''My Brother, My Executioner''Kerkvliet, Benedict J. A book review for ''My Brother, My Executioner'' by F. Sionil Jose, The Journal of Asian Studies, volume 41, number 2, February 1982), pages 417-418, Association for Asian Studies, Jstor.org
/ref> is a novel by Filipino author

Francisco Sionil José Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

written in

Philippine English Philippine English is a variety of English native to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos and English learners in the Philippines from adjacent Asian countries. English is taught ...

. A part of the

Rosales Saga ''The Rosales Saga'', also known as the ''Rosales Novels'', is a Book series, series of five historical and political novels written by National Artist of the Philippines F. Sionil José. Chronologically, it is composed of five interconnected no ...

- a

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

of five interconnected fiction novels - ''My Brother, My Executioner'' ranks third in terms of chronology, after

Po-on ''Po-on: A Novel'' is a 1984 novel written by Filipino English language writer, Francisco Sionil José, F. Sionil José. This is the original title when it was first published in the Philippines in the English language. In the United States, it ...

(original title: "Dusk") and

Tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

and before

The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

and

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. In the United States, ''My Brother, My Executioner'' was published as a second part of the book, ''Don Vicente'', together with ''Tree'', another novel which is also a part of José’s ''Rosales Saga''. ''Tree'' is the second novel of the historical saga, before ''My Brother, My Executioner''.Walton, David. Don Vicente: Two Novels, book review of ''Tree'' and ''My Brother, My Executioner'' by F. Sionil José, published by Modern Library, Books in Brief: Fiction & Poetry, The New York Times, NYTimes.com , February 6, 2000
/ref> This novel was first published in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in the early 1970s.Don Vicente: Two Novels (''Tree'' and ''My Brother, My Executioner''), book review by Publishers Weekly, Reed Business Information, Inc. and Amazon.com, July 1999
/ref>Don Vicente - Two Novels, ''Tree'' and ''My Brother, My Executioner'', book review by Library Journal, Reed Business Information, Inc. and Amazon.com, 1999
/ref>

Principal characters

*''Luis Asperri'' - Victor's half-brother, illegitimate son of Don Vicente Asperri *''Don Vicente Asperri'' - feudal landlord, father of Luis Asperri *''Victor'' - Luis Asperri's half-brother *''Trining Asperri-Asperri'' - Luis Asperri's first cousin, becomes wife of Luis

Plot summary and description

''My Brother, My Executioner'', tackles the narrative about two half brothers – ''Luis Asperri'' and ''Victor''. ''Luis'' is the biological, yet illegitimate, son of ''Don Vicente Asperri'', a rich feudal landowner. At a young age, Luis was taken by Don Vicente from his underprivileged mother and half-brother, Victor, who were both living in Sipnget,

Rosales Rosales (, ) are an order of flowering plants. Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Rosales". At: Trees At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below) Well-known members of Rosales include: ...

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...

, a province in the

. After studying in Manila, Luis became a writer and editor for a radical left-wing magazine. When Luis was finally able to return to Rosales, he found out that his half-brother, ''Vic'' – the nickname of Victor - became a full-pledged leader of rebels who were against the existence of rich landowners. Thus, the brothers meet again both “as allies and as adversaries” because of their opposing social beliefs, views, status and principles. These conflicts are their mutual misfortunes in life as brothers. Luis identifies with the luxury offered by city life, while Vic detests these materialistic privileges. Furthermore, although Luis considers himself as a liberal, he is more like his father, Don Vicente. He followed the will of Don Vicente by marrying ''Trining'', his cousin – instead of a girlfriend in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

– in order to preserve the wealth of the family. Luis Asperri is against putting down his status as a wealthy landowner for the benefit of the peasantry. He is against the goals of the uprising of the ''

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Filipino communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight int ...

'' or '' Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon'' – a “people’s army against the Japanese occupiers” represented by the leadership of his half-brother, Vic. The event occurred in Philippine history during the 1950s. The Hukbalahap remained active even after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Don Vicente - Two Novels, ''Tree'' and ''My Brother, My Executioner'', Synopses and Reviews, Powells.com
/ref>

References

External links

*
comprehensive book review
about F. Sionil José’s ''My Brother, My Executioner'' at Multiply.com {{FSionilJose-RosalesSaga Novels by F. Sionil José 1973 novels Philippine English-language novels Novels set in the Philippines

Principal characters

Plot summary and description

See also

References

External links