Imperfect Pearl: A Novel, Imperfect Pearl: A Novel

This is the story of Zonta, a woman raised jn a convent by her widowed mother, who is very conservative and traditional in her values and who instilled in Zonta, behavioral and thinking modes that is strongly influenced by social approval and traditional concept of what is appropriate in a given circumstance. The book illustrates how these traditional values created ambivalence in her response and choices of behavior after life events that occured during these tumultuous periods in Philippine historyThis is also the story of the Philippines during the revolution and during the period of American occupation, how it acquired a sense of nationhood and how that emerging identity figured out in it becoming independent from American control. The book tells the story of many Filipino beliefs and how the religious influence still is manifest in many segments of population.This is the stpry of deep friendships and how these friends navigated experiences that betrayed trust, and how that deep friendships survived and affirmed the relationship once again. It is the story of friendships between two girls who grew up in different circumstances but found each other as equals later in life as they navigated trust and honesty and feelings of alienation and betrayal.It is the story of love in its many manifestations, that of carnal desire, sexual love, love between husband and wife between friends, love of one's children, family, love of country and love of human kind, of faith and love of god.It is a story of hope and ambition and discipline and determination and of forgiveness and thereby finding love again.It is a story of courage, finding one's strength and imagination to survive what life has dealt which one had no control over.In the end one finds hope springs eternal and survives when one opens itself to love.