Mon Frere, Mon Bourreau

Rosales Saga #3

by Sionil-Jose-F

Ce troisième volet de la « saga de Rosales » se situe au début des années cinquante, au lendemain de l'occupation japonaise et de l'indépendance des Philippines, alors que des partisans philippins, les Huks, continuent de lutter contre le régime de Manille, toujours sous influence américaine.
Luis et Victor sont demi-frères : leur mère, une paysanne misérable, a été séduite par don Vicente Asperri, le riche propriétaire terrien de Rosales, et Luis est né de cette union. Tandis que Luis, l'unique héritier des Asperri devenu journaliste et écrivain, fréquente l'intelligentsia de gauche, son frère Victor prend le maquis avec les Huks et se retrouve à la tête de la révolte paysanne qui lutte contre l'empire économique de don Vicente.
Unis par un amour commun pour leur mère et par leur affection fraternelle, séparés par leurs trajectoires différentes et par la disparité de leur engagement idéologique, Victor et Luis s'affrontent comme deux frères ennemis.

Né en 1924 à Rosales, Francisco Sionil José a publié plusieurs recueils de nouvelles et une dizaine de romans. Cinq d'entre eux constituent la « saga de Rosales ». Lauréat de nombreux prix, il a été fait docteur honoris causa de trois grandes universités de Manille, et sa notoriété a largement dépassé les frontières du Sud-Est asiatique puisque ses livres sont traduits en vingt-quatre langues.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, School

334 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lot more than a story of a sibling rivalry. Two half-brothers Luis and Victor have the same mother. Luis, the older of the two, is the son of his mother's master (the mother used to work as a housemaid). Victor is the son of an unnamed farmer who died when he and Luis were still small children.

Since they are poor, Nena, the mother gives Luis to his father when he is about to start his schooling. She wants Luis to have a good future. The father is the richest man in the town, Rosales. So Luis studies in the city and begins to enjoy a good life. He quits his school when he gets into a misunderstanding with his professor, so he seeks employment and gets himself a job in a leftist publication. One day he visits his family and finds that his brother Victor as join the rebel forces against the government and the landowners. It is so happened the Luis' mother and grandfather both believe in the cause that Victor is fighting for so they are supporting the rebels.

When the big uprising happens, Luis is in the city. He only finds out about it when he is called back by his ailing father. In the uprising, Luis' grandfather is killed and his mother becomes crazy and her two sons both do not have any idea where she is. Luis writes about the massacre that has happened in his hometown and his expose gets the military in hot waters. So, due to the pressure exerted by the government to the publication, Luis has no choice but to resign from his work.

While these are happening, Luis has two girlfriends: Trining his cousin and Ester the daughter of his rich employer. He loves Ester but to preserve the riches of his father, he agrees to marry Trining. I think a good third part of the story is focus on this love triangle and that is in fact one of the major subplots in the story. It is one of the reasons why this book is just not about a sibling rivalry.

The other reason is the intense depiction of internal struggle (internal conflict) in the mind of Luis, this story's main protagonist. Throughout the book, he has to face endless choices: the stay with his poor family in Sipnget or join his rich father in Rosales; to quit or not to quit college; to be faithful to his cousin who his father wants him to marry or marry the woman he truly loves; to hate or to love his vicious father, Don Vicente; to leave Rosales or to stay when the rebels led by his brother Victor is about to capture the town; and to whether give up or continue owning the vast tracks of land that his father passed down to him when his father died. This barrage of conflicts really made the novel shine in its own right among the other novels in this saga. Among the first three books that I've so far read, the character of Luis is the most interesting because of the internal struggle the had to face given that he had to always choose among the many options presented to him in the story.

I also agree that so far, this book is the most melodramatic. The dialogues in the confrontations are really sharp, meaningful, witty and edgy. They were brilliantly written and Jose's elegant prose made the reading very enjoyable despite the fact that this is tragedy from page 1 up to the last page. Jose's vivid description of the surroundings, like in the previous 2 books, is still here. One can transport himself to the old provincial days without really exerting much effort in terms of using ones imagination. The images come rushing to your mind as you read Jose's prose.

Aside from being quite melodramatic, my other minor comment is that sometimes, in Jose's effort to be poetic and philosophical, I felt that his letters were not written by his character Luis but by him. We write letters thinking about the recipient, right? Here the letters written by Luis seemed to be intended for literature students because they are heavy with philosophical musings and metaphors. Granting that Luis is a poet, but when we write to a non-poet, we make sure that he/she understands what we are trying to communicate and we don't write to impress him/her with our rhymes and verses.

Overall, I liked this book. Three books of the saga, so far and they are all beautifully written. *Hats off* to F. Sionil Jose, the Philippines' sole bet to the Nobel Prize for Literature. Hurray!

[Ｆｒａｎｋｈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I love our country. But what is our country? It is a land exploited by its own leaders, where the citizens are slaves of their own elite."

This is the third installment for F. Sionil Jose's Rosales saga after Po-On and Tree , and being able to finish it last night left me rather cold and unsatisfied. Unlike the first two books, this one has a protagonist I could not form any attachment to, and I truly tried to make some sort of genuine connection with him and it doesn't make sense to me why I couldn't. All things considered, Luis Asperri--the lead POV character for this novel--is probably the closest archetype I should have some affinity for. He's a writer who lives with his ideals through pen and paper. He worked for print media. He was privileged, well-educated and eloquent. In other words, I should have related to him because we have those listed commonalities to contend with. But I simply did not like him at all; and perhaps that reveals something about how I view myself in an objective sense.

Perhaps these same qualities are things about me that I'm rather ashamed of even if I feel entitled to have them.

