The Rosales Saga

The Rosales Saga, also known as the Rosales Novels, is a series of five historical and political novels written by Filipino National Artist F. Sionil José. Chronologically, it is composed of five interconnected novels, namely Po-on (written in 1984), Tree (written in 1978), My Brother, My Executioner (written in 1973), The Pretenders (written in 1962), and Mass (written in 1973). The Rosales Saga traced the five generations of two families, namely the Samsons (poor farmers) and the Asperri (wealthy mestizos) through Spanish and American periods in the history of the Philippines up until the period after Philippine Independence. José begun writing the series in 1962 and completed it in 1984.

General description

All of José’s five novels are in set in Rosales, Pangasinan in Luzon, Philippines. José uses a variation of styles for the novels. José also focuses on different families with different social statuses. The object that connects and binds these families is the “giant Balete tree" located at the plaza of Rosales town.