[3] This novel by Joaquin is a literary assessment of the influence of the past to the time encompassing events in the Philippines after World War II,[1] an examination of an assortment of legacy and heritage[4] and the questions of how an individual can exercise free will and deal with the “shock” of experiencing “epiphanic recognition”.

[3] Among the characters are Manolo Vidal and his family, Connie Escobar, Esteban and Concha Borromeo, Father Tony, Paco Texeira,[3] and Doctor Monson, a former rebel hiding in Hong Kong to avoid postwar trials.

[1] Connie Escobar, the female protagonist, was described by literary critic Epifanio San Juan as a sufferer of her mother’s estrangement from a world where unconfident males take advantage of women by either violating or venerating them.

[3] According to San Juan, the character of Manolo Vidal is the embodiment of the Filipino nationalistic bourgeoisie who were once critical of the theocracy of the Spaniards but became transformed puppets and servants of the colonialists.

Paco Texeira was a survivor of the behaviors of the Monson and Vidal families, and also acted as Joaquín’s “conscience”, an observer who could have penetrated the existing rituals and ruses.