Description
In the industrial world of Manila, The Pretenders follows Antonio Samson, a Harvard-educated doctor whose education and status cannot protect him from the grinding realities of a society built on unequal power. As he navigates a master-and-servant, lord-and-slave dynamic that shapes everyday life, Antonio confronts betrayal, displacement, and the painful question of what “belonging” means when the system is rigged against you. F. Sionil José uses Antonio’s personal struggle to illuminate the broader fate of many Filipinos—lost, exploited, and left with nowhere to turn. Blending social realism with incisive character study, the novel probes themes of class oppression, moral compromise, and the enduring tension between aspiration and survival.
Available Editions
paperback
Unknown
Published Jan 1, 1997
188 pages
ISBN: 9789718845011
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Details
First Published
1966
Language
eng
Content Warnings
No content warnings identified.