SMALLER AND SMALLER CIRCLES

Title: SMALLER AND SMALLER CIRCLES

The author writes in the acknowledgment to this crime novel that “The first time I wrote this book—in 1996, when I was in my mid-twenties—I was angry about my job, about the state of my country, about the callousness, complacency, and corruption that had dragged it there.”  But she adds that the second time she revisited the book in 2014—“I found myself even angrier: about the state of my country, which seemed even worse…”

She channeled this anger by writing this crime novel about a serial killer that preyed on young boys who call Payatas home, the garbage dump of Metro Manila.  In the process, she describes a society where politics, corruption, the Catholic Church and the desire for power all get in the way of finding the truth.

The lead characters are a Jesuit priest and his mentor–a forensic anthropologist who also is a Jesuit priest.  The local police force and the way it deals with solving crime also adds a distinctive flavor to the mix.  The description of the crime scenes at Payatas is gruesome and unsettling—one can almost smell the stench, feel the heat and taste the sweat as it pours down your brows.

The author has channeled her anger well.  She gives a face and name to the victims, their families and their community—brings to the fore their humanity.  In the process, she indicts an entire country, the continued stratification of its society, and the poverty and injustice that so many have to endure.

Despite it social commentary or perhaps because of it, the novel is engrossing, gripping and a good read—but also unsettling as images it brings forth lingers on, long after reading the last page.

Price: $10.00

Author: F.H. Batacan

Soho Press, Inc. New York, 2015, p.357