Set in the fifties, My Brother, My Executioner is rife with historical allegories that I immediately recognized upon reading. Personally, I find that strong parallels have been made between Luis Asperri, the illegitimate son of the rich feudal lord Don Vicente, and Victor, his half-brother and the leader of the Hukbalahap guerrilla movement, to that of two of the most iconic national heroes: Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio. Much like Rizal, Luis is a writer who desires to help his fellowmen through his writings. Victor, like Bonifacio, admires his brother for his ideals on paper but is more inclined to follow through with actions even if they only lead to violence and chaos.

History had told us that Rizal had inspired Bonifacio to lead a revolution for Philippine independence through his writings, and this is probably the fundamental basis of the relationship between the characters of Luis and Vic, However, the comparisons end there and much of the characterizations for Luis and Vic have a life of their own, and neither is always portrayed in a flattering light.

In fact, I could argue that from all of F. Sionil Jose's protagonists so far (Istak from Po-On and unnamed first-POV narrator in Tree), Luis Asperri is the least relatable--or the most, depending on how much you can actually sympathize and appreciate such a flawed, sad idealist. There are times I can understand his motivations and sufferings; the way he would rationalize and justify his decisions through dark contemplation; the way he yearns for control and freedom to govern his own life; the way he would desire to contribute more to society and to help the poor but is nevertheless reluctant about sacrificing his own material comforts and heirlooms.

Luis Asperri is the most realistic of all the protagonists in the books so far, and for that I think he is compelling and interesting enough--but I have no affection for him whatsoever. I suppose I can't help but feel harsh and critical of him because in spite of his failings and weakness, Luis Asperri is also a reflection of what I generally feel about myself as a Filipino which is to say he mirrors the same kind of helplessness, cynicism and hopeful dreams for the future of this country that I know a lot of us Filipinos still possess and have learned to suppress because we have gotten so used to the functional dysfunction of our economic structure and government system.

"We cannot conquer life, no one can conquer what one cannot define, but at least it is there and it is ours to shape and to possess fully, with all the senses working, with all the powers of the heart surging, as we search for the answers to the greatest riddles."

My Brother, My Executioner is, as I would have expected, well-versed in the underlying political and ideological discussions (that manifest literally in the texts with the conversations with characters or is latent through the reader's own personal perspective) concerning societal inequity and the cycle of poverty and uneven distribution of wealth in the Philippines--which is very much the oldest story of the world, isn't it? Luis Asperri and his father Don Vicente are inherently different in their views about the elite (their kind) and the poor but at least one of them is a lot more genuine and action-oriented than the other. Sadly enough, it's Don Vicente, and he is more pragmatic albeit oppressive in his actions as a rich man. He believes in self-preservation; that in order to rise from the ranks you need to seize opportunities, and this is only possible when there is are masses of people who are lower than you and often you need to rule them over.

Meanwhile, Luis is a dreamer so consistently blinded by his own heartfelt illusions of harmony and peace that they have made him bitter and angry because they remain unfulfilled throughout the story. He claims to embrace change and yet is trapped within his failed progressive ideals, going back and forth between trying to become the man he aspires to be and the man he is meant to be because of predestined options because of his family background and way of life.

And that in itself is a worthy discussion. Are we truly in control of our destiny when choices are scarce? Can we truly forge new paths or be content walking across paths which were already there to begin and we simply have to follow their direction? What good are ethics and ideals if we are not strong enough to live by them through actions and not just words?

My Brother, My Executioner had introduced such fascinating concepts and dialogue regarding national freedom and that of individual autonomy, the tension between the privileged and the masses, and the often inescapable obligations for family and country. However, most of these ideas remained only half-baked, most probably because the protagonist Luis Asperri as a character is ultimately both too proud and ashamed of his life to actually take its reigns and be the change in the world he is always preaching he wants to see fulfilled. He's too caught up in his crippling inaction.

"If they were affected by war at all, they certainly bore no scars"

This was why the ending was so unsatisfactory and underwhelming for me. I would have liked to have known his brother Victor some more, and his relationship with him but instead we get so many wasteful pages highlighting Luis' doomed relationship with Ester Dantes who is, by the way, a rather poor representation of women here in this book (which is odd, considering F. Sionil Jose also wrote one of the most empowering women in fiction, Dalin from Po-On, in my opinion). The other female character in this book (the 'all-woman, sensual' Trining), is just as stereotypical and one-dimensional as the evasive Esther. I think that is my major criticism of this novel and it's made even more obvious because Luis is frustratingly chauvinistic without the self-awareness he usually applies when it comes to his moral dilemmas.

That said, I think I may have to rate this installment the lowest of the bunch so far and I dearly hope the next one would have more focus and purpose like Po-On had been.

RECOMMENDED: 7/10


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[Athena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never read F. Sionil Jose before because I couldn't get past the first page of any of his books. His style has always struck me as heavy-handed and pretentious, and this novel is no exception. It offers an interesting moral tale about family loyalty, power, and revolution in the post-independence Philippines, but unfortunately it's buried under overwrought descriptions and a thick layer of sexism.

[Ayban Gabriyel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might have spoilers, shit opinions and what nots on a book review but who cares? Read on your own risk I'm just spilling my thoughts here.

I have always admired F. Sionil Jose's works, from short stories to his novels but this one, I felt like I'm reading his previous works in the Saga. He is repeating himself, preaching. Not that I don't like the book or the story of the book, maybe if I'm a newbie in his styles and point of views and social commentaries from his other books, I would really like this one. So lets rate this book as if this was my first Sionil Jose book.

This(again) was part of the fame Rosales Saga, 5 Chronological novels Sionil Jose written from the past decades and can be read individually. My brother, my executioner was a story of half brothers Luis and Vic separated by fate and principles.

They say this was the most emotional or dramatic book from the saga and this was my fourth book from it, and I could say that this was the emo one. The story goes like this, this might sound telanovelic, Luis the older one was a son of a Haciendero that would automatically make him a heir. While Vic was a son of a farmer who later died when his they are both young. They both shared they're childhood in a small town Sipnet with their mother and grandfather till the time Luis was summoned by his father Don Vicente Asperri.

