It isn’t often that Filipinos get access to long-form journalism—the kind that is bound in a book. It is even rarer to have long-form literary journalism that puts together the pieces of a city shattered by air strikes, artillery and many hails of bullets.
This rare thing, painful as its contents may be, is what journalist Criselda Yabes offers in her book, “The Battle of Marawi” (Pawikan Press, 2020).
Off the bat, Yabes is honest with her readers about her story sources. She is also clear about using pseudonyms for the soldiers she interviewed. That the identities of the people interviewed and quoted in such stories are hidden in the arcana of substitute pronouns does not detrac…
Keep on reading: A book that will not let you sleep soundly at night