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Peter Gordon


Mariposa Gang and other stories
by Catherine Torres
University of Santo Tomas Publishing House
4.5 stars
One of the joys of reviewing books is the unexpected surprise that sometimes appears out of the blue. One of these is Filipino writer Catherine Torres’ collection, Mariposa Gang and other stories. The 10 stories in this slim volume – a mere 100 pages – are polished, accomplished and structurally sophisticated. Laconic, Torres can say a page in a paragraph. Her characters are human, their circumstances and dilemmas painfully recognisable and real.
The title story tells of a prisoner on a detail to collect rare butterflies (the “mariposas” of the title) then sold to collectors around the world. The narrative backtracks to explain how this one time-time sailor ended up in this remote outpost, convicted of a capital crime, and an expert in catching butterflies. He survives as a prisoner by applying lessons learned at sea: “You learned to make yourself smaller on a ship.”
Other stories similarly deal with that unfortunate social reality of Filipinos forced by economic circumstance to work overseas. These could have been maudlin or banal, yet here they are neither. They are, however, filled with the petty indignities of false papers, clueless employers, sudden departures and feckless spouses. But Torres has a broad palette: there is also the story of the affluent couple holidaying in Turkey, the prodigal daughter studying in Japan, the mixed Filipino-Korean couple working through a PhD and the prospective expat cafe owner in New Delhi – Torres’ day job in her country’s diplomatic service is much in evidence.

Most striking, perhaps, is Torres’ ability to build a story towards an unexpected ending: these can resemble Roald Dahl in the skill of their construction, but Torres’ twists are emotional, sometimes touching, sometimes crushing.
These are Filipino stories, to be sure, but Torres’ deftness and wide outlook has a slight drawback: these Philippines sometimes seem somewhere west of Los Angeles rather than on Asia’s easternmost edge. Perhaps this is a sign of globalisation.
Mariposa Gang and other stories deserves a wider circulation than one fears its Manila-based publisher – the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House – may be able to achieve for it. Young Asian writers – younger even, that is, than Torres herself – in search of inspiration, models or instruction for their own short fiction would be well advised to seek these stories out.
Asian Review of Books


Book review: Filipino writer Catherine Torres’ anthology beautifully written and relevant

The rare mariposa butterfly to which the book’s title alludes.

Mariposa Gang book cover

Author Catherine Torres

Culture

Books

Mariposa Gang and Other Stories is a collection of polished and sophisticated short stories replete with human characters whose circumstances are starkly authentic, and deserves to be read widely


An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review