Smaller and Smaller Circles

To call Smaller and Smaller Circles a murder mystery thriller, doesn’t seem quite right. It was so much more than that. This book was about the poison of power and greed, and the victims that get left in its wake. It’s about poverty and trauma. It’s about Manila, the Philippines, the Catholic Church, and just so much more.

Ultimately the thing I respect the most about this book is that it does not fall into a typical trap of “Who done it?” without the slightest acknowledgment of the victims. The young boys here are given their humanity and the reader is constantly reminded that they had lives, had moms, had families. There is one chapter in particular that had me crying and will haunt me for awhile.

I read this as a buddy read with @enjoyjournaling @nerdtasticnoms and @tamisbookcorner and kept forgetting to post it since things have been kind of insane with distance learning, motherhood, our crumbling democracy, etc. But I want other people to read this, because its definitely not something I would have ever picked up on my own, but its well worth your time. I can’t say I enjoyed it given the dark subject matter, but it made me think a lot so I hope you check it out. #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #readfilipinobooks #filipinobookstagrammer #readaroundtheworld#alwaysreading #losangelesreaders #readdiversely #mysterybooks