No matter how society has seemingly hardened them outwardly, deep inside they are not unlike any other youth: weak, consumed with fear and uncertainty, desperately longing for anyone to care.

And one can't help but empathize with them, vicariously feeling their laughter, pain, sadness, terror, remorse and hope. But the book also provides an intimate glimpse into the hearts and souls of the characters through the use of both humorous and tragic situations.

Macarthur unflinchingly reveals the ugly and sordid details of the ills of our society: poverty, drugs, corruption and abuse – and how these ills have polluted our youth. In case you don’t know, ‘ macarthur’ is a street slang term that refers to feces that keeps bubbling up no matter how many times it is flushed, as if defiantly saying ‘I shall return’. The language is vulgar as vulgar can be, though peppered liberally with humor. As a work of gritty realism, Ong doesn’t mince words describing the filth and squalor of his characters' environment and the situations they find themselves in. It tells the story of four friends, their lost youth, and their struggles amidst the shocking world of poverty and corruption they are born into. Macarthur is a novella – Ong’s first stab at fiction, if my research is correct. This is the first book by Bob Ong I’ve read, so I can’t review it within the context of his other books, although it certainly made me want to explore his earlier and more popular works. I’ve just finished reading Bob Ong’s sixth opus, the poignant ‘ Macarthur’.

Macarthur by bob ong