Mabuhay

MABUHAY! is an account of a defining moment in Philippine history—the Second World War. It focuses specifically on the period from December 8, 1941 when the Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor until April 9, 1942, the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor. Within this historical frame, Carlos Quirino and Marcial Lichauco constructed a historically-specific world that re-created the wartime conditions in Manila and part of Luzon, especially Bataan where Filipino and American soldiers made their last stand.

For readers born after the Pacific War, the novel is a rich source of information and insights into the conditions of wartime Philippines—the unrelenting fury of the Japanese invaders, the horrible conditions of prisoners at UST and Fort Santiago, the treachery of some Filipino collaborators, the heroism of Filipino and American soldiers, in a world turned upside down.