Book Review: The Cursed Healer by Victoria Amor

Introduction

The novel “The Cursed Healer” is a Gothic romance written by Victoria Amor. This is the first Gothic romance written by the author and was published by Precious Pages Corporation having its first printing in the year 2011 in the Philippines. It is written in Tagalog language with 271 pages which was divided into 17 chapters with a prologue and an epilogue.

            The book has a chocolaty brown front cover with a printed name of the author, its title and genre. The large portion of the book’s front cover is dominated by the picture of the main characters, the Chosen One and the Guardian with a symbolic moon in its background. The picture portrays mystery that when I look at it, a strong feeling of curiosity strikes me.

            On the other hand, the book’s back cover is printed in black with a little excerpt and teaser of the novel. The title is also printed as well as the symbolic locket of the Chosen One and the Guardia. In the bottom part of the book’s back cover is its ISBN 978-971-02-4703-5. The book is sold in ₱149.

From the author’s note found in the first page of the book, I can say that this novel aims to answer the question “What is unconditional love?” And without any doubt, I can guarantee that the question can be satisfactorily answered. Moreover, at the end of the authors note, Victoria Amor hopes and wishes that Mutya’s song “Sanay pag-ibig na  lang  ang isipin ng bawat isa sa mundo” is possible.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it is not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, It keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

-The Bible: 1 Corinthians 13

Summary

The novel starts with Crystal having a dream about her late grandmother Lola Liwayway’s prediction about her fate and her role in fighting the evil creatures which turn to be the vampires. A legend of long ago that is about to be repeated.

            Long ago Maglinao was a quiet and peaceful barrio. However, as the foreign family moved to the place, weird things and incident’s began to happen. There were dead animals found in the forest and soon, humans and incidents that change the peaceful community of Maglinao. There were rumors that there was a monster living in the barrio for all the victims had all the same marks found on their necks: two little holes from a fang. All the people in the barrio thought that the foreign family was the one behind the dark incidents.

            One night, Lola Liwayway’s grandfather and father went to the forest to know who those dark creatures are.  They were attacked by men in black clothes, but were saved by the foreign family. It turned out that the foreign family and the men in black clothes are vampires. However, the foreign family is far different from those dark vampires. They are the good ones. They are the reason why the dark vampires were in the barrio. They are being chased to be killed. The family and the grandfather became good friends. They help the people of Maglinao to win against the dark vampires, and leave the barrio afterwards. Lola Liwayway’s grandfather continued to live in the forest.

            After so many years, a foreign man came back carrying a baby in his arms. There was no word from the man except the name of Lola Liwayway’s grandfather. Lola Liwayway saw from the eyes of the man all the struggles the man had gone through, and then leave the baby to her. Before he leaves, he gave the baby a necklace and a paper with the message saying “Sanggol na Pinili”

            In the legend, there was a prophecy about The Chosen One and The Guardian. Their fates are interconnected. The Chosen One can be likened to a flower  -as its petals started to bloom, the guardian would feel the thirst and the Chosen One’s blood will complete the true nature of the Guardian.  A Guardian is a special mortal vampire. He has all the strength of his kind and none of their weakness except for the thirst. He and the Chosen One share a certain mind link. They can communicate with each other mentally. The Chosen One is a gifted half human and half vampire woman. Once the sign show up, the Chosen One and her Guardian will meet and dark predicaments will start to happen. Many will get hurt and die.

            It seems that the prophecy and Lola liwayway’s prediction was true. Crystal live on the church and on her 18^th birthday, Father Raze came; a priest destined in Maglinao.  He is not aware of the legend and his true nature, yet the moment they met, they both feel the strong connection and later on their lives started to change.

            The signs showed up. Since then, dark incidents started to occur which proved that Lola Liwayway’s prediction is now about to happen. Three days after Father Raze’s arrival, he started to feel the thirst that no water can ease. Once he looked Crystal or when their eyes locked, he feels the strong urge of protectiveness, but when they get closer Crystal’s blood is a great torture for him. Being a Priest, who dedicate most of his life in the church and being the Guardian is a curse.

            As the Chosen One and the Guardian, they shared a psychic bond. They can both read the minds of each other. Crystal knew he was confused. They were both confused. She knew the legend and his true nature. She saw all his struggles to hold his being and for feeling like a monster. But Crystal taught him to accept his curse; the legend. The Chosen One is the source of the Guardian.

