Reflection on Smaller and Smaller Circles

REFLECTION ON THE NOVEL “SMALLER AND SMALLER CIRCLES” BY F.H. BATACAN

 This essay focuses on the heart-moving events in the novel “Smaller and Smaller Circles” by F.H. Batacan. The events and the novel itself could be an eye-opener to people especially to ocials !hose duty involves solving crimes in the community. " !as ama#ed $no!ing that the boo$ !as the %rst Filipino crime novel. &s an avid fan of crime %ction " !as shoc$ed to %nd that very little of it e'ists in the canon of (hilippine literature. "t is shame that there is little Filipino crime %ction !here in fact) (hilippines is a rich tapestry to dra! from. *et " also understand the diculty) !hich ma$es this novel more commendable. Crime in the (hilippines is very complicated. +ost of it goes unreported and unsolved due to environmental and bureaucratic issues. Before) " used to read ead only only the the cove coverr page page of the the nove novell “S “Sma mall ller er and and Smal Smalle lerr Cir Circles cles” ” in boo$stores for " have no money to buy. " ,ust bought the cheaper ones those crime %ctions !ritten in Tagalog. Tagalog. uring college days) " used to !rite Tagalog crime stories and one of it is entitled “+y Husbands eath” !hich is one of  my favorite. The plot of the story is similar to those " have read but it is more inte interresti esting ng beca becaus use e the the lang langua uage ge us used ed is /ngl /nglis ish. h. " gain gained ed addi additi tion onal al vocabularies and ne! style of !riting. 0pon hearing the plot of the story) " felt agitated !hen the mutilated corpses of young boys start turning up on the infamous (ayatas (ayatas dumpsite. &s Batacan !rites in this novel there is not much public faith in the 1ational Bureau of "nvestigation 21B"3. This is probably !hy her heroes are t!o 4esuit (riests !ho are brought in to consult on the case as an outside uncorrupted vie!. There are very fe! honest characters in this boo$ but Batacan ma$es sure that they are there to provide a balanced vie!5 not all cops are bad) not all church ocials are corrupt. "t is true in our society presently. presently. +y great salute to Batacan because li$e all great crime novels she is not only telling a story but also using the genre as an entrance point to put (hilippine society under a magnifying glass. Batacans style has the easy 6o! of a great thriller. thriller. Her language is very direct and graphic. The !orld she creates is shoc$ing in its brutal descriptions of slum poverty. The horri%c crim crimes es are are made made !ors !orstt by the the envi envirronme onment nt they they too$ too$ plac place e in. in. 7hil 7hile e listening to the reporter) " loo$ up on the "nternet the (ayatas dumpsite. " sa! this thirteen-acre of garbage hell is the perfect representation of the hidden hidden vulnerable vulnerable side of the (hilippines (hilippines.. "t is a credit credit to Batacan that she does not shy a!ay from the horror and is not afraid to tac$le tough and unpopular notions) in particular the belief that serial crimes dont happen.  The novel is very streamlined and fast paced and her storytelling should be compared to best crime !riters.  The novel is structured around single pages of dialogue surrounded surrounded by a blac$ circle. circle. The voice is the $illers. $illers. /ach circle circle page reveals reveals the $illers $illers thoughts as the t!o priests close in5 the smaller and smaller circles of the title. "t is a very e8ective and visually stri$ing narrative device that allo!ed

me ,ust ,ust enou enough gh cont contac actt !ith !ith the the $ill $iller er to $eep eep me desp desper erat ate e for for mor more information.

 The $illers story is ,ust as haunting as his $illings and brings the novels narrative and themes to a complete circle. Batacan is very clear in her denouement of the cause of the crimes committed in this boo$. &nd this made the boo$ interesting. 9f all the novels presented) this novel is the one that captured my interest. :i$e all good crime %ction the novel succeeds on the strength of the characters. 4esuit priests Father ;us Saen# and Father 4erome :ucero are both instantly li$eable !ith their !orld-!eary outloo$ as they try to %ght the good %ght. 7ith one foot in the church and the other in the investigation they are an e8ective e8ective lin$ to both !orlds for the reader reader.. Their frustrations in the %ght against a bureaucracy that is more interested in protecting its o!n are a re6ection of the authors personal frustrations. “*ouve been !atching too many foreign movies) Father Saen#< there are no serial $illers in the (hilippines.” This is the =uote from the novel reveals his personal dream of overturning the popular national myth that there are no serial $illers in the (hilippines. " believe that many !ould try to support this mind-boggling myth) o8ering false logic that ranges from the fact that Filipinos are more family-oriented than other cultures and therefore dont have the alone-time necessary to commit murders to the simple fact that none are found or prosecuted. Smaller and Smaller Circles 6ies in the face of this dangerous dangerous myth) myth) forcing forcing the eye to the millions millions of marginali marginali#ed #ed poor for !hom la! enforcement has no resources or incentive to protect) and !ho have no one to see$ ,ustice on their behalf. Batacans novel as$s for the ac$no!ledgment of the failures of the countrys infrastructure. " am satis%ed because the novel ends in a satisfying and e'citing !ay that doesnt leave the reader feeling cheated or tric$ed. Crime %ction for me is all all abou aboutt bein being g led led into into a !orl !orld d that that !e nev never !ant !ant to e'per 'perie ienc nce e ourselves) and as the %rst Filipino crime novel she is a pioneer in revealing the dar$er side of the (hilippines. +y desire in !riting more crime novels deepened and " believed " could be a pioneer in enlightening the community in my humble little !ays.