Sin (José novel)
A politico-historical novel of amorality and Philippine degradation.
Sin: A Novel, also known as Sins, is a 1973 politico-historical novel by Filipino National Artist F. Sionil José. The work presents Philippine history through the perspective of the wealthy patriarch Don Carlos Cobello, who reflects on his life while on his deathbed. It has been described as an amorality tale that traces the steady degradation of the Philippines.
Quick Facts
- Author
- F. Sionil José
- Country
- Philippines
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Fiction
- Publisher
- Solidaridad Publishing House (Philippines); Random House (USA)
- Released
- 1973
Facts from the source article.
Description
Filipino author Allen Gaborro called Sin the most controversial and most bohemian of José's novels, as it portrays the indecencies of Don Carlos Cobello despite the conservative and Roman Catholic character of Philippine society. The narrative challenges established moral codes through storylines involving adulterous and incestuous affairs, creating an artifice of sexual tension. The novel is seen as a threat to traditional Filipino mores and fundamental Christianity. It also exposes vanity and greed within elite configurations of supremacy and control worldwide. José presents the inequity between wealthy and poverty-stricken, assailing the control of resources by Filipino aristocrats and racial discrimination by the landed mestizo gentry against Indios. The narration has been compared to novels by Milan Kundera.
Principal character
Don Carlos Cobello is a Spanish mestizo with little direct contact with Indios. José portrays him as a libidinous fornicator and egotistic aristocrat who describes sinfulness as a social rather than moral designation, calling sin an absurd creation of society. Cobello believes historical interpretation is reserved for the strong. He becomes paraplegic after a freak bathroom accident, which strips him of pride but does not rule his soul. His obsessive recollections serve as a form of repentance to avoid bequeathing hubris and greed, though José leaves uncertain whether Cobello's penitent language is sincere. Cobello has two children: Angela, presented as his niece but actually his daughter from an incestuous union with his sister Corito, and Delfin, born from a teenage lover of impecunious background. Delfin becomes a lawyer defending the poor, rejecting his father's offer of privilege and disapproving of oligarchic excesses.
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