Luis will later find out his own history on what happened to his father and his mother, his fathers history and how it works on the hacienda and the politics of power his family holds. He was on his way wondering and trying to decipher himself, he was an Emo, a man who had so much but was so empty and hollow inside, then there was his brother Vic who became a rebel commander, firm and sure with his own convictions and was trying to reform and change the system only now he was not after foreign conquerors but with his own kin and only brother.


This book is still very relevant today, our social classes, the governments atrocities, the agrarian disputes and the mainstream media and the exploitation of the thing, the shitness of our culture and ways. This book has everything you should know about ourselves and about our race.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

F. Sionil Jose is a must for lit class. It is really inspiring. But I think this year 2012, the filipino writing style should be different now. don't you agree?

[Miguel Nofuente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally for me it is the most striking of all of the Rosales Saga and even perhaps of Mr. Jose Oeuvre. For the simple fact that as someone who read history I cannot say anything Mr. Jose wrote says something new or interesting to me. Like take Viajero for example, it is a well written work but none of it theme and the answer to its main question concerning the Filipino identity is new and interesting to me. But this book is interesting because it tackles not only history and politics but also art itself (Which i would explain further in the review) which gave it an edge to me at least.

Positive: The book is elegantly written and the descriptions of the countryside really stand out though their are time when it become detriment to the expression but I would save this explanation later when I get to the negatives. Now to the characters and first is of course the main character Luis, he is like most male character written by jose is an intellectual who attracts women and is good at doing his job and is good at sex. As such his protagonist can be a read as a version of himself though better looking but i would not dwell on it. Luis is an interesting case for being born from lowborn mother and landlord father. He was raised in his childhood in his mother poor home then he was taken by his father and as such lead him to be a editor for an oligarch news paper. He is good at being a writer and is often praise and his poems (an example given at the start at book) are like by the other characters but it is said to be too sad. As such his a melodramatic character which makes him an accurate representation of a filipino. His arch is often a mess as one moment he seems to be turning into this rebel like his brother Vic but then he makes justifications for his place as a landlord son and his job as an editor. But one of his trait of as the character trining point out being only happy in conflict and not in peace is an interesting characteristic because you kind of get why he is like that given the circumstances of his life and as in the beginning he says of his sadness of not being part of the land he was born (he somehow miss being poor basically). As such their is a lot of contradictions in him which his sublate into his meandering in political commentary. This make him compelling and to me at least sympathetic. He hurts people when he does not want to and this made him quite compelling. I can see his pain but his actions and rationalization of his belief make me want to punch him in the face. His father Vicente is also interesting for despite being a selfish landlord who uses a randian ideology to justify the injustice he is committing to the people of rosales shows a warm affection to his son Luis. It is really interesting to see this ignorant landlord to be a loving father. Luis boss Dantes is your typical villain in jose written world with his monopoly on pretty much the economy of philippines. He owns politicians and is even said to be supporting the huks through the columns he columnist are writing but this is not out of communist beliefs but rather it is clear that he wants to be on the huks good side for if they won their war against the government dantes would be ready and willing to placate to them. He owns a left wing magazine but is not really left wing as Vicente said he is just a selfish merchant. He is making money out of the political conflict of the philippines of the time. Now Ester who is dantes daughter is one of Luis love interesting and what is interesting for me is that unlike Trining she actually an interesting character as she get into arguments with Luis though i would say it kind of bum that she just became a love interest but it is a F jose book so a female character must have sex with the smart protagonist, it is the law of this frankly sexist writer. Now to Victor, Luis half brother and huk commander, his interaction with luis is fantastic and is the high point of the story. They both represent two ideas for the modernization and progress of the nation where Luis is the less radical and one can say moderate voice while Victor is the most radical being a communist rebel. Though it is clear that luis position is out of his desire to save his privilege and he uses humanistic grounds to defend it and victor is mostly on the right in the debate that they have as he is more honest in the intention of his idea than his brother. He in away represent a one can say less dramatic version of his brother, he is a man of action a man who prefer to use his guns than Luis pen. What is interesting is how Luis describe his brother as the "New Man" and this identity is that of someone who affirms life in an artistic way. This is what i like about this book is that in a way its a nietzschean themes in it when it tackles art. Art as it is written here is about the affirmation of life and the conquer of death. Victor is a pretty much an ubermensch on whom his brother is a deceitful writer Victor affirms himself as a proletarian (or i guess peasant in this sense) and power that it entails. This is what makes its standout in my opinion is of it theme of art and its place in the world. I also like the meandering of Luis on poetry as he desire to write beauty in the composition of language and its symbolism. Not only that i think the political setting of the story the Huk rebellion is at the most interesting political timeline in philippine history. This is before the marcos and the aquinos corrupted the political scene in this nation. Also of the aesthetic of 1950s philippines especially the party at Dantes home is very magnificently written. I also think the high point of the book is on the scenes of letters, especially the last one written by Luis to Victor and heartbreakingly the letter he wrote for ester, my least favorite tho is the one he wrote for his father which i am going to explain the negative why i dislike it
Negative: now the prose of f sionil jose is elegant but sometimes as one reviewer put it is too much in trying to sound philosophical. I mean the letter written by Luis to his father when he describing his college days a "Days of multi beings" is just pretension though the rest of the letter is good it felt a little overbearing and to be honest the acts of luis after it is written makes it pointless. Also when he and trining and looking for the survivors and the endless description of the geography is just exhausting to read and is definitely the part i will skip when rereading. Also Trining what can i say but i prefer ester over her. She is just this malleable 1 dimensional love struck teenager and sionil description of her is creepy as fuck. Now to my biggest gripe is the ending now i am not gonna spoil but sure as hell i would say it would have been better if it continued on say what happened to luis. Also i find it weird that Jose keeps writing sexual assault in a glorifying way the same way he did with Mass. It just made less interested in Luis well being after he sexually assaulted ester when she clearly said no on his advances and Jose wrote that ester submitted to it like god damn way a rapist would justify his crime. Overall it is a great read but the ending and to be honest the constant meanderings about the unjust system of the philippines can be a bit trite because one does not have to read his book to see the inequality present in this nation. But his stuff on art is great and would recommend only for that.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up the book (and two others by him) during a trip to the Philippines. Before then, I had never heard of F. Sionil Jose. I was encouraged to pick up the books upon reading the back cover summaries of the Rosales novels on display as well as learning that the author is a highly recognized Filipino artist.

