Why a Booktrail?
1880s: The first in the Rosales series which takes a look at life in the small town of Rosales.
Dusk
What you need to know before your trail
Set in the 1880s, Dusk is the story of a tenant family’s exile from its village and the new life the family tries to make in the small town of Rosales. Life in turn of the century Philippines is no easy place to be and one man and his family are to find themselves struggling against the turmoils of history and the hardships of the country at the time. The resistance towards the country’s invaders is growing and people from all walks of life are getting drawn into it to the detriment of their own futures.
Locations
Reset- The Philippines
- A: Bantay, Ilokos Sur
- B: Rosales
- C: Nueva Ecija
- D: Cabugaw
- E: Mount Tirad
Travel Guide
The novel opens at Luzon Island and during the last days of Spanish rule in the Philippines and the journey of an extended family evicted from their homes by Spanish authorities. The Salvador family’s move south is the journey and the struggle they and others like them face against greedy landowners and the imposing colonial powers..
This is an historical and personal journey from the early 1870s to 1898 covering such events as the Battle of Tirad Pass and the American take over from the Spanish. The setting is one small town – Rosales – representative of all small towns there – it’s the people and the human struggles which are the main story.
There are real historical figures depicted here – Apolinario Mabini who was the real life figure behind the revolution against Spain and Eustaquio Samson, who fled from Ilokos with his entire clan. Both men came from the lower classes of society although Mabini later went to Manila to study law and eventually he became the first foreign minster in the country. This was a man central to the history of the Philippines and even though this is a fictional depiction of his life and times, there is a lot of insight into his life and his place in the country’s politics.
With this historical backdrop, the portrayal of the people’s struggles and the agrarian reforms and corruption, dispossession of their lands and the sheer pain and suffering of the people in the story is all the more fascinating.
There is also a nice linguistic addition to the story as there are many words – Spanish and those specific to the Philippines which are included in a glossary. Extra insight to the time and culture.
Where Next?
