This debut novel by engineer entrepreneur Kenn Altarejos deals with the drama and disillusion that only your family can wreak.
Returning to his Philippine hometown after the 1986 People Power Revolution, the protagonist Pepe grapples with his pain from the past.
“Nine years indeed have been too long a time to nurture a grudge; long enough to finish hurting; long enough to choose to move on. It was now time to accept destiny. It was time to forge peace with my fate—cruel as it may be—and the long, hard process begins by revisiting the setting to the butchery of my heart. It was time to go home.”
Home is in Ticao Island, a character in itself, peopled by many well-drawn characters in Pepe’s family tree.
Slowly we meet the colorful members of the clan, the same way you would meet your friend’s Filipino family as you walk home with him. You learn each person’s name and how they’re related. Then you hear a fun anecdote from their childhood as they dine and drink with you. Instantly you feel like you’re part of the family.
“Amidst such cheer it is impossible to detect even just hints of the tragedies this family has endured. In revelry, the Armendariz fortitude is most manifest. These brave people choose to be happy above their brutal history.”
This is a character-driven story that takes its time to reveal itself. This is not for the impatient reader who expects a telenovela plot at TikTok speed.
Like the relaxing waves of Ticao, it’s best to let the story flow on its own rhythm.
The exact science of boiling eggs
By Kennedy Altarejos
Paperback, 308 pages, 2025.
MRD Publishing
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