But after reading the first chapter it was all a big heavy disappointment. The only thing that really helped me finish was my anticipation as to what would ultimately happen based on the title. For one, it's difficult to get past the blatant sexism. Every female character, whether it’s Trining, Ester, or the other female background characters were written as mere tools (like Don Vincente told Luis) and were often described solely by their physical appearances. Another irritating thing was that almost every character sounded like the same person. All of the book's dialogues might as well been Luis making up different imaginary characters to voice contradicting ideas in his head. Because of the excess introspection (there's no break, really) and moral juggling, the characters end up being flat. The worst part was finally meeting Victor and him also sounding like another voice in Luis' poor head. Of course, this is Luis' story but the synopsis made it seem like Victor would have more of a part as well.

One star for ideas, another star for the ending. I am hoping the other books give the poor the integrity the novel failed to provide. I felt sorry for Luis, I'll admit. But I only felt two-fifths sorry for him.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will give this book 5 stars because of the complexity and depth of Luis as someone who is bottled with anger because he belongs to both the ruling classes and to the class that is trampled on. On his journey trying to find himself, he seems to be a bad luck charm to everyone else he loves and only realizes it when it is too late for him to do anything about it.

Luis Asperri is Don Vicente's bastard son from a tenant farmer's daughter he raped. Instead of going back to the confusion of his life in Rosales in which he has to contend with the awkwardness between his privileged rapist father and his poor maternal family, Don Vicente visits him in Manila five times a year and goes to his favorite gambling den in San Juan and whorehouses in Pasay. Unfortunately his father becomes sick with chronic diseases that visit the rich, so Luis has to go back to Rosales.

Unsurprisingly in a traditional society that is late in coming to globalization, he finds a changeless landscape. Infrastructure investments determine the destiny of whether a small town like Rosales becomes a major trading center or stuck in its agriculture past. Like Roxas City, Rosales is stale in its changeless nature. Here patience is a vice of inaction rather than a virtue. Because of land overuse for farming purposes, an increasing population is getting less and less production for a given plot of land. Since more forest has been cleared for farming purposes, the animals that would have sustained people during agricultural lean years are gone. In turn, labor is getting organized to get back what is rightfully theirs by law in which Don Vicente and Americans favored landowners in order centralized control thereby enslaving the tenant farmers. Luis sees the army as an institution to protect the privilege because as his father rightly states who ever controls the guns controls the state and whomever controls the state controls the country's order.

He felt guilty that he is no longer part of the land where he was born instead was plucked from obscurity in order to be the heir of the Asperri fortune. For this reason, he feels that life was dictated on him not one he chose. Like Lolo Emok affair with Lola Pres, Luis mother is servant of Don Vicente. So the people who are serving him could be his relatives. He lived part of his boyhood as a poor peasant while the part of his life he lived as the son of Don Vicente. So while Luis lives a life of luxury, his mother, maternal grandfather, and half-brother live in poverty. He feels closer to his maternal family than to his father.

Although Ilokano's are hard workers, they are constantly in debt so they will forever be slaves to the land of the landowners. Even though Don Vicente wanted to live his life in Manila or Europe, he was as much enslaved by the land he owned as his tenant farmers due to his duty to his niece whose parents were massacred by unhappy tenant farmers. Because Don Vicente was given his job by his forebearers, he did not consider work to be a noble venture. Unlike his illegitamite son who considers his job as a journalist as a vocation, Don Vicente sees work as a chore. Because he does not want to be trapped by the land he will inherit, he took a job as a professional journalist that gives him the freedom to get out. As a professional journalist, he could afford to look with disdain towards what the landowners are doing to their wards and secretly sympathize with the plight of the tenant farmers.

Don Vicente wants his son to be a politician as a Congressman for their district so their power base will be secured. Here we see crony capitalism at its worst since the people who control the political offices also often control the economy of the region. Don Vicente also knows that his son is intelligent and can write which would prove real credentials for being in politics based on his merits alone. While Luis has modern notions of political democracy in which the politician should serve the people that elected him there, Don Vicente has a early 20 century WASPy view of power in that power should be concentrated in people who knew what to do with the power given to them. But instead of the WASPy ethos of paternalistic policies that consist of being the good shepherd who would rule for the good of the sheep, Don Vicente wants Luis to be a politician in order to keep the interests of his family intact. Don Vicente points to the Visayan Dante (Lopez) family owning the press so that they could manipulate public opinion as proof that prominent need to be involved in the public sphere to protect their interests. Being idealistic, Luis wants to right the wrongs of his father's forebearers but he increasingly looks at that mission as an exercise in futility. Unlike his son who identifies with the oppressed, Don Vicente does not see the world in binary terms between the oppressors and the oppressed rather he sees life as belonging to people who seize opportunity when it presents itself.

While Don Vicente sees marriage as socio-political contract in order to secure a prosperous future of the Asperri clan as well as having children to pass once inheritance to, Luis sees marriage as an outgrowth of love. Like all aristocrats, Don Vicente sees marriage as a means for political and economic stability while mistresses are there to take care of ones personal needs. Marriage for Don Vicente is about politics. This is probably why he would likely encourage Luis cousin in him thus uniting the two family fortunes. Because Don Vicente separates marriage from love or lust, this allows him the luxury to go to whore houses in Pasay.

