Below the Crying Mountain

by Criselda Yabes

Gawad Likhaan: The UP Centennial Literary Prize Winner

This award is given in recognition of the novel, Below the Crying Mountain, which represents a new voice in Philippine fiction in English. The conflict in Mindanao, and the price paid for it by the people who live through it, does not often find its way unto the pages of fiction. Criselda Yabes does not flinch in the potrayal of the dismal situation, presenting it in a manner both intelligent and moving. At the same time, its vision does not exclude hope and triumph of human courage and love.

In Below the Crying Mountain, the Moro rebellion that broke out in Sulu in the 1970s and that continues to wound the nation is seen vividly thought the lives of the mestiza Rosy Wright, the Tausug girl Nahla, the rebel leader Prof. Hassan, the soldier Captain Rodolfo as well as in the quest of the book's narrator. The personal is political as war fuels the clash of emotions, histories, and cultures.

--Charlson Ong

Genres: Fiction

162 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Criselda Yabes is an acclaimed Filipino writer and journalist known for her insightful reportage and literature focused on Philippine politics, military affairs, and the conflict in Southern Mindanao. Drawing from years of experience as a correspondent, she blends investigative journalism with fiction to create powerful narratives. Yabes is also a recipient of the University of the Philippines Centennial Literary Prize. She is currently based in France.

Reviews

[Elaine]

I learned a lot about the Moro Rebellion in the Sulu archipelago -- from two unlikely friends, the mestiza Rosy Wright who defies her family to marry a Muslim (a professor!) and the Tausug Nahla who defies her culture to become lovers with a military captain. Yabes does a great job of setting the stage with food and smells, and of creating characters who break assumptions.

[ItsRiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The local color and texture is really evident on this one. It really takes you to the places it feautures : Zamboanga and Jolo. If you want to go to these places, this book will take you there.
It is obviously well researched. The strength of this one is definitely on the details but not really on the plot, I must say. There are times that I find myself just waiting on whatever happens without any excitement or active preference on what things should pop up. Generally, it is a must read book for anyone who likes travelling, history, and culture of the Philippines.

[Lik C · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an eye opener to the sad history in Jolo, but most of the time, I had difficulty following the story and the narrator.

[rizhareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used Criselda Yabes' "Broken Islands" as a research object for my undergraduate thesis. This is my second time reading "Below the Crying Mountain," and I cannot help but see a parallelism between the characters from the former and the latter. I remember reading the copy I borrowed from the UST Library last 2023; this time, I read the copy I bought from UP Press in MIBF last 2024. How time flies.

Reading two of Yabes' novels, I have grown accustomed to tracing the patterns of psychogeography in her narratives. In "Below the Crying Mountain," Zamboanga and Jolo are living organisms. Both are the root causes of the subjects' affliction and consolation.

I also appreciate the novel's underpinnings of southern cultural and sociolinguistic elements. Yabes' employment of the local color is always outstanding!

[Regina Ferrer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some very good parts but the end was lacking, it failed to quench the built up hype and drama.

[Ahmad Ibn hajiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterpiece by MS Yabes :)
A must-read for those looking for answers as to what happened to Sulu during the 1974 burning of Jolo