The Villa, Once Beloved, by Victor Manibo
The Book
Synopsis:
Some legacies are best left buried…
Villa Sepulveda is a storied relic of the Philippines’ past: a Spanish colonial manor, its moldering stonework filled with centuries-old heirlooms, nestled in a remote coconut plantation. When their patriarch dies mysteriously, his far-flung family returns to their ancestral home. Filipino-American student Adrian Sepulveda invites his college girlfriend, Sophie, a transracial adoptee who knows little about her own Filipino heritage, to the funeral of a man who was entwined with the history of the country itself.
Sophie soon learns that there is more to the Sepulvedas than a grand tradition of political and entrepreneurial success. Adrian’s relatives clash viciously amid grief, confusion, and questions about the family curse that their matriarch refuses to answer. When a landslide traps them all in the villa, secrets begin to emerge, revealing sins both intimately personal and unthinkably public.
Sifting through fact, folklore, and fiction, Sophie finds herself at the center of a reckoning. Did a mythical demon really kill Adrian’s grandfather? How complicit are the Sepulvedas in the country’s oppressive history? As a series of ill omens befall the villa, Sophie must decide whom to trust—and whom to flee—before the family’s true legacy comes to take its revenge . . .
My Review
The Villa, Once Beloved is a gothic horror novel written by Victor Manibo, published by Erewhon Books. A proposal that takes classic elements from the gothic genre, and weaves them together with Philippines' folklore, history and culture to deliver an engaging story that keeps the reader second-guessing about what's real and what's false, and about the truth behind the Sepulveda family.
After the death of Raul Sepulveda, patriarch of the Sepulveda family, the rest of the family members return to their family home in the Philippines to bury him; Sophie, who's dating Raul's grandson, takes the opportunity to join him and meet the family. With the entire family under one roof, old wounds are revisited; after a typhon, a landslide leaves the family isolated in the secluded villa. With nowhere to go, the Sepulvedas are forced to confront the secrets and the sins the family has kept for decades; is it the villa cursed or the consequence of the family's acts?
The story unfolds through the eyes of three characters. The first of them is the own Sophie, who gives us the perspective of an outsider, not only from the family but also as somebody who is finally getting directly in contact with her Filipino roots (incidentally, it is helpful to the reader, as many explanations are introduced naturally); a reinterpretation of the lady's character of gothic classics, that will have to navigate the danger and deal with some unexpected threats, uncovering the truth behind the family.
The second of them is Javier, Raul's second son and the black sheep of the family; he was always craving Raul's attention and validation, something that crashes against his queerness; and finally, we have Remedios, the caretaker who has served the Sepulvedas loyally all her life, who grew in the villa and that due to her position knows more than it is told. All three perspectives are used to filter the drama, giving the reader privileged spots to understand the different approaches to the events that happen in the vila.
As you might expect from the genre, the villa plays an important role in the novel: not only contributes to that atmosphere of old-time grandeur that is associated with the Sepulvedas, but is also serves as the perfect scenario of a story that becomes darker and darker, trapping the characters inside it. The exploration of Filipino culture and folklore also added to the richness of the setting, including not being afraid of touching historical themes such as colonization. It is a fresh take on a classic gothic trope.
The pacing is quite on the spot, slowly building the tension by moments to eventually release them, using this structure a few times until the great finale; found this to be a book that asks you to continue reading and finish in a few days.
The Villa, Once Beloved, is an excellent horror novel, a proposal that weaves together classic gothic with Filipino elements to deliver an engaging story that is built over those new elements in the genre; if gothic horror is your thing, Manibo's latest novel is a must read!
The Author/s
Victor Manibo
Victor Manibo is a Filipino speculative fiction writer living in New York. As a queer immigrant and a person of color, he writes about people who live these identities and how they navigate imaginary worlds. Aside from fiction, he also spins fantastical tales in his career as a lawyer. He lives in Queens with his husband, their dog, and their two cats. He is a 2022 Lambda Literary Emerging Voices Fellow, and his debut science fiction noir novel, THE SLEEPLESS, is out August 2022 from Erewhon Books.