Albert Samaha: Concepcion

With its 384 pages and the sun of the Philippine flag on its cover, Concepcion was the perfect candidate to accompany this voter in anticipation of the long queues on Election Day.

“History ripples into perpetuity. Decisions, actions, mistakes, and triumphs of one day shape the days that follow, setting irreversible paths into the future…”

The book choice was especially validated by this line on page 38; the line, a double-edged sword, both encouraged and cautioned the part of myself that is gradually growing cynical toward the government and the electoral system; the line that reminded me that our choices, decisions, and votes are still of consequence.

But journalist Albert Samaha does not preach. Thankfully, he does not stop at reporting either. While he is not shy about American atrocities and their meddling with the fates of weaker nations, the repercussions of colonial subjugation, or the realities of immigration, this reader is in awe of the hakawati of the author’s Lebanese roots manifesting in pages that reveal more about his Filipino origins. This family tale that traces back to the Sultanate of Maguindanao up to the present is extensive and requires nothing less than a modern-day hakawati to tell the story.

In Concepcion, Philippine history ceases to be a structured chronology but a fluid tale that merges with the timeline of world history, personal history, and geopolitics.

Ten full days after the election, this reader finally found herself at the last page already feeling attached to the author’s artist uncle and his mother; fascinating characters that would animate fiction but who are incredibly non-fiction. Samaha writes about them the way he writes about country — with wit, fondness, love, acceptance, and hope — that by the end of the book, one would also have a rejuvenated fascination, with all its wounds and flaws, for the nation.