Dennis Gaviola

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ABS-CBN Lifestyle

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767864754433Screenshot_20251031_013056.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Part of the cover of &quot;Ashura: A Filipino Reckoning&quot; by Quintin Jose Pastrana</span></span></span></div><p>There are novels with a unique story, and there are novels whose authors have a unique backstory. &quot;Ashura: A Filipino Reckoning&quot; (Penguin Random House SEA, 2025) is both.  </p><p>A political thriller on extrajudicial killings that follows three unlikely companions across three continents, &quot;Ashura&quot; is the debut novel of energy entrepreneur, library builder, and former TV show host <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2025/1/3/librong-pambata-at-poetry-collection-ng-mga-pinoy-inilunsad-sa-europa-0018">Quintin Jose Pastrana</a>.  </p><p>His book gives readers a glimpse into academia at Cambridge, the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/war-on-drugs">war on drugs</a> in the Philippines, and the workings of the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/6/icc-junks-duterte-camp-bid-to-obtain-medical-expert-communications-1116">International Criminal Court</a> (ICC) in the Hague as it weaves a complex story of resistance against injustice. </p><p>We sat down with Pastrana for details of its genesis and inspiration.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: &quot;Ashura&quot; is different from your previous works: &quot;Ambahan, a Love Story&quot; (FEU Publications, 2021), &quot;Infieles: 12 Filipino Stories&quot; (Centiramo Press, 2023), and &quot;The Kitten who Lost her Purr&quot; (Aries Press, 2024). What made you finally want to write a novel?</strong></div><p>&quot;In writing my Master of Fine Arts thesis, &#x27;The Literature of Agency and the Emerging Filipino Voice,&#x27; I came across a warning from one of my heroes [the writer and propagandist] Graciano Lopez Jaena. Something about our people needing &#x27;red-blooded Filipino literature&#x27; rooted in the realities of the nation – &#x27;its struggles; its aspirations, and its people&#x27;s voice.&#x27; </p><p>That was over a hundred years ago and with all due respect to this generation&#x27;s literary firmament, I think we need more of that in these rather interesting times. This is my thread in that unfinished tapestry.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: &quot;Ashura&quot; aims to contribute to the war on drugs conversation by showing the legal side of it. All the ICC detail -- is that from someone&#x27;s personal experience? Yours?</strong></div><p>&quot;I had the benefit of mentors and friends who smuggled me into this world so I could, in turn, share it.</p><p>&quot;Part of our curriculum at Cambridge was a course on Transitional Justice, led by a young professor who had worked with the ICC team that brought another despot to justice. My dissertation supervisor was a fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. Apart from meeting Sir Eli Lauterpacht himself (one of the architects of the international courts we know), my own research on political risk and legal recourse led me to understand the rigorous and noble work these scholars, jurists, and researchers do to make the law work for the vulnerable.</p><p>&quot;Finally, thanks to the unsung Pinoy technocrats at the UN and other development and human rights institutions, all the inner workings and dynamics (down to the cyberattacks on their infrastructure covered in the book) were made known to me. These are thinly fictionalized in the book. I trust it will provide a keyhole glimpse into how this labyrinthine system works -- and how it can be made to work for good.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: You studied in Manila and at Cambridge in the UK. So did your 2 lead characters, Richie and Olivia, and their settings are almost overwhelmingly detailed. How autobiographical is each character?</strong></div><p>&quot;I subscribe to Picasso&#x27;s adage, that &#x27;Art is the lie by which we know the Truth.&#x27; The granularity I&#x27;ve invested in this world helps bring credibility not just to the environment the reader enters, but to characters themselves. They are composites and fragments of people I know, or know of -- wholly different and greater than the sum of the parts I&#x27;ve melded. Ones I trust the reader will put their faith in, or at least give credence to, as they navigate the novel’s ecosystem.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767865354019author.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="&quot;Ashura&quot; author Quintin Jose Pastrana "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"> &quot;Ashura&quot; author Quintin Jose Pastrana </span></span></span></div><div><strong>Q: About that last scene: the reader would be hard-pressed to decide if Richie feels hope or resignation. How did you feel about our country&#x27;s situation when you wrote the book? How about now?</strong></div><p>&quot;There&#x27;s this BBC biopic on Stephen Hawking (the one with Benedict Cumberbatch), where one of his dissertation supervisors relates Mozart&#x27;s unfinished symphony to the discovery of the Universe. The record plays, and all we hear is the hiss and crackling of the vinyl following the last notes. That seemingly truncated music and the wake of the melodies that linger is what makes it beautiful. </p><p>&quot;I started this novel with that ending in mind: the beauty of uncertainty, the unbridled power of agency. My hope is that this fictional world -- conceived in 2014, and written in 2024 -- begins to catch up and resemble ours. </p><p>&quot;To borrow from a favorite director, I&#x27;m a short-term cynic and a long-term optimist. Individually, and together, we learn, move, and see.&quot;</p><div><em>&quot;Ashura: A Filipino Reckoning&quot; is available at Fully Booked and on Amazon.com.</em></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</strong></div><p>Vanessa Bicomong is a marketing teacher and consultant who has been writing book reviews since 2021. She is the program director for customer centricity at Acumen Strategy Consultants, and general manager of The Learning Library, an online tutorial center offering reading comprehension and writing classes in English and Filipino.</p>

<p>There are novels with a unique story, and there are novels whose authors have a unique backstory. "Ashura: A Filipino Reckoning" is both. </p>

There are novels with a unique story, and there are novels whose authors have a unique backstory. "Ashura: A Filipino Reckoning" is both.

New book 'Ashura' turns war on drugs into political thriller, manifesto of hope

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New book 'Ashura' turns war on drugs into political thriller, manifesto of hope

ABS-CBN Lifestyle,

Vanessa Bicomong

Published January 08, 2026 05:43 PM PHT

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Updated January 08, 2026 06:23 PM PHT

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Quintin Jose Pastrana

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