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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
This book features the most lyrical writing style I have ever read. Reading this now in 2020, it is disheartening to see that my country is still afflicted with the same ‘cancers of society’ that plagued it during Rizal’s time. It’s discourse on freedom, morality, government and religion was executed masterfully. This truly is a timeless novel. Will highly recommend to people who want to learn more about the 19th century Philippines and the events leading up to the revolution.
This book features the most lyrical writing style I have ever read. Reading this now in 2020, it is disheartening to see that my country is still afflicted with the same ‘cancers of society’ that plagued it during Rizal’s time. It’s discourse on freedom, morality, government and religion was executed masterfully. This truly is a timeless novel. Will highly recommend to people who want to learn more about the 19th century Philippines and the events leading up to the revolution.
The fact that this is read so much blows my mind. The nuances and ideas of revolution in the book still rings through in society today. Although we were required to read Noli and El fili, I never understood it until I read it now. What really stuck with me is the writing itself, which is probably why I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now. I think I will leave it at that. Now off to read my handouts from high school again
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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, Death, Racism, Death of parent, Colonisation, War
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If this weren't a high school requirement by law, I would recommend this to everyone I know.
I, myself, was surprised with how less pretentious the book became as time passed by. Of course, Ibarra was the main character we found hard to deal with - este, read about - but overall, the characters mean so much to me now. Especially Elias.
I'd expected deep Filipino I couldn't understand. Of course, sometimes that was the deal, especially with long chapters especially lengthened because of the numerous paragraphs in the beginning that set the scene. I hadn't expected Rizal to be funny, or relatable, or heartbreaking.
I finished this the day before our final long test, and it was definitely easier to binge-read several chapters at that time compared to when I'd just started reading it. Maybe because I already knew the context. Maybe because I was already invested in the characters and their stories.
That ending was just sad. It was definitely sad as we found out what happened to all the characters.
Appreciate Noli. Appreciate Rizal. Appreciate our history.
I, myself, was surprised with how less pretentious the book became as time passed by. Of course, Ibarra was the main character we found hard to deal with - este, read about - but overall, the characters mean so much to me now. Especially Elias.
I'd expected deep Filipino I couldn't understand. Of course, sometimes that was the deal, especially with long chapters especially lengthened because of the numerous paragraphs in the beginning that set the scene. I hadn't expected Rizal to be funny, or relatable, or heartbreaking.
Spoiler
(I must say, the Dalawang Sinyoras chapter is the funniest chapter, but I did find myself giggling when the Kapitan Tiago household kept freezing with their unfinished food when shots were fired.)I finished this the day before our final long test, and it was definitely easier to binge-read several chapters at that time compared to when I'd just started reading it. Maybe because I already knew the context. Maybe because I was already invested in the characters and their stories.
That ending was just sad.
Spoiler
(Huhu, Elias!).Spoiler
And because I enacted Consolacion for my monologue, of course her ending tugged at my heartstrings!Appreciate Noli. Appreciate Rizal. Appreciate our history.
Empece a leer el libro sin esperar demasiado. Sabia que era de lectura obligada en Filipinas, pero pensaba que era por su valor historico, no literario.
Estaba equivocado, el libro es magnifico en todos los sentidos.
Es una critica muy muy dura a la sociedad y en especial al poder clerical de Filipinas en sus ultimos años antes de obtener la independencia de España.
Como un ejemplo, aqui unas analogias que se marca unos de los personajes del libro, absolutamente perfectas:
"Así terminará usted, planta trasplantada de Europa á este suelo pedregoso, si no busca apoyo y se empequeñece. Usted está en malas condiciones, solo, elevado: el terreno vacila, el cielo anuncia tempestad y la copa de los árboles de su familia se ha probado que atrae el rayo. No es valor, sino temeridad combatir solo contra todo lo existente; nadie tacha al piloto que se acoge á un puerto á la primera ráfaga de tormenta. Bajarse cuando pasa la bala no es cobardía; lo malo es desafiarla para caer y no volverse á levantar."
Estaba equivocado, el libro es magnifico en todos los sentidos.
