The Philippine Online Chronicles

We see the city in an ambient rush, in the cadence of city lights blurring, souls drowning in the mist. As the sun fades, the night gradually stakes its claim on the individuals that drift in different directions, aimless. In Karl De Mesa’s new book, News of the Shaman, a collection of four novellas, we are shown the underbelly of Manila. Fetid, dark and unabashedly otherworldly, De Mesa’s Manila is a different monster, operating in the same vein as China Mieville’s Bas Lag and Un Lun Dun, as well as containing elements of the weirdness of Jeff Vandermeer’s Ambergis.

Here, we meet fallen angels, fading rockstars, drugged-up photographers and sly creatures of the underworld conducting their affairs. We sit in anticipation of the creatures that would lap up our already terrified imaginations, unfazed by the dread of the murky alleys that de Mesa leads us down... But there are no pasty white ghouls seeking for revenge, only stranded souls stuck on this earth, looking for retribution to for their transgressions.

The interconnected novellas of News of the Shaman weave for us a different perspective of the cities we have come to know. The normalcy of things that we encounter every day never merits our notice: the faces we pass, the voices we hear along the way, and the occasional graze of someone else’s fingers on the commute. Like the characters in the novella, we’re all searching for something that validates our existence.

Take Lucas, the photographer in persistent pursuit of the supernatural. He has devoted his entire career to looking for answers, proof that there are other beings in this world who shall someday make their malevolent presence known to us. Trawling underground bars in search of these creatures is never easy and sometimes, you get more than what you bargained for. His exploits are chronicled in “Angelorio” and “Faith in Poison” where he spends most of his time in a drug-addled fantasy world of talking puppies, changelings and costumed devils, reciting stories of doomed lovers and sexual fiends. We never fully understand his initial motivations but in "Faith in Poison" we witness the degradation of a man haunted by his desire to create and grasp the intangible.

In the titular novella "News of the Shaman," we see how myths occupy a larger part in our society. Sorcerer and corporate magnate Don Cruez represent the crux of the city’s corrosion and possible hopes. As an almost mythical figure, Don Cruez only makes his presence felt through his spokespersons, radio commentators, news reports and dubious testimonials from people, mostly from Cruez’s community.  Drawing from the Filipino’s fixation for the supernatural merging with everyday life (aswangs living in shanties, kapres in roadways and the popular white lady), Cruez is catapulted into fame as a shaman/caped crusader for the masses via a series of cover-ups, murders and possible frame-ups.

The final novella "Bright Midnight" is a chronicle of a band’s eventual downfall after the death of their guitarist, Joaquin (who earlier appeared in "Angelorio" as a ghost who inhabits his guitar). As each of the band members comes to terms with Joaquin’s death, they also face the various demons that haunt their every step. The reasons of Joaquin’s suicide are never made clear. Their band, Shadowland (perhaps De Mesa’s dream band), isn’t necessarily Nirvana, and fame isn’t that hard to deal with: no huge magazine covers, no extensive media coverage and no rock star-model controversies. There is the usual pill-popping and guitar smashing but it just seemed like Joaquin didn’t feel like he belonged to this plane of existence. He listened to cars talking and used his music to communicate and channel his feelings. Occasionally, the story gets lost in a flurry of musical terms, descriptions and references, ostensibly posing a music snob-ish air. But De Mesa pulls back and lets his characters retrace the sad fate that they have found themselves in.

Unlike the regular horror story, De Mesa’s novellas defy easy categorization. What sets them apart from the usual neo-goth/new weird stories is their inherent Filipino sensibility. Discussing Filipino Paganism and old belief systems such as the invoking of the spirit through a mumbaki, the tatarin ritual, the devotion to the Sto. Nino, and the much maligned and overused manananggal myth, the novellas posit a different approach to resuscitating the old Filipino myths and the belief systems of our ancestors before Christianity seeped through every inch of our culture.

Like a heady mindtrip into this world and beyond, News of the Shaman is a chronicle of the daily evils that plague our society. They might masquerade in the form of reptilian-winged women, vampires, and death-crazed cherubs but you can be sure that they are the warm bodies that you see in the streets every day, watching your every move, anticipating your inevitable fall.

News of the Shaman is available now at most major bookstores, and also at this week's Manila International Book Fair.