It must be hard for Luis who has to live with Don Vicente whom his mother taught him to hate. Mother slapped Luis for the sins of Don Vicente which brings us to an interesting question: Is it really best for a child of a rapist to stay with his biological parents if he subliminally feels he is not loved? What effect does that have on a child when he knows he is not wanted even if his mother tells him otherwise? Although Luis and Vic knew what love is as shown by his mother and his relative, can that love ever take the place of a present father? Mother gave him to Don Vicente because his opportunities would be wider raised an Asperri. When his mother gave him to Don Vicente, he disowned them toward his collegiate friends. Despite a chance of a good education fully funded by his father, Luis opted to not finish college when he got the newspaper job. Because of the awkwardness of the situation every time he returns to Rosales, he would rather not stay and uses his journalism as an excuse for being away. He feels like a stranger among his own people.

Grandpa idealizes the past when the Bagos were friends with the Ilokano settlers. He is disgusted with civilization that drastically changed the lives of the locals for the worse by new laws written by the oligarchs enforced with guns and technology that makes tenant farmers obsolete. For the farmers, education gives one knowledge which translates into power. Vic used to look up at Luis as a repository of wisdom. While Luis had book smarts, Vic had survival instincts. From his docility, Vic became strong and self-willed individual. Language is unique and sometimes an idea is not easily translated from one language to another.

Don Vicente does not understand the reason why his tenant farmers are rising up against him when he is the Patron. As Patron, he does what he is supposed to do in giving to those in need. He was threatened by a rock thrown at his window by a Commander Victor warning next time it will be his life. While Luis wanted to tell Don Vicente that paternalism is dead and charity has its own stigma, he advocated patience and understanding in these changing times. Whereas Luis loved ideas, Don Vicente loved his land. While Don Vicente's father believed that land was the seat of power, Don Vicente now tells his son the future of power lies in politics.

Luis paternal grandfather was an astute politician who was always able to tell which way the power was blowing and would hedge his bets accordingly. He died knowing his lands were secure while one of his sons was in charge of the hacienda, the other (Don Vicente) kept close to the powerbrokers so had an insiders perspective on which stocks to invest in or what land to buy b/c certain infrastructure was to be built there. Don Vicente married a Spanish woman who went crazy because of his hedonistic lifestyle.

Dante's newspaper empire was feared by all politicians and business people alike. It was his greatest tool for influencing the outcome of he wanted executed. Esther was the one who told Dante about Luis prodigious writing ability. He was one out of eight editors in Dante's empire. For his 25 wedding anniversary, Dante had it in his 2 hectare compound in San Juan with European royalty and Wall Street CEO's in attendance.

Under Luis leadership, the magazine thrived and no longer needed the financial assistance from Dante's other publications. It was a leftward leaning paper but highly credible in its reporting. The magazine had good circulation and advertising funds were flowing in. The magazine displeased influential people and business leaders with a satirical portrait of them but they did nothing about it because it would either validate the satire or make them look humorless. Dante allowed the satirical portrait on everyone but himself because the magazine sells and he is a businessman after all.

He is having a Christmas party in his house to celebrate the success of his magazine with a mix of old college buddies, the cosmopolitan set including Dante's friends, editors, and the two leftist editorial writers. He wished Trining stayed so her friendship circle would expand beyond her superficial set from the nunnery school but chose to go back to Rosales to care for her uncle and adoptive father, Don Vicente. While Trining goes back to Rosales to nurse Don Vicente, Luis has become allergic to the prospect of staying in Rosales to face his bipolar life. Luis is becoming a depressive drunk with suicidal impulses. Perhaps, his depressive moods stems from having it too easy while his maternal family is struggling in Rosales and perhaps the futility of his position to directly impact society for the better. He is a person who does not feel love by anyone and thus is constantly angry. Perhaps, he represents all children who are a product of rape and who stay with their biological parents or even in cases of unwanted pregnancy or broken home. Luis is torn by continuing to write in English which is the language of the elite because it denies knowledge to the common people who he is trying to help but it is the language that he has mastered. Perhaps through Luis, Jose explains why he writes in English because it is the language he can best express his thoughts.

Luis disdains the leftist intellectuals who claim that they are for the people without ever experiencing what they go through. Ironically enough, it was Vic not Luis who experienced first hand the horrors of war in WWII and the Huk uprising afterwards. Although he liked the comfortable life he was leading as a magazine editor, he thought their was a clear disconnect with his life and those that he wanted to champion, the agrarian poor like his mother's family. Although a leftist intellectual himself, he looks with disdain at PhD candidates who espouse leftist ideas that he considers trivial because it does not address what the poor were looking for a sense of material well-being. Could he live a life of poverty for his love of the poor or was he just another hypocrite who writes about being one with the words by his words only not by action in giving away his inheritance? He sees himself transforming into an aesthete who cannot transform his words into action and loving writing for its own sake.

After his Christmas party and the depressive mood that overtook him, Luis was happy to see Vic appear to him. Vic is proud and does not like charity. Vic tells Luis that he is now Commander Victor who threatened Don Vicente with his life if he does not give into the Huk's demand for agrarian reform. Now Luis has to choose between his natural sentiment and side with his brother against his landlord father or stay contented in his job as an enlightened bourgeoisie who is rich but writes about the sufferings of the poor thus becoming the leftist intellectual he detests. Joining Victor's people's revolution means Luis will forfeit his inheritance.

Victor is a purist in his ideology born out of his experience of hardship and guerilla poverty. Even though he espouses the virtue of self-determination of American democracy, he is disenchanted by Americans who did not prosecute the Filipino elite who collaborated with the Japanese. While the Americans probably did this for their own geo-political interest in wanting to leave the Philippines ASAP and to ensure favorable trade terms for Americans, they needed the Filipino oligarch to make their lives simpler in order to leave the country in the "right hands." In other worlds, American's had to sacrifice their idealistic impulses in order to expedite the transfer of power.

