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Jojo Remigio

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The Mystery on 17th Street

by Annie Gorra

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in November 2016

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Jojo Remigio said: " Book review of Annie Gorra’s The Mystery on 17th Street by Dr. Jojo Remigio

Ill fares the land
To hastening ills a prey
Where wealth accumulates
And poor men decay
Excerpt from Oliver Goldsmith’s The Deserted Village

Annie Gorra’s book is a compelling t Book review of Annie Gorra’s The Mystery on 17th Street by Dr. Jojo Remigio

Ill fares the land
To hastening ills a prey
Where wealth accumulates
And poor men decay
Excerpt from Oliver Goldsmith’s The Deserted Village

Annie Gorra’s book is a compelling tale of unique characters set amidst the backdrop of a bygone era (from the sixties to the eighties by the reviewer’s reckoning) in the Philippines. Reading through it gives the impression of being in a time tunnel that harks back to what the Philippines once was as a country richly endowed with natural resources. What imbues the book with the capacity to arouse some moral outrage is the profound realization of why such natural riches have not been used to uplift the lot of the greater majority of Filipinos and to make the process of Philippine development more sustainable. The lush and extravagant description of what then was a relatively unspoiled corner of the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines evokes memories of how bucolic and rustic this area once was and how richly endowed the Philippines was with natural resources. Before the subsequent despoliation, degradation and depletion of its natural resources base and environmental amenities by greedy capitalists in cahoots with corrupt politicians and military leaders, the book delineates the gripping socio-economic realities of poverty and the stark inequalities fueling the political ferment that then pervasively permeated (and which continues to affect) Philippine polity, society and the economy.

The book starts innocuously enough with memorable characters that grew up with each other on 17th street, with the narrative propelled by the storytelling of Agustin (as a main character) and how his life and destiny intertwined inextricably with the other colorful characters in this tale. Little did they know that on that street was an unfolding drama involving a stigmatized character named Iya Vellit, a woman whose murky past shrouded in mystery eventually clarifies itself as her daughter Ka Ligaya (born outside of wedlock) and grandchild settle in the very same community that she inhabits. Ka Ligaya’s involvement with the insurgents, her pursuit by the military and her subsequent imprisonment provides the literary fodder that gives the story its momentum towards the climax of this tale. What unmistakably lends this tale with a redemptive theme is the timely intervention of Agustin’s Tatay (or Dad) who sacrifices his crusading career as an editor and writer at the cutting edge of investigative and socially responsive journalism in order to secure Ka Ligaya’s release from imprisonment and her joyful reunion with Iya Vellit.
What is arguably riveting about this book is its Kafkaesque quality where the realistic and banal (but sometimes absurd and humorous) realities of daily life in an unsung corner of the world impeccably blend with the inexplicable and the unexpected to delineate the inevitable clash between good and evil and the ethical implication and conundrums that these generate in its wake. The quotations from world-renowned authors such as St Augustine and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, as these pepper the conversations between and among the main characters, likewise lend some degree of moral gravitas that further complements and reinforces the theme of redemption that is writ large on the literary canvas where the story unfolds. Notwithstanding these, one suggestion for the author to make this book more eminently readable and accessible for its target readership, especially if the second edition of this book comes around, is to kindly provide the English translation for all the dialogues in the Cebuano dialect. To future readers, I wish that you would experience the same sense of delight and wonder that I had when I read through the book. ...more "

Dec 01, 2016 04:07PM · see review