-interest. Many of the upper-class are Spaniards, but some are Pinoys who manage to
think of themselves as ‘European’ while stereotyping their countrymen as lazy natives. They are equally
complicit in the system of oppression as the Spaniards from Europe.

What I enjoyed about this book was the use of humour. The story is pretty depressing since it’s basically how
Ibarra finds his father dead and then bad thing after bad thing happen, so the use of humour helped to lighten
it while showing just how ridiculous things were. For example, the book starts with news of a party and the
news of it is described as “a jolt of electricity among the parasites, spongers, and freeloaders that God, in his
infinite goodness, has so lovingly multiplied in Manila.” In another example later in the book, a Filipino woman
who is past her prime because she refused every single suitor on account of their race is described as “no
longer passable, she was just past.” That is an apt introduction to a woman who goes to extreme lengths to
imitate what she thinks is the European ideal.

That said, the book does have a lot of long speeches and digressions, a little like the ones in The Zenith. While
they weren’t as confusing as the ones in The Zenith (and some were pretty insightful and would have made
great essays to read), they were enough that the pacing of the book was spoiled for me, and it was far too
easy to miss key plot points in the story. Because of this, I spent a lot of time being confused and having to
refer to Wikipedia to make sure I was aware of what happened.

Overall, this was pretty interesting. It’s not one of my usual reads but it was worthwhile spending some time on
this. I don’t think I’ll re-read it or continue with the sequel, but if you’re interested in reading Philippine literature
or are studying Phillipino history, I’d recommend this.
BOOK REVIEW C

I enjoyed this novel a lot. It’s a real page turner.

And this is surprising for me. We were required to read this in high school (I think it’s still required reading
in all Philippine schools, public and private, but I may be wrong). Jose Rizal is one of our national heroes, and
perhaps the greatest. But back then I thought it was dry and boring. During Filipino class, my mind wandered
elsewhere. As a result, I failed to appreciate it.

What is the story about? (Spoilers ahead!)

Basically, Noli Me Tangere is a love story. The setting is 19th century Philippines, during the latter years of the
country as Spain’s only colony in Asia. So in the background, there’s politics.

It’s a love story not only between two individuals, Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria Clara de los Santos, but also
between persons and the motherland.

The love stories are tragic. When I finished the novel, I got a bit depressed. But that was just Rizal’s aim. He
dedicated the novel to his country. What he did, or what he promised to do, was hold up a mirror in front of
Philippine society and allow it to see the truth of its condition. The truth, as he saw it, was that the Philippines is
being eaten up by a social cancer. And his countrymen, unfortunately, are asleep. They needed to be
awakened from their slumber and see the real state of things so that they can find freedom and happiness.

What is the social cancer?

Rizal believed, I think, that the social cancer eating away the tissues of Philippine society are the following:

1. Corruption and abuse of power (By many of the friars and Spanish administration officials);
2. Ignorance or lack of education;
3. Superstitious beliefs or lack of knowledge about one’s religion;
4. Hypocrisy of the friars;
5. Vices like gambling and tendency to gossip;
6. Indolence;
7. Passivity;
8. Cowardice; and
9. Lust

The question is, how faithfully did Rizal’s novel portray Philippine society? We need to consult our history
books for that.

Before reading this book, I used to think that the misery that the Filipinos in Rizal’s time experienced was
simply inflicted by the friars and Spanish officials. In the Noli, however, it’s not as simple as that. There was an
interplay of the above factors: Yes, many of the friars were corrupt, hypocritical, and abusive, but many of the
common people were not entirely blameless. Many of the latter were ignorant of their own religion; they held
superstitious beliefs alongside Catholic beliefs, even if the two are incompatible. Many were also fond of
gambling: For example, Sisa’s husband. His addiction to cock-fighting left him and his family constantly in want
of money, so that Sisa had to compensate by working long hours and sending her two sons to the parish
house to work under extremely harsh and unjust circumstances. If her husband were more decent and
responsible, Sisa’s sons would’ve been spared and her sanity unharmed. So, their family would’ve stayed
intact. Many of the Filipinos were also passive and cowardly. When they witnessed injustices done to their
fellow indios, they did nothing out of fear.

I think that the Noli does not really indict religion, or Catholicism, itself. It only brings out as ugly, dangerous,
and destructive corruption and hypocrisy.

What is the plot?

Here’s a sketch:

Crisostomo Ibarra is the son of a wealthy man in the town of San Diego. He is half-Spanish and half-indio. The
novel begins with a social gathering in the house of one Captain Santiago. This party is well-attended by the
who’s-who of society: Padre Damaso, Padre Salvi, Padre Sibyla, a Spanish journalist, some members of the
Spanish army, and some members of the Philippine elite, like the Españadas.
Ibarra arrived from Europe (after almost seven years, studying and travelling) and joins the assembly. Padre
Damaso quickly reveals himself as a very odious man. In contrast, Padre Salvi is more quiet and mysterious,
but many times more conniving and downright sinister. They are Franciscans, so it’s highly ironic that they’re
not peace-loving, gentle, pure, honest, and holy.

Ibarra soon learns of his father’s fate. He is enraged, but he swallows his bitterness and directs his energies to
more constructive efforts, like gifting his town with its own school, something that was sorely needed.

At first, Ibarra was quite optimistic. But he faced stiff and violent opposition from his enemies, so in the end he
was radicalized, with the help of the mysterious Elias.

Maria Clara loves him dearly, but she is caught up in her own problems and dilemmas. She’s trapped in a web
of lies and evil and she couldn’t get away from it.

The other interesting characters in the story are: Tasio, the philosopher; Sisa, and her two sons; Captain
Tiago; Aunt Isabel; the ensign and his wife, Doña Consolacion; Don Tiburcio Españada, the quack doctor, and
his wife, Doña Victorina.

Like I said, the ending is pretty grim. So I’m looking forward to El Filibusterismo.

Why “Noli Me Tangere” (Touch Me Not)?

The phrase is taken from John 20:17:

Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and
tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Perhaps Rizal was simply referring to the Spanish friars, like Padre Damaso and Padre Salvi, who were
corrupt and hypocritical but were “untouchables” because of their power. Jesus was the Son of God and is
therefore the “fountain of all holiness”, but the friars were vile and violent, so it’s highly ironic that the phrase
should refer to them.