It's a Bomb! (as in it bombed... god, how ugly can some books be)
Eto nga pala ang description ng UP Press sa libro ni Batacan:
Winner of the 1999 Palanca Grand Prize for the Novel, Smaller and Smaller Circles is “gripping, fast-paced, and surprisingly compassionate in its depiction of the criminal.” Through this pioneering work, FH Batacan finally ushers in macabre fiction innovatively blended with a Filipino flavor that sets her work apart from the run-of-the-mill crime story. Batacan, who holds an MA in Art Studies from the UP, works for the Straits Times in Singapore.
I had the opportunity to read the first pinoy detective novel. And the first serial killer murder novel set in, well, whaddya know it's set here in the Philippines. I had the inkling that when I started it, it would be the wrong novel to be tagged as the first mystery novel (i.e. serial killer novel) to have come out of the Philippines (I guess, it isn't really the first mystery novel. Filipino writers tend to forget some antecedents when the "antecedent" is not as famous or it didn't win any awards. I don't know if there are any better written antecedents, I have to find out first.).
The Good:
The murders, even though they were lurid, were not exploitative.
The writing was actually good bordering on cornball mystery novel(well, at least it had a bit of something good about it).
Some of the procedures in autopsies were deftly handled. I guess, this is the only strength of the book to speak of.
The Bad:
Whoever said that casting Jesuit priests as main characters should have had their head reexamined. I don't know, but I found it all wrong. I don't like priests, but discounting the fact that I don't like them, these two (Saenz, and Jerome) were just too annoying for their own good.
Flat humor. I don't know how old the writer is, but the humor is so freaking unfunny. It's so trapped in the '80s or some time era where I wasn't even born.
Unconvincing dialogues. Batacan employs 2 main characters. Gus Saenz, and Jerome Something something always engage in something witty (according to whoever wrote and reviewed the book, but I really don't see the wit between the two priests)and they have a line or two which should be memorable as one liners. Sadly, the one liners were not funny.
The motivation for the killing. As Ms. Jose would have said it, (a bit of a *SPOILER ALERT* here, that is if you care about reading the book at all) ano ba pakialam natin kung nauring siya nung bata siya? *END SPOILER*
Nagkaroon ako ng madaming problema sa pagbabasa ng libro, kasi andaming quarters na nagsasabi (tulad na lang ng UP Press) na maganda at literary siya. Kumbaga, it's the next best thing to read than a "run of the mill mystery novel." Ang problema nga lang, isa rin ito sa mga kinamumuhian nilang "run of the mill mystery novel." Kung beterano ka na kasi sa pagbabasa ng mystery novels at mga whodunits, although malalaman mo na ang arc ng isang kwento, meron pa ring mga librong nagooffer ng konting innovation na hindi naman naihain ng librong ito. Ang feeling ko lang eh hindi nagbabasa ng mystery novels si Batacan, or kung nagbabasa man siya eh iyong mga binasa niya eh iyong mga pangit. Sa tinagal tagal na din kasi ng genre, madami na ding progreso ang nailaan dito kaya kung antiquated ang iyong view sa genre eh patay ka na. Ang maganda siguro, nagbasa siya ng mga anthologies on mystery and novels (and if I may, wag iyong mga gawa ni Karen Kijewski et al, kasi eto nga iyong run of the mill. Pwede na iyong kay Ruth Rendell, siya ang nagsulat ng Live Flesh. Eto bale ang basis ng Live Flesh ni Almodovar (the movie). Kasi kung formalist at traditional ang approach mo sa pagsusulat, si Rendell ang masusuggest ko sa iyo. Although, ang mga themes at stories ni Rendell ay hindi traditional. Ang Live Flesh na naisulat na nung '80s or '90s ay heads and shoulders na mas maganda pa dito, hindi siya whodunnit pero nasa confines pa rin ng isang mystery novel.). Me mga awards ngang nakuha itong libro ni Batacan, at alam naman natin ang pulitika at sistema. Hindi ko naman sa inookray ang libro for the sake of (as you can see, I praised it pa nga), kaya lang napakamisleading kasi eh. Siguro eto na lang, ang libro siguro ay aimed for casual readers and not aimed for people who have more or less a better handle on the genre (people who read a lot of mystery/horror/thriller, and actually writes in the said genre), because if it were aimed for both I just can't believe it succeeds on that level.
Anyway again, rambling na ata ito, hindi ko nagustuhan ang libro because it's oh so wrong on many levels. But, for a start, it may be good. Kaya lang ayoko kasi na sabihin na ok lang na pangit kasi first naman, ayoko kasing magkaron ng claim to fame ang isang mediocre piece of work. Kasi mali eh, baka gawing canon. It won't be good for people to see this as a good jump on point.
The Ugly:
I can't really recommend this book as a starter, because it is a problematic work.
