ABOUT THE BOOK

Two people broken by the devastation of war find each other and rekindle their courage to pursue their dreams again.

World War II has ended, but Leona Miranda’s family is still struggling, broken as they were by the sudden death of her father and the mysterious disappearance of her older sister Sally. At seventeen, Leona sees herself as the man of the family—after all, her mother made her dress like a boy throughout the war to keep Japanese soldiers from raping her. Seeking work, she goes to Manila. There, she takes refuge in a boutique in a ruined luxury mall, the famed Arcadia Diamante, its basement now teeming with provincial migrants. She protects herself by maintaining her tough attitude and boyish clothing, though sometimes she plays dress-up with the old gowns she found in a chest in the boutique.

Hernan Arevalo, the architect of the building, discovers her there and, in small ways, makes her dreams come true. He hires her as his assistant and takes her to his mansion, giving her a fashionable wardrobe. Leona’s feelings for him grow from gratitude and sympathy to love. But Hernan is already engaged to the cool and elegant Gloria, daughter of the wealthy building contractor who bought his ill-fated masterpiece and hired him for its restoration.

In any case, Leona yearns for independence, and Hernan swings back and forth between empowering her and overprotecting her. She engages in a flirtation with handsome engineer Max and seeks a place of her own in the city. In the process, she picks up clues to her sister’s whereabouts and grows into a confident woman, daring to dream again of possibilities as vast and glittering as Arcadia Diamante itself once was.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raissa Rivera Falgui is a Filipina author with a passion for arts, culture, and history. Due to the knowledge she has picked up throughout her studies and various writing and editing jobs, most of her works have to do with history, culture, and mythology, often combined with elements of romance. The idea for her novel Arcadia Diamante actually came to her while she was editing articles on architecture and on radio broadcasting history for the Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia of Philippine Art.

Her historical novel Woman in a Frame was nominated for the Philippine National Book Awards in 2015. Her collection Virtual Centre and Other Science Fiction Stories, published by Penguin Random House SEA, includes an update of her Palanca-winning future fiction story. She is a graduate of the University of the Philippines with an MA in Creative Writing and a BA in Art Studies. She is married to Ateneo English teacher Joel Falgui. They have three children.