            However, in the middle of the novel, a handsome, arrogant traveller came with a broken soul. His name was Rock. Despite of his arrogance he had change the perception of Crystal about love. He was attracted by Crystal the moment he laid his eyes on her, but like other people he was blinded by jealousy because of the different closeness of Crystal and Father Raze. Somehow he knows that Crystal had a special feeling for the handsome priest but he is determined to save Crystal for committing a sin.

The Author

Victoria Amor is a Filipino romance novelist who writes for Precious Pages Corporation. She also wrote under the pen name, Andrei Alexis, for the Malikmata imprint of the same publishing company. She is born in the Philippines and her genre is Literature and Fiction which deals mainly on romance.  It was her dream to write a book like this, and one day the idea of Father Raze came into her mind. Her boss became her inspiration who happen to be named Raze. Thus, the character of Father Raze may have some influence from the character of her boss.

This book would not be possible if not of her boss. In return, she dedicated this book to him and all the people who loved her.

The Title

          I really have a hard time thinking why does the novel was entitled “The Cursed Healer”. I mean, in some way I understand the word “Cursed”, but what’s with the word “Healer”? At first,  I thought that Crystal is the Cursed Healer. For she had made Father Raze accept his true nature and introduce the prophecy. But then again, maybe it reflects on the characters of Father Raze and Crystal, where Father Raze as Guardian had the cursed and Crystal as the Chosen One had the gift. The Chosen One is the gift that the Guardian need to protect at the same time, because the Chosen One is the source of the Guardian, she became the Healer of the Curse. The guardian became the protector, the Chosen one is the source of the strength of the Guardian. Their fate is interconnected.

Style

The book is good with an interesting plot. Readers will surely not get bored reading it. It is written in a large font approximately 12pt. font size in Times New Roman. The paragraphs are short narratives and the language use is Tagalog making it favorable and entertaining to readers most especially the Filipino readers. The author uses plot devices like 1.foreshadowing (Crystal is dreaming about her late grandmother’s prediction about her fate and her role. Page.5) giving the readers insights of upcoming events that will arouse their curiosity making them engrossed in reading and  2.flashbacks (The story of the legend happen in the Barrio of Maglinao. Page.8)  which made the plot more detailed.

Theme

As I have mentioned in my introduction, the novel aims to view the meaning of unconditional love. Though the plot revolves on adventures, principles, morality, duties and romance, we could also feel the agenda, the battle of each character that they needed to face; to win. In the crucial events of the story, I have really felt the sacrifices of each character that lead me understand the meaning of unconditional love.

“You are free to love. You have all the liberty to love any person. It does not matter if the feeling is mutual or not. What important is, you love cleanly, purely and wholeheartedly”

-Crsytal

The Moral sense of the Novel

The main three characters has their own battle to win; Crystal as the Chosen One and Father raze as the Guardian, the lives of the people and the responsibility of saving the barrio is in their shoulders. Crystal have been told and been prepared by her grandmother about the legend that that is to be repeated. Father Raze was not. He was not aware of his true nature, that when it comes out he had hated himself for it. As a priest who devoted almost half of his life in serving, it was not easy for him to accept the curse of being a mortal vampire. He hated himself for thirsting for blood. He had been struggling to fight his thirst and for thinking of hurting someone. Although he is a mortal vampire he had never killed anyone. Being a Priest and a mortal vampire is indeed a curse. Crystal had helped him to accept his curse.

Being the Guardian of the Chosen One, Father Raze is always on the side of Crystal. He always has this protective feeling towards her. Crystal found herself falling in love with Father Raze, as well as Father Raze find a soft spot for Crystal in his heart. Their connection as Chosen One and Guardian, drew them close together; a closeness that raises so many eyebrows and suspicions.  

            Crystal was aware of these things. She knew she needed to stay away from Father Raze. And so she tries her best to avoid the handsome priest. The characterization of Rock in novel became the attention shifter of Crystal. His arrogance irritates Crystal but in the end, there quarrels turn into relationship.

            Among the three, I guess Father Raze is the one who shows and give unconditional love. His profession as a priest and his duties as the Guardian is really a big challenge that would test his personality and his principles. He had learned to love his being, his history, and most of all he had loved Crystal. But he never gave up Jesus for the sake of romance. He had loved and never waits for any return. Furthermore, he refuses to give up his profession being a priest and follow what is written in the prophecy. His characterization made my heart bleed.

 -babecoby