Description: The Pretenders and Mass complete the publication of Jose's masterly Rosales Saga, the story not only of a Filipino family from the small town of Rosales and its struggles, but also of the Filipinos' history, which is intricately tied into the histories of the people of the Pacific Rim and with American history. Imbued with a humane, passionate, and uniquely moving vision, yet powerfully engaged in politics and history, these simply written novels comprise a modern classic, one of the great sagas of world literature.

The Pretenders centers around the short life of Antonio Samson. A graduate student with revolutionary leanings, Samson meets the seductive Carmen Villa, daughter of a powerful, and corrupt, industrialist. Working toward a reform that would give the native Ilocanos more control over their land, he leads a double life, loving, and eventually marrying, the seductive Carmen, whose father stands for everything he despises. When he is betrayed by his wife, this inner conflict breaks into the open and threatens to destroy him. More than just the story of an individual life, The Pretenders is the moving tale of the life of a people, a people who often feel alienated from their own country, and who seem powerless to take control of their fate.

Mass is told by the illegitimate son of Antonio Samson. Grown up, Pepe escapes from his village, drawn by the excitement and danger of the city. But in Manila he ends up in the sprawling slum of Tondo, still as poor as ever, and unable to participate in the life he came for. Yet, as Pepe moves from one morass to another, he finally comes to an understanding of his life. As much a story of hope as of despair, Mass is an affirmation of thestrong spirit of the Filipino people, a spirit that refuses to be broken, even by the most devastating adversity.

Popular abroad, Mass was a bestseller in Holland, for example. Chronologically, it is the final book of the Rosales Saga, completing this consequential work.

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