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Title: A must for any student of Filipino history.
Review: Hypnotically beautiful... F. Sionil Jose does a wonderful job of pulling the reader into the alternately fascinating and repulsive world of the turn-of-the-century Philippines. You can't help but notice the tension between illusion and reality--that while the setting could be tranquil at times, there is always this underlying anticipation of tragedy, especially with Istak's encounters with the Spanish and the Americans.
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