Essays by F. Sionil Jose

At the outset of writing this column, I would like to make a public confession – that F. Sionil Jose has always been my favorite fiction writer.

- ELFREN S. CRUZ

His books, especially the five-novel epic The Rosales Saga that encompass one hundred years of Philippine history, was a literary masterpiece that I could identify with.

I am aware that he was a controversial figure because he was fearlessly speaking his mind out all the time. That was one reason I also admired him. While he was alive, I had the privilege of knowing him and was even invited a couple of times to the second floor of his beloved Solidaridad Bookshop in Ermita. He would also occasionally send me letters when he would comment on my column.

Back in my college days in the 60s, I used to frequent his bookstore because it was relatively near my school, La Salle College, now De La Salle University.

In spite of his being controversial even with his literary circles, he was a multi-awarded writer. In 1980, he was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and the Creative Arts and named National Artist of the Philippines for Literature in 2001. He is one of the few Filipino literary figures that received prestigious foreign awards which included the Order of Sacred Treasure, Japan (2001); the Pablo Neruda Centennial Award (2004); officer in the French Order of Arts and Letters (2014) and the European Union Award in 2018.