Es una critica muy muy dura a la sociedad y en especial al poder clerical de Filipinas en sus ultimos años antes de obtener la independencia de España.
Como un ejemplo, aqui unas analogias que se marca unos de los personajes del libro, absolutamente perfectas:
"Así terminará usted, planta trasplantada de Europa á este suelo pedregoso, si no busca apoyo y se empequeñece. Usted está en malas condiciones, solo, elevado: el terreno vacila, el cielo anuncia tempestad y la copa de los árboles de su familia se ha probado que atrae el rayo. No es valor, sino temeridad combatir solo contra todo lo existente; nadie tacha al piloto que se acoge á un puerto á la primera ráfaga de tormenta. Bajarse cuando pasa la bala no es cobardía; lo malo es desafiarla para caer y no volverse á levantar."
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
read in 9th grade (which was 11 years ago). not gonna rate this one but I did enjoy the lake scene in the ending.
I'd like to preface this review by saying that I realize that this is an important and historic novel in the history of the Philippines. The introduction to the edition I have gave some context for the book and its influence, but I don't have a connection to the country or have any more knowledge of its history than is included in this edition, so my rating is based solely on my opinion of its literary merit.
The book functions as a polemic against the then-political situation of the country, where a group of corrupt friars ruled the country unopposed. The book describes the fear and control that these corrupt men held over the country's citizens, the savage mistreatment of the poor, and the casual racism directed towards the indigenous people, those who couldn't trace their bloodlines to Spain. It paints a vivid picture of all that was wrong with the way the Philippines was governed.
However, it is a very uneven book. There are some quite humorous scenes, but there are also some very heavy-handed tragedies. The two seem a little incompatible. There are a lot of scenes that I found hard to get through - when Ibarra and Maria Clara first profess their love, most of Tacio's speeches, many of the political exchanges. The love story wasn't really interesting, it was just there seemingly to add an extra layer of tragedy.
None of the characters are really fully-realized - they tend to either be caricatures or 2-dimensional. Ibarra is brave and noble, Maria Clara is beautiful and loyal, Elias is courageous and mysterious, etc. It's hard to really care for any of the characters as Rizal doesn't give you enough depth to feel much for them in his broad strokes.
I had one other quibble, and that is how interconnected each character is. This one, who denounced that one's father, is secretly the father of that one's love interest ; this one's grandfather turns out to be the cause of all the troubles for that one's father. But it occurs to me that I have no idea how large the Spanish ruling class is in the Philippines at the time, so it's possible that this isn't as far-fetched, assuming a small enough population. So I'll take a pass on that complaint at this time.
And that's it. It's not a bad book, but without the emotional attachment to its history, it's not great either.
The book functions as a polemic against the then-political situation of the country, where a group of corrupt friars ruled the country unopposed. The book describes the fear and control that these corrupt men held over the country's citizens, the savage mistreatment of the poor, and the casual racism directed towards the indigenous people, those who couldn't trace their bloodlines to Spain. It paints a vivid picture of all that was wrong with the way the Philippines was governed.
However, it is a very uneven book. There are some quite humorous scenes, but there are also some very heavy-handed tragedies. The two seem a little incompatible. There are a lot of scenes that I found hard to get through - when Ibarra and Maria Clara first profess their love, most of Tacio's speeches, many of the political exchanges. The love story wasn't really interesting, it was just there seemingly to add an extra layer of tragedy.
None of the characters are really fully-realized - they tend to either be caricatures or 2-dimensional. Ibarra is brave and noble, Maria Clara is beautiful and loyal, Elias is courageous and mysterious, etc. It's hard to really care for any of the characters as Rizal doesn't give you enough depth to feel much for them in his broad strokes.
I had one other quibble, and that is how interconnected each character is. This one, who denounced that one's father, is secretly the father of that one's love interest ; this one's grandfather turns out to be the cause of all the troubles for that one's father. But it occurs to me that I have no idea how large the Spanish ruling class is in the Philippines at the time, so it's possible that this isn't as far-fetched, assuming a small enough population. So I'll take a pass on that complaint at this time.
And that's it. It's not a bad book, but without the emotional attachment to its history, it's not great either.