Blighted | A work of fiction woven around verified and verifiable facts

Online, October 15, 2009 (Newswire.com) - ABOUT THE BOOK

Amidst the confounding social malaise that grips a country beset by inequity and an inordinate tolerance for corruption, the lives of three young Filipinos intersect in a twist of fate.

Their divergent backgrounds and class associations provoke nagging questions on morality, with the core narrative embroiling a spectrum of Philippine society.

From unimaginable conditions of squalor to swank villas that define the matrix of greed, political patronage, and quid pro quo accommodation, the conflict rages between noble conviction and metastasized greed, ultimately between good and evil.

Stripped to the bone, this account of a high-profile crime and consequent legal action is interspersed with the novel's didactic form, with the moral instruction serving as the ulterior authorial motive. It is also a scathing report on the sordid downfall of the current administration, making this book as topical as today's troubling headlines.

Despite the present-day morass, the courage of a few good men spells a nation's true birthright: to transform a blighted culture to one of brimming hope for the future.

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE BOOK

Frank Chavez has assumed another role -- from that of fiery trial lawyer defending journalists beleaguered with libel suits during the martial law years, to that of controversial Solicitor General, and then, to sensitive novelist. In Blighted, he makes his searing commentary on the present state of affairs

in his hapless country that he loves so well, damning corruption and abuse of the poor by the rich and powerful, law enforcers, and members of the judicial courts. It is a travelogue, courtroom drama, a series of lectures on the political-social condition and on convoluted minds and temperaments

rolled into one. The novel does not bank on sexual undertones but on harsh realities to draw readers' attention. That Frank Chavez would turn to the novel as his genre for truth-telling makes us the better for it.

Domini M. Torrevillas
Columnist,The Philippine STAR

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