Huehue Asdeow the Pretenders

The Pretenders (novel)

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The Pretenders

The Pretenders by F. Sionil Jose Book cover.jpg

Book cover for F. Sionil José's novel The Pretenders.

Author F. Sionil José

Country Philippines

Language English

Genre Fiction

Publisher Solidaridad Publishing House, Inc. (Philippines)

Publication date 1962

The Pretenders is a 1962[1] historical novel written by Filipino National Artist F. Sionil José. It is the second to the last novel composing José’s series known as The Rosales Saga.[1]

Description[edit]

José’s The Pretenders portrayed the master-and-servant and lord-and-slave relationship in the “industrial world” of Manila, Philippines.[2] The timeline is set during the years after the Second World War,[3] during the 1950s (because of a reference to Ramon Magsaysay found at the final pages of the novel).[1]

Characters[edit]

The principal character in The Pretenders is Antonio “Tony”[3] Samson. Samson was a rural area resident of Cabugawan village[1] in Rosales, Pangasinan, who gained a doctorate degree from Harvard University in New England of the United States.[1] Samson was the grandson of Istak Samson who was also known as Eustaquio Salvador (Istak was the protagonist in José’s Po-on). Antonio neglected his own father, the son of Istak Samson, who was punished by being imprisoned for life after his involvement in the burning of a municipio and killing Luis Asperri, the haciendero or ranch-owner character in José’s My Brother, My Executioner.[1] Antonio was unable to marry his “hometown sweetheart”[2] and cousin[3] with whom he fathered Pepe, Antonio Samson’s illegitimate child who became the protagonist in José’s Mass.[1] Samson was unable to fulfill the plan of marrying Pepe’s mother because he became engaged with Carmen Villa in the U.S. Antonio married Carmen Villa, who was the daughter of Don Manuel,[3] an “agro-industrial baron”, mestizo and “buyer of people”.[1][3] The Don was able to purchase even a magazine...