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| Photo by Juseph Elas |
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala is a book that both excited and cringed me. But it is also a book that hit the Home spot with just a tad amount of sweetness and sourness to make you breeze through its pages.
The book brings us to a trail of questions and head scratches as our heroine, Lila Macapagal, gets entangled in a murder case after Derek Winter slumps almost lifeless after eating a rice delicacy at Tita Rosie's Kitchen. The rice ingredient in question, later on, was found to be laced with arsenic, which was found in Derek's system causing his eventual death. Or so we thought.
With their family business closed and taking a toll on Tita Rose, Lila's aunt, our heroine plays detective if only to put the absurdity of the matter to rest; to re-open their business, and clear their names. However, Lila suddenly found herself in the center of it all when the city inspector alleges Lila to be behind the murder and head of a new drug scheme in the city.
All eyes are on Lila to (1) solve the mystery behind Derek's death, which brought forward revelations about Derek that are, otherwise, unbeknownst to her; (2) her family's expectations for her to step up following the crisis that has befallen to them, and (3) finally get her life together.
I did enjoy this book and I give credit to Manansala's easy-to-follow crime/mystery storytelling for bringing me out of my reading slump. But, obviously, the book is without its fault. I do not claim to be an expert in the crime/mystery niche as I am a hardcore romance novel reader, but I can try, can't I? If only for the purpose of this book review.
Let's first talk about the side-effect of reading this book. This book will make you hungry! Filipino dishes and delicacies are bombs of flavors in the mouth. This Reviewer finds it hard to believe that a typical Filipino gathering (i.e. fiestas or birthdays) without being served and trying adobo. Next to lechon, a charcoal roasted pig dish, adobo is a staple. Of course, we get other dishes and delicacies which scream food coma and all things fiesta! However, it's crazy that adobo has been served at the Macapagal table far too often. As a Filipino myself, I can't say that's true and I do not wish to accumulate cholesterol in my system.
Second is the use of Filipino slang. This is where it got cringe-y for me. It's not at all that bad but, perhaps, I found it cringe-y because this is the first book I've read from a Fil-Am; hearing them in person and reading them in print are two different stories. Don't get me wrong, Arsenic and Adobo puts Filipino culture in the spotlight and I, for one, could not be any prouder. There's just something...a connotation perhaps that's brought about by a rather unpleasant experience. Many Filipinos who've been abroad for far longer than anticipated return to Motherland only to end up almost renouncing their Filipino backgrounds. They would speak too much English (mostly are broken.) Hence, one would hear them speak with slang like "ay! [insert whatever they have to say in English here]". That's the extent of it.
Third, let's talk about how passive and blasé and seemingly unbothered Lila was. Filipinos are characterized as being resilient people. And that much I can say is true. However, in the face of a possible murder charge and jail time, I found Lila being too relaxed. Perhaps it was because the Macapagal has a history of having to face a legal challenge before (not going to spoil this any further). That could be a reason why Lila was so intent on clearing her name and putting this farcical matter to a close. Well, that and because she knew she was innocent. Still, I found her response to both the acute and not-so-acute stresses rather...unbelievable.
Lastly, let's talk about how this was not a romance novel. As I have said, Arsenic and Adobo is all about Filipino culture, dishes, delicacies, and a story about [how to get away with] murder. The latter is true if we factor in how the real suspect almost got away with murder. I did like how the book slightly touched on the potential of romance between Lila and Dr. Jae Park; there was a promise there that we, as readers, can only assume would flourish into something. It only gets complicated if we put lawyer Amir Awan in the picture.
However, the core of the book is really how the family must come first. We Filipinos are big on taking care of ourselves; we are like a pack of wolves surviving as a whole. That much was said in the book especially when Lila saw how she has been neglecting Tita Rosie who took care of her after she was orphaned at an early age. It was also evident when, during the toughest moments in the book, the whole family came together in solidarity.
I was really amused by this book and would definitely recommend it to those looking for a light crime/mystery read for the afternoon.
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