The best books on the Philippines: start your reading here

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/booksblog/2014/jan/15/best-books-philippines-review

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Dusk by F Sionil José

Dusk is the first novel in José's acclaimed Rosales Saga, five books that follow the fortunes of one family through 100 years of Philippine history.

The story begins during the last days of Spanish rule and ends with the entry of America as the new colonial master. It recounts the lives and hardships of the Samsons as Spanish rough justice drives them off their land and forces them to flee their village.

On their long and arduous journey to find new land to farm, the extended family are harried by other ethnic groups, bandits and the colonial Guardia Civil. They finally settle in what becomes Rosales.

The main character, Eustaquio (Istak) Samson, although a farmer's son, is taken under the wing of a liberal Spanish priest for a time and learns Spanish and Latin. Eventually, his educated status obliges him to play a role in the struggle for independence, transforming him from poor farmer and would-be seminarian into rebel fighter.

José's engaging and sympathetic storytelling puts the reader right alongside the protagonists as they struggle for a better life. The novel vividly captures the oppression and smouldering discontent of Filipinos under colonial rule, showing how the unifying struggle against imperialism forges Philippine identity.

José is one of the most widely read Filipino authors. The Rosales novels, set in his home town, are bestsellers in the Philippines.

Illustrado by Miguel Syjuco

Syjuco's exuberant debut novel begins with the suspicious death in New York's Hudson river of a self-exiled Philippine literary legend, Crispin Salvador. A controversial figure at home, Salvador attracts as many enemies as fans. The manuscript of his final work – an expose of corruption among the Filipino ruling elite, which is also an attempt to settle scores with his critics – has vanished.

His acolyte, Miguel, decides to find out what really happened to his literary mentor and to track down the missing manuscript. The quest takes him back to his home town, Manila – also home to Salvador's greatest triumphs and tragedies.

Syjuco's evocative tale of modern Manila, spiced with philosophical musings and wry humour, leaps around Philippine culture, history and politics. The story is told through a multi-layered and dizzying array of sources: blogs, newspaper cuttings, extracts from Salvador's books, Miguel's own writings, and jokes.

The sprawling structure and style is sometimes overwhelming, but those who persevere will find the trip worthwhile.

Syjuco, born and raised in the Philippines, now lives in Canada. Illustrado won the Man Asian literary prize in 2008 while it was still an unpublished manuscript.

America's Boy: The Marcoses and the Philippines by James Hamilton-Paterson

After its long stretch under two foreign powers – 300 years in a Spanish convent and 50 years of Hollywood, as the adage goes – post-independence Philippines emerges as a flawed democracy. Hamilton-Paterson contends it's a system run by oligarchs and defined by corruption and cronyism; "goons, guns and gold" play their part. The US, meanwhile, continues to wield its clout.

In this biography of the Marcos dictatorship, although no apologist for Ferdinand and Imelda, he controversially claims the regime is not an aberration, but represents Filipino political practices that preceded it and continue to this day.

Ferdinand, "America's boy", has "practically unconditional US backing" as Washington, seeing him as a bulwark against the "communist threat", turns a blind eye to his kleptomania and authoritarianism. Growing local opposition and a thaw in the cold war sees the US finally withdraw support in 1986, leading to Marcos's ousting. But, says Hamilton-Paterson, with the "saintly" Cory Aquino replacing Marcos after the "people's revolution", only the players change, not the system.

The author elicits information from Marcos's friends, foes and family (including Imelda), and his mix of personalities and politics delivers an entertaining and insightful history.

British writer Hamilton-Paterson, having lived on and off in the Philippines for three decades, brings an insider's knowledge to the story.

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