In her attempt to translate THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN by Rudyard Kipling from English to Tagalog, Christine Imperial reflects on the Philippines' complex colonial history, her family's fractured heritage, and her identity as a Philippine American.

MISTAKEN is a collection of poems and essays written in experimental styles. Some paragraphs about the history of the Philippines and her family are interspersed with Imperial's annotations and reflections. It took me a bit of back and forth in the beginning to figure out the structure of the book, but once I got into a groove, MISTAKEN became an intimate and beautiful read.

There's a lot of Tagalog that could've conveyed more nuance and depth for readers who understand the language; I'd love to see some own voice reviews of this book! Imperial also includes pictures and ads in MISTAKEN, which makes for a refreshing reading experience for those up to the experimental writing style.

Thank you to The Ohio State University Press for the gifted copy!