Smaller and Smaller Circles by FH Batacan
Note: I've read this book years ago, so this isn't part of my list of POC-written books for the year. I simply made this review in case people are interested in more Filipino genre books. Unfortunately many of the titles published locally aren't available in Amazon. :( The only vendor I can find is Kabayan Central, though I haven't personally tested their service.
Smaller and Smaller Circles
by F.H. Batacan
Murders in the Philippines are often characterized as crimes of passion, senseless acts without rhyme or reason. Fr. Gus Saenz and Fr. Jerome Lucero, two Jesuit priests from a prestigious university face the impossible task of proving to the skeptical National Bureau of Investigation that there is a serial killer preying on the young boys of the Payatas slums.
Using Forensic Anthropology and Clinical Psychology, the two men of the cloth fight crime.! /facetious
I love Batacan's writing. Spare and journalistic, the brief glimpses into the mind of serial killer remains chilling several reads later. The plot is solid as well. What really impressed me is how fleshed out the victimology of the murderer is, the impetus for the crime revealed so inexorably as the story progresses that the reader cannot help but feel unnerved.
For historical reference, Payatas was a dumpsite and squatter's settlement in Quezon City that suffered tragedy when the mountain of garbage crashed over the makeshift houses and killed at least 100 people. One thing that makes this more than another crime novel is the added nuance of the victims' tragedy. All the boys killed are dirt poor, those often overlooked by the authorities when they go missing. Even their families assume that they simply ran away from home.
The novel isn't without its weaknesses, though. I think Fr. Gus and Jerome have too many Endearingly Eccentric Detective Quirks, which include a page or so of our dear Jesuits conversing with a reporter in French and Italian. And did I mention their rock star good looks? Details not pertaining to the main plot--which could have been fine if they were scattered over a series of stories, but the same spareness of prose that lends the storytelling its power makes these quirks all the more egregious.
Which is simply my way of saying, PLZ WRITE MOAR FR. GUS STORIES KTHXBAI!
Nevertheless it's a fine piece of pop fiction, and my favorite Filipino novel so far.
Smaller and Smaller Circles
by F.H. Batacan
Murders in the Philippines are often characterized as crimes of passion, senseless acts without rhyme or reason. Fr. Gus Saenz and Fr. Jerome Lucero, two Jesuit priests from a prestigious university face the impossible task of proving to the skeptical National Bureau of Investigation that there is a serial killer preying on the young boys of the Payatas slums.
Using Forensic Anthropology and Clinical Psychology, the two men of the cloth fight crime.! /facetious
I love Batacan's writing. Spare and journalistic, the brief glimpses into the mind of serial killer remains chilling several reads later. The plot is solid as well. What really impressed me is how fleshed out the victimology of the murderer is, the impetus for the crime revealed so inexorably as the story progresses that the reader cannot help but feel unnerved.
For historical reference, Payatas was a dumpsite and squatter's settlement in Quezon City that suffered tragedy when the mountain of garbage crashed over the makeshift houses and killed at least 100 people. One thing that makes this more than another crime novel is the added nuance of the victims' tragedy. All the boys killed are dirt poor, those often overlooked by the authorities when they go missing. Even their families assume that they simply ran away from home.
The novel isn't without its weaknesses, though. I think Fr. Gus and Jerome have too many Endearingly Eccentric Detective Quirks, which include a page or so of our dear Jesuits conversing with a reporter in French and Italian. And did I mention their rock star good looks? Details not pertaining to the main plot--which could have been fine if they were scattered over a series of stories, but the same spareness of prose that lends the storytelling its power makes these quirks all the more egregious.
Which is simply my way of saying, PLZ WRITE MOAR FR. GUS STORIES KTHXBAI!
Nevertheless it's a fine piece of pop fiction, and my favorite Filipino novel so far.