Although Vic acknowledges Luis as the provider of both his intelligence through the books he gave him as well as providing for his well-being so he could be the man he has become, he also realizes the reality that despite having a similar past they have grown apart in their thought on how to bring about change because of their dissimilar experience in that Luis grew up in a privileged household while Vic grew up in the hardships of the battlefield. With Vic confronting Luis, he has to confront exactly who he is. Luis says he believes in humanity and its fulfillment by everyone. Whereas he looks to hope of a better future done through nonviolent means with gradual reform, Vic believes that lasting change can only happen through bloody revolution in order to replace the old order with the new. Just like Vic, Luis is not religious not knowing why he lives unlike his brother who is certain of the righteousness of his revolutionary cause. The lack of religiousness by the brothers stems from seeing priests as hypocrites since many of them have mistresses or stole from church funds even as they act piously.

Luis must be good looking as both Esther and Trining are vying for his attention. Esther wants to understand the enigmatic Luis complexities and what drives him. In Dante's party, Luis falls for Esther who he sees as frail and having tragic eyes, but when he goes home that night he has sex with Trining who arrived in Ermita with the implicit action of seducing her cousin. While he likes Esther maturity, he also likes Trining's vivacious girlishness.

Esther is fascinated by Luis knowledge of sociology. Catholic girls who are immersed in staleness and boredom, mulling over their sins, and living day-to-day in the exasperating desire to keep their chastity as the most valuable thing that they would present to their future husbands are easy prey for rich bohemian rakes such as Luis who despite the comfort he possesses harbors proletarian anger. Esther confessed to Luis that she thought the convent school she was going to was full of superficialities. Luis felt a kindred compassion not love. Whereas Trining was sensual and all woman who knew what she wanted and was direct about it, Esther was more cerebral earnest and plaintive. Like all young men, Luis wanted to have sex with women but is scared of the kids that it may produce. Esther says that she wants peace, happiness, fulfillment, and enlightenment (she want's Bobo's life). Although Esther and Luis share a kindred spirit in that they both have an innate melancholia, she has doubts that Luis shares her desire to live a drama free life because he seems to thrive on conflict and is most alive when he is angry.

Even though Luis was not in love with Esther, he found a kindred spirit in her that matches his own. Her own hatred for her fathers exploitation of their workers matches Luis hatred of his father's land owning ways. In Esther, Luis has found someone who challenges him to be a better man. Luis found Esther is as modern as he is in that they are both not virgins and look to accept sexual relationship between two consenting adults as acceptable. Unlike other rich children, Luis had a house all to himself with the privacy and independence that comes with it. There is an illicit nature to their relationship in that she did not tell her father that she was with Luis on Christmas Day. Luis loves Esther's soul which enhances her physical beauty. A good question is why does Esther fake her virginity when she already told him she was not a virgin? It turns out she gave her virginity to one of a worker's child whom she had a crush on and felt sorry for after her father beat him up. From her experience, she began to identify with the plight of Dante's sugar cane workers.

Although Esther says she wants a peaceful drama-free life, she is drawn to the mysterious yet brooding Luis. She calls out Luis in his dropping out of school as BS based on a trifle when he considered it to be based on deeply held belief. There is an emotional S&M quality to their relationship that seems abusive in which Esther would probe Luis in an effort to understand his motivations followed by Luis striking back in the most hurtful way possible followed by remorse from Luis at his actions. Perhaps she was attracted to Luis because his poetry gave her own inner struggles a voice to which to cling to. He was attracted to her because she made him see the truth and make him look at himself closely in the mirror. Perhaps, Esther is correct in saying that she and Luis are mirror images of each other.

Esther and Luis' relationship was intense. She had refined sensibilities and intelligence that surprised Luis with it depth and lucidity. In wanting to find out more to what makes Luis tick, Esther is forcing him to define himself. Both Esther and Luis have the liberal guilt of living well while their father's workers suffer deprived conditions. They should realize they could right their father's wrongs once they are in power themselves. They should first get themselves in position of power in order to make a lasting change. They should realize that they cannot right all the worlds ills. They should instead focus in what they can do instead of giving up hope because the worlds problems are insurmountable. Sometimes having too much compassion can be bad when it leads one to despair as what eventually drove Esther to her suicide. In Esther's death, Luis sees that she is his soul mate in their shared tragedy though he is convinced he is not in love with her.

Don Vicente calls Luis back home because his morbidity will soon kill him. When Luis returned to Rosales, Don Vicente tells him that Don want Luis to marry Trining in order to consolidate the Asperri land holdings. Even though it was a crass proposition, he did care for her. When Trining first told Luis Don Vicente's wish, he kissed her with affection not passion. He had a cousinly love for Trining whom he devirginized but she was housewife material in her homemaking and loving way not a mistress who challenged him to grow like Esther did. Trining wanted Luis to marry her out of his free will without coercion from Don Vicente. At least, Trining knows about Luis past as a pauper and wants to reconcile the Asperri household with his mother, grandfather, and Vic.

[Roberto D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 18 out of 200 books
"My Brother, My Executioner" by F. Sionil Jose

F. Sionil Jose's chronologically third novel of the five Rosales novels explores the Psychological aspects of human interactions and the voyaging towards an uncertain future, that is. It tells the story of two brothers (or half-brothers), Luis Asperri- the legitimate first child of Don Vicente Asperri, the wealthy yet greedy landowner from the Previous novel, "Tree"- who now appears physically as a major character in this book. Luis Asperri had just got back from his studies in Manila to settle down and run, first a notary in the town of Rosales, then second, Inherit his father's lands as he lays down to die. Victor, the illegitimate second child, meanwhile, is a revolutionary (or a rebel, you could say)- who, not only despises his father for being of the bourgeoisie class, he finds it hard to influence, or at least- get in touch with his older half-brother for being product of the same class as his father.

