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mari_epub's review against another edition
4.0
To kickstart my goal of reading more books written by Filipino authors, I finally finished F.H. Batacan's Smaller and Smaller Circles. After stumbling upon the movie adaptation on Netflix, I immediately got a copy and began reading right away without knowing what to expect aside from the movie's short synopsis. I fell into a reading slump in the middle of reading it, mostly because I've been busy with my oathtaking and getting my license, until I managed to flip through the last pages after a little over a month.
All I needed were "priests", "solve murders", and "serial killer" to get me on board with this book. I love how Batacan writes in detail, especially with the laboratory and dump site settings, making the scene alive and easy to visualize. Each character, major and minor, was well-introduced, even including a short background on them. For the most part, I genuinely love her writing style.
However, even if the build up was good, I feel like the second half of it was rushed. Batacan took her time setting everything up for the big reveal but there was this one part where I felt like all the necessary information was just suddenly dumped for the backstory to make sense.
Still, it was a great attempt on tackling social issues and mental health. The dynamics between the Church and the law enforcement was something to look forward to. The reality of how the government and the Church work was well-executed. Being able to relate to the topic and the overall setting makes it much more interesting.
All I needed were "priests", "solve murders", and "serial killer" to get me on board with this book. I love how Batacan writes in detail, especially with the laboratory and dump site settings, making the scene alive and easy to visualize. Each character, major and minor, was well-introduced, even including a short background on them. For the most part, I genuinely love her writing style.
However, even if the build up was good, I feel like the second half of it was rushed. Batacan took her time setting everything up for the big reveal but there was this one part where I felt like all the necessary information was just suddenly dumped for the backstory to make sense.
Still, it was a great attempt on tackling social issues and mental health. The dynamics between the Church and the law enforcement was something to look forward to. The reality of how the government and the Church work was well-executed. Being able to relate to the topic and the overall setting makes it much more interesting.
simplymegy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan is the Philippines’ first mystery crime novel.
The narrative follows two Jesuit priests, Father Gus Saenz and Father Jerome Lucero. One is a forensic anthropologist and one is a psychologist. Together, they assist the NBI in tracking down a serial killer- one who brutally murders small and undernourished boys from the urban poor of Payatas, Manila.
I loved Batacan’s writing style and how she makes this novel distinctly Filipino. The merienda after a long day’s work and the involvement of barangays and politicians are just some of the elements in her story that made me homesick.
The work is fictional but the realities portrayed here are not. The plight of the poor are so bleak and depressing, and I’m glad Batacan took the time to tell the story of these people through the murder victims’ families. This part from the book was really thought provoking:
“What makes you think the Philippines is so blessed by God that we would be exempt from this kind of evil? It isn’t. It simply hasn’t developed the necessary frameworks, the physical infrastructure and human skill sets, required to recognize and track down such killers.”
Unfortunately, the story starts to falter towards the end. There wasn’t a big Aha! moment when the killer was finally revealed. There were too many characters that didn’t get a proper resolution. And the ending somehow became too unrealistic that I felt like I was watching a bad filipino soap opera.
Despite these flaws, this is has been a worthwhile read.
nostalgicweirdo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
cherlocked's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I bought this book because I watched the movie and personally enjoyed the adaptation, and enjoyed the book even more (ofc books are better than the movies). I feel this book greatly describes Philippine politics, moreso, on how the police would handle such situations. Something so terrible that it had to take 2 jesuit priests to actually get on the case and solve it themselves. Other than the fact that this is a mystery/thriller type of book, it goes into more themes than what is presented in the forefront. Despite having watched the movie and knowing that the movie had been quite faithful (than most adaptations), the book adds more character and humanity to it and that’s what made it more enjoyable for me as a reader.
heisenburger's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
carriedoodledoo's review against another edition
3.0
That I read this and it stayed on my Goodreads as a potential reread is a testament to my changing tastes over the years. Wow.
Hailed as the first Philippine mystery novel, this is a heartbreaking, angry story. Filled with the all-too-true elements of public office incompetence and corruption, widespread poverty, suffering and disease, and the powerful preying on the weak in unspeakable ways. None of which I enjoy reading about in fiction, and enjoyment is usually my metric for here. But this was a very good book!
Two Roman Catholic priests navigate this morass, and their own places in the Church and society as they search for a serial killer who brutally destroys his young victims and leaves their bodies in the Payatas dumpsite.
Recommended for: fans of the TV crime series "Bones" and similar.
Not recommended for: young people, those with weak stomachs. Trigger warning for child sexual abuse.
Hailed as the first Philippine mystery novel, this is a heartbreaking, angry story. Filled with the all-too-true elements of public office incompetence and corruption, widespread poverty, suffering and disease, and the powerful preying on the weak in unspeakable ways. None of which I enjoy reading about in fiction, and enjoyment is usually my metric for here. But this was a very good book!
Two Roman Catholic priests navigate this morass, and their own places in the Church and society as they search for a serial killer who brutally destroys his young victims and leaves their bodies in the Payatas dumpsite.
Recommended for: fans of the TV crime series "Bones" and similar.
Not recommended for: young people, those with weak stomachs. Trigger warning for child sexual abuse.
only_lee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
inherentlysleepy's review against another edition
On hold indefinitely. Don't want to hear more about anything related to Philippine politics