Apples and Oranges


Apple and Oranges
My Brother and Me, Lost and Found
By Marie Brenner
Softcover, 265 pages

I was never wrong to have picked this up. This book was a lucky find at Booksale because I got it for P20, reminding me of that Cornetto ad, Saan aabot ang bente pesos mo? I was more than elated.

I just can't get over the fact how the author weave her sibling rivalry into her family's history in a funny and then riveting storytelling. Even how the siblings chose and fought for what they want to do in their lifetime seems to have some connections in the past, like Carl, a lawyer who turned into an Apple Man and Marie, a journalist. They turned out to be not-so-alien when she assessed their lives according to how their ancestors have lived.

Just when I am already persuaded that we can never really get into full circle in life if we cannot know our past, there is a sudden change in the story line. There is the urgency to heed Carl's wisdom: Go forward. Just go forward.

And just when I am convinced that everything has a history and should be understood, there is this wisdom from the woman full of explanations, Marie: Sometimes you do not get to understand everything.

Marie told everything in an entertaining manner that I am left wanting to join any Apple-tasting fair. I love her wit and her courage and her frailties.

I reached page 258. It was at around the chapters immediately before it that warmed up in the warmth forming between the siblings. Page 258 came and I cried a lot. So sad.

Each sibling's wisdom spoke to me. Eloquently.  An unforgettable read. 

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