"My Brother, My Executioner" is, in my own opinion, the *second darkest of all the Rosales novels in terms of aspect and storyline, that is because this story does take place in a bleak atmosphere, during the dawn of the Cold war and the dawn of all-out communism in the Philippines, more specifically, during the havoc caused by the Hukbalahap, an armed Guerrilla responsible for resistance against the Japanese 5-10 years before, now becoming the main enemy they swore to destroy.

MY THOUGHTS:
So I read this book over a year ago because I've not anything to do. It was the summer vacation but because of Covid-19, I can not be able to go outdoors on a daily basis. There I sat on my bed, reading the five Rosales novels, from "Po-on" to "Mass".

F. Sionil Jose wrote a masterpiece of a book series! I honestly wanted to immediately consume these books but it still took me 3 weeks to get through them all. I realized how difficult actually are these books because they feel like a mirroring of what's happening in the Philippines, my home nation, right now a year later.

I don't exactly have a favorite character in this book, but I have to sympathize with Victor here. You see, the word "Activism" has quite a negative connotation here in the Philippines. We are so backwards as a nation in terms of politics, you are immediately branded as a Communist or a terrorist just for protesting your views antithesis to the government's views.

It honestly is sad because you have the youth being brainwashed to think a certain way or believe what the government's telling them. As you read, even more ireful, the fact that parents are in favor of Mandatory military service and mandatory ROTC, even without reading or being informed of the effects and consequences of these unnecessary requirements.

This would be a difficult book review for me to write because of how relatable really are the characters he, whether you root for Luis Asperri because he was in favor of land reforms and labor reforms, or you root for Victor because Victor and the Hukbalahap rebels only have violence as a resort to actually get things done.

Let us start with Luis, then. Luis Asperri is your textbook definition of an optimist. An idealist you could say. But because of this excessive optimism he forgot the main aspects and dangers of what was happening around him. Though I sympathize with Luis on so many aspects, from introducing land reform programs for poor farmers, to at least negotiating with his own brother to stop the insurgency in favor of more peaceful approaches to problems, I can't help but bring the fact up that Luis chose the temptations of women first when he should be solving his society's problems! Also unfaithful, as I should write which serves as a character flaw, Luis Asperri was young and naïve. The man should've known how actually hard it is to be pitted on society's problems but he chose that path, even without thorough knowledge of what's coming to him. He honestly thought we would just inherit the money from his greedy father but he inherit the problems his father decided not to face!

Then we now move on to Victor. Victor is already your textbook definition of an activist, as I've pointed out back. Here we see a realist character who doesn't give flinch at the plea of "peace". What he sees as peace, is false peace. The type of peace that the colonizers, former or even the current-turned-accomplices grant, is all false. This is quite true nowadays, not only in the Philippines, but the whole world is heading towards a dystopia disguised as a democracy. But on a more domestic case, the Philippines has never had the true, liberal and unflinching type of democracy because of how fragile it really is. Unfortunately for us Filipinos, we have a history of tolerating criminals into power, which undermines the possibilities of good governance.

Enter Victor (Notice how I actually am not giving him a last name, because the book doesn't actually give him a last name, as his mother is blackened out from the narrative. But Luis' mother herself is blackened out too, making both Luis and Victor equal at some point), the realist who only believes peace when the ones who "granted" them peace are deposed or dead, that is because he believes that peace should be granted by the Filipinos, not by the Americans or the Japanese. There seems to be some flaw in his reasoning, but because he wants a leader for the masses, not for the masses. Keep in mind that the Philippines still was under heavy American influence, even just a couple years after before the USA actually granted independence to the new country.

Victor was an activist. Though most Filipino activists of the modern day aren't as violent! So why was I rooting for Victor when he was rooting for violence, making him indifferent from the government who won't answer to the plea of the insurgents? That is because, things have gotten bleaker when the new president ascended. It was 2 weeks since the elections 2022, and well- I use to see Luis and Victor indifferent from each other but it was a year past, it is time that we actually wake up from our indolence, and wake up as Filipinos with an identity and hopes for our nation.

This is quite a long book review. So I am going to end it here. The 192-paged (on my edition) book was worth the read and very timely now that democracies are failing and falling worldwide.

[Andrew James Jiao · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book sent me to post-WWII Manila and Pangasinan. The author writes in English without distancing the reader from the story's setting. The story is rich in thought-provoking dilemmas involving nationalism, family, love, and even the meaning of life. The plot is marked by tragic events from start to end. The book title and cover don't hide much of the conflict though. Overall, I'd say it is a good lens to look through if you want to learn a bit of Philippine history and culture, and also if you just want to read a good story.

[Maan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #21 for 2014: I don't know why, but I found this book a bit dragging. Maybe it was because of all the introspection. Hopefully the next book will be better.

Notable Lines:

Politics is total, son. Total. And even women should be tools in it. (p. 11)

My son--there are no oppressors, there are no oppressed. There are only people who seize opportunities to make their lives better. (p. 15)

[Moriabyrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story that really explains the history of the Filipino people during Spanish rule and the difficult feudal system still in control at that point.

[Adan · Rating 5 out of 5]

well i like this author but i read it in english. but it was very good.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

About:
1. Hukbalahaps
2. Siblings having a clash of principles
3. Philippine History (Post-Japanese Occupation, I think :D)

[Rise]

I posted a review (sorta) here: http://booktrek.blogspot.com/2013/09/...

[Richard Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Dusk and Tree.

