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skele_queen's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Slow paced and serious satire that constantly made me gasp with the audacity of the call-outs. I understand why the author was executed for this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Torture, Death, Physical abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Racism
bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Review of Noli Me Tangere (Touch me Not)
By: Soledad Lacson-Locsin
Crisostomo Ibarra returns to the Philippines after he hears his father has died in prison. He’s ready to learn about his Mother Land after being away for so long and wants to marry his childhood sweetheart Maria Clara. Things get complicated when the Indigenous people of the Philippines want Ibarra’s help to fight against the Spanish Government, who are currently running the Philippine Islands.
Reading Noli Me Tangere was my first step to immersing myself in my Filipino culture and I had a good time with it, though it is a tragic story. Rizal explores what happened when the Spaniards took charge of the Philippines and how there was a group of oppressed natives of the Philippines who weren’t fairly treated by the government. For the Philippines their Catholic religion is important and rules them. We have three Padres who run things, Padre Damaso, Padre Siblya, and Padre Sibya and each is corrupt and tyrannical in different ways. Damaso rules with an iron fist but hides behind God. Crisostomo Ibarra’s journey is relatable in the sense that he wants to understand where he comes from and naively believes that his government is what is good for the people. The Elias points out his privilege and how fortunate he is when Crisostomo argues for the government. He doesn’t have the same experiences Elias has had. I admire Maria Clara’s loyalty to Ibarra and her decision to join the convent while he was in Europe. The extra subplots show the problems between the Filipino people and the Spaniards. Rizal addresses the reader sporadically explaining things to them such as the chapter explaining a holiday known as the Fiesta, which happens in November. He also wrote the novel in present tense, which is a tense that is normally awkward for me to read but worked for me in this case. This addressing to the audience and present tense immersed me in the world and brings the reader into this time in history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Alcohol, Confinement, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Classism, and Religious bigotry
dean_issov's review
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I feel that it's important to note that this book is a highly respected and revolutionary book from where I come from, the Philippines; Dr. José Rizal is our national hero and my subjective criticisms toward this book shouldn't be taken as a fact, definitely still read this book if you're interested in reading the book that sparked a revolution in my country, there is an English translation of it called "The Social Cancer" if you're not fluent in Tagalog/Spanish.
Noli Me Tangere is and will always be the book that all Filipinos will study in schools/colleges, but I had the luxury to read it not by my school's demand but just for my pleasure alone. This book definitely inspired many of the teleseryes (television soap operas) that I grew up watching. I can't confidently say that I had the best reading experience with this book, I was crawling my way through the first half and felt ashamed that I had to resort to the audiobook version throughout the latter half of the book, but I know that I had to finish this no matter what it took because of just how monumental this book was. I just didnt connect with the characters that much, I felt like the main character was a nice man but never really fully developed as a character, and the same goes to all the others in the book. I still can't help but feel sorry for the poor mother, Sisa, who had, in my opinion, the most tragic story.
I'm not going to spoil anything so you should definitely read it for yourself. My take on this book is that it just wasn't for me, it felt slow and there were many "fillers" inbetween the main events of the book, perhaps I'll read this again when I'm older and have a new perspective on it.
Noli Me Tangere is and will always be the book that all Filipinos will study in schools/colleges, but I had the luxury to read it not by my school's demand but just for my pleasure alone. This book definitely inspired many of the teleseryes (television soap operas) that I grew up watching. I can't confidently say that I had the best reading experience with this book, I was crawling my way through the first half and felt ashamed that I had to resort to the audiobook version throughout the latter half of the book, but I know that I had to finish this no matter what it took because of just how monumental this book was. I just didnt connect with the characters that much, I felt like the main character was a nice man but never really fully developed as a character, and the same goes to all the others in the book. I still can't help but feel sorry for the poor mother, Sisa, who had, in my opinion, the most tragic story.
I'm not going to spoil anything so you should definitely read it for yourself. My take on this book is that it just wasn't for me, it felt slow and there were many "fillers" inbetween the main events of the book, perhaps I'll read this again when I'm older and have a new perspective on it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, War, and Racism
elly29's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
What a convoluted trip into the makings of a failed revolutionary in 19th-century Philippines. It reminds me simultaneously of 100 Years of Solitude (without the playful magic) and Of Human Bondage (though not as grim). I learned a lot about the Philippines -- in the intro, especially, the translator talked about the "friarocracy" and the stranglehold Catholic friars held over the country, insomuch that there was a group of friars that ordered the assassination of Fernando Bustamante, the Spanish governor of the Philippines, in 1719. (Though, this takes place in the 1880s/1890s.)
At times terribly boring, at times exciting (like the courting young folks' boat ride that ended with the death of the crocodile), at times viscerally awful as they torture and kill revolutionaries without any semblance of justice, it waxes satirical and philosophical and polemical. (Old Tasio was among the best parts of this book.) There was no end to how much it harped on the injustices church and government heaped upon common folks. What an odd novel. Apparently, Rizal is some sort of phantom invoked as a national hero/bogeyman/Santa Claus in the Philippines.
Yikes, child physical abuse that ends in the child's disappearance. It gives me sadness to think that this is a story that has happened over and over and over throughout the world. Those mass graves of children next to old schools in Canada...
What an appropriate novel for 2021, as the world is still dealing with the effects of colonialism.
Oddly enough, I'd be interested in a tv miniseries about Noli Me T'angere.
Special thanks to TheStoryGraph's Literature-in-Translation challenge. I would've passed over this book otherwise.
A few good quotes:
"The furniture is elegant, if uncomfortable and not suited to the climate; the owner of the house would never put his guests' health before luxury. 'Dysentery is terrible, but you are sitting in European chairs, which you don't get to so every day!' he would tell them." (p 7)
"The rich and affluent have fulfilled the duties that come with having a fortune. The following day they will hear the three masses every priest will celebrate, give two pesos for another, and purchase a bull for the dead, full of indulgences. In faith, divine justice is nowhere near as demanding as human justice."
At times terribly boring, at times exciting (like the courting young folks' boat ride that ended with the death of the crocodile), at times viscerally awful as they torture and kill revolutionaries without any semblance of justice, it waxes satirical and philosophical and polemical. (Old Tasio was among the best parts of this book.) There was no end to how much it harped on the injustices church and government heaped upon common folks. What an odd novel. Apparently, Rizal is some sort of phantom invoked as a national hero/bogeyman/Santa Claus in the Philippines.
Yikes, child physical abuse that ends in the child's disappearance. It gives me sadness to think that this is a story that has happened over and over and over throughout the world. Those mass graves of children next to old schools in Canada...
What an appropriate novel for 2021, as the world is still dealing with the effects of colonialism.
Oddly enough, I'd be interested in a tv miniseries about Noli Me T'angere.
Special thanks to TheStoryGraph's Literature-in-Translation challenge. I would've passed over this book otherwise.
A few good quotes:
"The furniture is elegant, if uncomfortable and not suited to the climate; the owner of the house would never put his guests' health before luxury. 'Dysentery is terrible, but you are sitting in European chairs, which you don't get to so every day!' he would tell them." (p 7)
"The rich and affluent have fulfilled the duties that come with having a fortune. The following day they will hear the three masses every priest will celebrate, give two pesos for another, and purchase a bull for the dead, full of indulgences. In faith, divine justice is nowhere near as demanding as human justice."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Colonisation
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
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