Mass, also known as Mass: A Novel, is a 1973 historical and political novel written by Filipino National Artist F. Sionil José. Together with The Pretenders, Mass is the completion of José’s The Rosales Saga, which is also known as the Rosales Novels. The literary message of Mass was “a society intent only on calculating a man’s price is one that ultimately devalues all men”.
The narrative of Mass pictured the Philippines during the years prior to and after the imposition of Martial Law in 1972, which occurred within the scope of the middle and the late periods of the twentieth century. It narrated about a movement advocating reform, the resulting struggle for human rights, students’ rights, tenants’ rights, and women’s rights, and mass protests that were manipulated by “fraudulent leaders”. The uprising failed. One of the characters went back to Central Luzon to discover his origins in order to rebuild his life.