[Pep · Rating 4 out of 5]

So in the first two books, I found the personal journey of the characters to be more interesting than the political statements the book was making. Here, the highlight of the book was hearing everyone’s hot take on Philippine politics and how to live one’s life morally in the face of a broken system. This book works more as an allegory, with the characters as broad stand-ins for a particular kind of person in Philippine society. That’s probably why there’s a lot more happening in the story (as opposed to Tree, where there essentially is no plot), so we get to see the dynamics of how these tropes interact with other.

Part of the reason for that is that Luis is a bit harder to sympathize with. He’s kind of a more extreme version of the slightly depressed, self-hating wealthy introspective protagonist of the second book. He’s a lot more active, not just reacting to the events of the plot around him, but this also makes him a bit more inscrutable as he was kind of all over the place, and I found it difficult to pin down his character.

Lastly, “My Brother, My Executioner” is a really excellent title. You can feel the drama based on the title alone. I think you could throw millions of pesos at this book and make it a really intense, exciting movie—the set pieces are clear in my head already.

[Kate Esperanza · Rating 2 out of 5]

The life of the mestizo antihero, Luis Asperri, seems partly inspired from the late author’s life — as someone who spent his childhood as a destitute peasant before heading off to prewar Manila (then a cosmopolitan city) for his education and becoming a famous writer. Aside from him, Asperri also seemed to be based on F. Sionil Jose’s two best friends from the opposite ends of the class divide, Luis Taruc and Luis Araneta (who ironically became the “balae” of Marcos Sr.)

I honestly did not like the Luis because of his self-centered-ness. Maybe because he was his evil father’s only child? And he was always seems to be the center of attention and service. I disliked how he technically made his maternal family feel abandoned, and how he initially treated Trining and Ester. Speaking of whom, in contrast to the reviews here, I also do not think he was really in love with Ester, whom, I also did not like so much. There was this narrating line that revealed Luis was not at all in love with her. Overall, however, I think this is a great storybook that made me realize why the Marcos regime was threatened by it.

[Jason D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third in a series of five books in the Rosales Saga, which chronicles the lives of generations of families and how they maneuver around the economic, political, and social structures of their time. They are a worthy continuation of the great Filipino novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which were an indictment of our colonizers’ crimes; in the Rosales novels, National Artist F. Sionil Jose holds up a mirror to us. That he wrote the series for more than two decades, between 1962 and 1984, speaks volumes about the inequality during his time. That the novels still apply to this day proves the institutionality of this failure. The Rosales Saga should be required reading in high school.

Jose’s prose is masterly; his words demand not only the imagination but the five senses as when he describes the fields “tinted with brown and the dazzling sunlight” or “the foothills of Balungao… purplish and scabbed with black where the cogon grass had been burned.” Even white voile curtains don’t billow but “(breathe) in and out of the wide, bright frame of a window.”

[Helen Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dramatic and thought provoking. I did not personally enjoy this third novel’s plot as much as I had enjoyed Tree (the second in the Rosales saga). But there’s something about the two half-brothers’ lives and storylines that still resonates as a very vivid reflection of Philippine society and culture today, beyond the original setting of the novel (Hukbalahap uprising). It gave me so much to think about as a Filipino citizen and the backdrop of our current modern setup has been somewhat unveiled by this masterful storytelling. I am so thankful to have this saga in my collection and hope that more young Filipino people read F Sionil Jose’s masterpiece in Rosales series to have a deeper appreciation of who we are as a people.

[Irvin Sales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third of the Rosales Saga.

Although Po-On (first one) was my favorite so far because it was the Filipinos' struggle with the Spaniards, this book My Brother, My Executioner is by far the most dramatic, entertaining, and page turner of them all (so far, for I am yet to read The Pretenders and Mass).

This books is set during the Hukbalahap uprising. Although, what interests me the most is what F. Sionil Jose was thinking of when he was writing the book. Was Luis Asperri a metaphor? Luis was a very interesting protagonist. A man who has never been in want of love and comfort and yet always only thinks of himself.

I will put 5 stars for My Brother, My Executioner because despite FSJ's "not reader-friendly" vocabulary, he still managed to write a very interesting story.

[Emilio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Premise: 5
Plot: 4
Style: 4
"My Brother My Executioner" delved into the intricacies of Filipino family dynamics and the pursuit of dreams. The premise of two brothers taking different paths in life, one a writer and the other a military man, was thought-provoking. The plot offered a deep exploration of the characters' struggles and choices, though some parts felt slow-paced. F. Sionil Jose's writing style was evocative, painting a vivid picture of Filipino society and its contradictions. While I prefer action fiction, this novel's philosophical depth and social commentary made it a rewarding and reflective read.

[Denzelle Caro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cry for Luis. All logical, rational, and justice flickers in his values. I see myself in you. Unable to face the deep reality of poverty and injustice, shrouded in dreams of change and reform; almost encompassing to provide purpose for the self yet damning in truth that I am no courageous person to act on these. Always a believer but yet unmoving, unable to reconcile action with dreams. Luis, you are seen and known. You are no immaculate man. You are I, fearful and human.

This book captures the elite in empathy. It captures the crossroads between action and knowledge. A great book for the thinker.

[Mario]

The protagonist Luis Echerri is a writer. That should have made it easier for F. Sionil to write the book. Alas, the author, speaking through Luis Echerri on p. 163, in a moment of synchronous self-reflection/confession, chanced at the crux of the matter (of his awful writing):

...the essence of life eluded him and what he wrote was no more than a jumble of phrases...verbose, clumsy, clipped, together...

[Angelo Lorenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a class requirement in my graduate studies. This novel captures a fragment of Philippine society which rages in the conflict between the elite and the masses, the local colonizers and the colonized.

[Vi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see that it has potential, but not my kind of book!

[Aizel Macaldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
I posted my book review here: One Page at a Time

[Stephen Elbanbuena]

i wanna read

[Mags Soliman]

its my project you know?

[Rainier Moreno-Lacalle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that you'd close your eyes after reading. You'd know that in the author's mind these people are real and they symbolize the cause he is fighting for!