Patron Saints of Nothing

As an American who had a family who came to this country within the past two generations recently, I have always wondered about my family history. What parts of their culture was I missing out on? What parts of their history was I missing? How can I reconcile that with what I was doing here in the states and worrying about my own life?

This is one such theme that is present in the novel Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. We follow Jay Reguero, a 2nd generation Filipino-American who can think of nothing except completing his senior year of high school and attending the U of M in the fall. Until his father tells him that his cousin, Jun, is dead. What Jay’s father and the extended family refuse to admit is that Jun was killed because he was a drug dealer, a victim of the Philippine President Duterte’s violent crackdown on drug crime in the country. Jay doesn’t believe this and soon asks his father to go to the Philippines and live with his extended family to try and find out the truth. But as soon as he arrives, Jay realizes that he is in way over his head, trying to solve a murder of one person in a country with millions of people. What’s more, his Uncle, Jun’s father, is a police officer, and refuses to believe that Jun was an innocent bystander when he was killed. Can Jay find out the truth of what happened to Jun? And will he like what he finds if he does?

There are many different things I liked about this book. One of which is the theme of how national pride can blind you to the country's problems.

This is represented through two characters: Jay and his Uncle Maning.

Jay grew up in the US and doesn’t know much about the Philippines beyond the paragraph or two devoted to it in US history books. Now, as he explores his culture, he understands that turning a blind eye to the country's problems can be as dangerous as not seeing the problems in his own. And, what's more, he shouldn’t judge them just because he has a good life in the US.

Meanwhile Uncle Maning has the opposite problem. He sees what his country is doing and is all too proud for it. He is proud of what the international community has dubbed human rights abuses under their President, and most of his talk is reminiscent of those you would see on FOX news: how the international community is lying, and how dare anyone like Jay come in and judge them. What is more, he puts down Jay’s way of life in the states, as though Jay’s father was a fool for wanting to come to the US and live there, and his children are idiots, Jay included.

All of this makes for a good story that is fraught with tension. We also see other members of Jay’s extended family who are kinder, but just as apathetic to his cause. This makes the reader realize that it is one thing to condemn a country, but it is another to see it for yourself, and that many people just want to afford enough to eat, and they don’t care how they afford it.

The one major weakness is the ending. Of course, Jay manages to find out what happened to his cousin, but it felt forced to me. I won’t say much because of spoilers but it did contain one of his many aunts and uncles. We, the reader, see him travel from one aunt and uncle to the next as a way to both move the story along, get different perspectives on the country, and also furthering the mystery. The downside is, once we got to the last family member, I thought ‘welp we haven’t met this family member yet. What are the chances he or she knows something that is going to bust the case wide open?’ I was right. This felt forced to me, as far as mysteries go.

Still, this is a book that is devoted to re-reading as it is a good exploration of cultures clashing and how judgement, secrets and lies only hurt the ones we love in the grand scheme of things. I give this a four out of five.