Category: Philippines

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One reason I don’t read a lot of Filipino novels is that we do not have a lot to offer when it comes to my favorite genre: crime thrillers. For the past 15 years or so, ever since I’ve become a voracious consumer of fiction, I’ve slowly filled my shelves with crime novels from James Patterson (Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women’s Murder Club) and Jeffery Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme, Katherine Dance). In between I read John Grisham, Michael Crichton, and lately Lawrence Block and Karin Slaughter. I sometimes pick up books in other genres, like from Catherine Ryan Hyde, John Green, and other YA novels (Hunger Games, Divergent, etc.) I think I’ve only read a handful of Filipino books outside of school requirements. Lately though I’m trying to venture into our local works to see what we have to offer. Since I am trying out other genres anyway, I buy Filipino books if I think I’ll enjoy them. But never have I heard of a Filipino crime novel, until a few weeks ago.

I forgot how I discovered this book; probably from Judith, another bookish friend (she has a bigger collection of books than my already staggering 500+ behemoth). She’s more into local works than I am, so I sometimes look at her Goodreads account/tweets/Facebook posts to get some inspiration. So I think that’s how I found this book. I found out it wasn’t really new, that it existed since the late 90’s, but in different versions. However, I knew I have to read it. It’s like the stars aligning, to put it dramatically.

So now I finished it and I am glad I was not disappointed. No, I’m glad it met my very high expectations. It has all the elements of crime thrillers: mystery, plot twists, gore (not really into it but it comes with the territory so I allow it). But what makes it unique are the characters, and the location where this all takes place. Father Saenz and Father Lucero are not your typical detectives (they’re priests!), and so it’s refreshing to read a crime novel from their point of view. The other characters are also likable (at least those that are on the 2 priests’ side) and memorable. It’s also interesting that they didn’t paint the villain as a pure evil entity that you want to hate, but rather someone who was turned evil by circumstance. It’s also new that the protagonists wanted to “save” the villain in the end, even after all the deplorable acts the person has done.

There were some funny moments in the book, which I appreciated. I especially liked the one where the 2 priests were thrust into a place filled with Philippines’ high society. I can’t help but smirk at the hypocrisy of the rich and the Church, and how our 2 heroes are like fishes out of water (or fishes in a shark tank?) There were also very sad truths about the poverty in our country that the author boldly included in the novel. It made me angry that, what was true then, is still true to this day.

All the issues (social, political, religious) in the book made the novel “fuller,” not just your typical popcorn fluff crime book that you consume for the thrills. I’m looking forward to Batacan’s next work. I read that it’s not about the 2 priests but a secondary character in the novel, but I hope the duo make an appearance.

Get Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan from the following websites:
Amazon.com
The Book Depository