The Betrayed

"THE BETRAYED is destined to be a literary classic, not just for readers in the Philippines but literary lovers worldwide. Its nuanced disquisition on the Filipino socio-political-economic elite—how many prove the adage 'Power corrupts'—become timeless observations and lessons on the general human condition. Melvin's elegant and sensual sentences also enhance reader empathy so that we end up caring about the characters even as we ultimately learn about ourselves. Yet it's not only timeless but timely. The Philippines' 2022 Presidential election highlight how the country is at an existential crossroads on whether its future development will progress or regress. But its reminder that suffering never ends only highlights the import of justice—how we must perpetually strive for its redemption."

Eileen Tabios, writer, poet, and visual artist

"[Melvin's] beautiful, sensual, visceral writing shows us that the past is not really a foreign country, but our own country in an eternal loop."

Jessica Zafra, author of Twisted

"Highly readable and enjoyable, it compellingly contains, in its confident tone and language, a powerful mosaic of images, characters, and relationships."

Angelo R. Lacuesta

"If, as poet-exile Czeslaw Milosz said, 'language is the only homeland,' then Melvin's, The Betrayed is the soil we've been seeking—rich, elusive, yet ever-surging in our blood, bones, and breath. Told with the intimacy of a lover and with an historian's sweeping, clear-eyed vision, it is the story of moral survival under the weight of political upheaval and human frailty. At the heart of this novel is love—of family, of motherland. Love that breaks barriers, crosses continents, transcends time. Fluid, poetic, and lush, these pages navigate our deepest longings, fears, and the relentless search for that one true thing in a ruined world."

Angela Narciso Torres, author of What Happens is Neither and Blood Orange