Eto nga pala ang description ng UP Press sa libro ni Batacan:
Winner of the 1999 Palanca Grand Prize for the Novel, Smaller and Smaller Circles is “gripping, fast-paced, and surprisingly compassionate in its depiction of the criminal.” Through this pioneering work, FH Batacan finally ushers in macabre fiction innovatively blended with a Filipino flavor that sets her work apart from the run-of-the-mill crime story. Batacan, who holds an MA in Art Studies from the UP, works for the Straits Times in Singapore.
I had the opportunity to read the first pinoy detective novel. And the first serial killer murder novel set in, well, whaddya know it's set here in the Philippines. I had the inkling that when I started it, it would be the wrong novel to be tagged as the first mystery novel (i.e. serial killer novel) to have come out of the Philippines (I guess, it isn't really the first mystery novel. Filipino writers tend to forget some antecedents when the "antecedent" is not as famous or it didn't win any awards. I don't know if there are any better written antecedents, I have to find out first.).
The Good:
The murders, even though they were lurid, were not exploitative.
The writing was actually good bordering on cornball mystery novel(well, at least it had a bit of something good about it).
Some of the procedures in autopsies were deftly handled. I guess, this is the only strength of the book to speak of.
The Bad:
Whoever said that casting Jesuit priests as main characters should have had their head reexamined. I don't know, but I found it all wrong. I don't like priests, but discounting the fact that I don't like them, these two (Saenz, and Jerome) were just too annoying for their own good.
Flat humor. I don't know how old the writer is, but the humor is so freaking unfunny. It's so trapped in the '80s or some time era where I wasn't even born.
Unconvincing dialogues. Batacan employs 2 main characters. Gus Saenz, and Jerome Something something always engage in something witty (according to whoever wrote and reviewed the book, but I really don't see the wit between the two priests)and they have a line or two which should be memorable as one liners. Sadly, the one liners were not funny.
The motivation for the killing. As Ms. Jose would have said it, (a bit of a *SPOILER ALERT* here, that is if you care about reading the book at all) ano ba pakialam natin kung nauring siya nung bata siya? *END SPOILER*
Nagkaroon ako ng madaming problema sa pagbabasa ng libro, kasi andaming quarters na nagsasabi (tulad na lang ng UP Press) na maganda at literary siya. Kumbaga, it's the next best thing to read than a "run of the mill mystery novel." Ang problema nga lang, isa rin ito sa mga kinamumuhian nilang "run of the mill mystery novel." Kung beterano ka na kasi sa pagbabasa ng mystery novels at mga whodunits, although malalaman mo na ang arc ng isang kwento, meron pa ring mga librong nagooffer ng konting innovation na hindi naman naihain ng librong ito. Ang feeling ko lang eh hindi nagbabasa ng mystery novels si Batacan, or kung nagbabasa man siya eh iyong mga binasa niya eh iyong mga pangit. Sa tinagal tagal na din kasi ng genre, madami na ding progreso ang nailaan dito kaya kung antiquated ang iyong view sa genre eh patay ka na. Ang maganda siguro, nagbasa siya ng mga anthologies on mystery and novels (and if I may, wag iyong mga gawa ni Karen Kijewski et al, kasi eto nga iyong run of the mill. Pwede na iyong kay Ruth Rendell, siya ang nagsulat ng Live Flesh. Eto bale ang basis ng Live Flesh ni Almodovar (the movie). Kasi kung formalist at traditional ang approach mo sa pagsusulat, si Rendell ang masusuggest ko sa iyo. Although, ang mga themes at stories ni Rendell ay hindi traditional. Ang Live Flesh na naisulat na nung '80s or '90s ay heads and shoulders na mas maganda pa dito, hindi siya whodunnit pero nasa confines pa rin ng isang mystery novel.). Me mga awards ngang nakuha itong libro ni Batacan, at alam naman natin ang pulitika at sistema. Hindi ko naman sa inookray ang libro for the sake of (as you can see, I praised it pa nga), kaya lang napakamisleading kasi eh. Siguro eto na lang, ang libro siguro ay aimed for casual readers and not aimed for people who have more or less a better handle on the genre (people who read a lot of mystery/horror/thriller, and actually writes in the said genre), because if it were aimed for both I just can't believe it succeeds on that level.
Anyway again, rambling na ata ito, hindi ko nagustuhan ang libro because it's oh so wrong on many levels. But, for a start, it may be good. Kaya lang ayoko kasi na sabihin na ok lang na pangit kasi first naman, ayoko kasing magkaron ng claim to fame ang isang mediocre piece of work. Kasi mali eh, baka gawing canon. It won't be good for people to see this as a good jump on point.
The Ugly:
I can't really recommend this book as a starter, because it is a problematic work.
1 Comments:
Lekat... Maling libro pa pala ang napost ko na picture. Itong barriotic punk pala ang nailagay ko.
By
Joel, at 10:46 PM
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