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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
slow-paced
It might just be me, but it seemed extremely discombobulated. It was difficult to understand what was going on, but I read it online. Read for my Filipino Literature class.
As a half Filipino, I simply had to read this - to maybe learn more about the country half of my family comes from (and all of them except my mother still lives in)!
Already in reading about the author I understood that this was a man who changed the world of the 7107 islands. He was brave and revolutionary, and his books even got banned, which sounds pretty medieval, so enough said!
The story itself is not the BEST fiction I have ever read, but it really paints a nice insight into the lives of the natives over a hundred years ago, which I really liked.
It was hard for me to put this down, so I say that if you have Filipino roots, go ahead and read this!
Already in reading about the author I understood that this was a man who changed the world of the 7107 islands. He was brave and revolutionary, and his books even got banned, which sounds pretty medieval, so enough said!
The story itself is not the BEST fiction I have ever read, but it really paints a nice insight into the lives of the natives over a hundred years ago, which I really liked.
It was hard for me to put this down, so I say that if you have Filipino roots, go ahead and read this!
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
before reading: i was supposed to read this for school last year, but i got lazy. my teacher was an excellent storyteller though, and so i feel inclined to read the book anyway.
--
i would like to review noli objectively. i really do. but as a filipino, i can't ignore the significance of this book to my country. the events that happen in this novel are prime examples what i learned in my own history classes. to read about it involving characters you get attached to throughout the entire novel is nothing like reading about these through a textbook. it felt so vivid, so real. so you can say that i'm biased, i'm predisposed to liking this book because of my pinoy pride.
* i've always found ibarra's (crisostomo's?) and maría clara's romance to be a tragedy. we never really got to see them develop, just the obstacles keeping them apart the entire novel.
* it takes a lotta guts to call out pretty much everything that rizal did. catholicism, education, the government. and i'm glad for that, he sparked a revolution didn't he? it's almost prophetical in some passages, how much he wants to spark change, even the smallest idea, with his writing.
"Combat begins in the sphere of ideas, to descend into the arena, which will be covered in blood." - Elías
* i found the narrator to be very amusing, almost cheeky sometimes. i liked how they would keep you in the dark about something, only hinting at it with the tiniest bit of foreshadowing or dialogue, only for it to spark into something so much bigger later on. it also felt really meta (in a good way) when it felt like the narrator was guiding you along, into different conversations at a dinner party or to see another perspective of a situation.
* one gripe i had though: maybe it just went over my head (or it has something to do with the satirical nature of the book) but some of those philosophical tangents went on for way too long. i want to go back and cross out entire pages which i just found superfluous. i really liked some of what philosopher tasio had to say but it felt bogged down by pages and pages of flowery, roundabout writing, like i had to pan around for it like gold in a sieve.
--
i would like to review noli objectively. i really do. but as a filipino, i can't ignore the significance of this book to my country. the events that happen in this novel are prime examples what i learned in my own history classes. to read about it involving characters you get attached to throughout the entire novel is nothing like reading about these through a textbook. it felt so vivid, so real. so you can say that i'm biased, i'm predisposed to liking this book because of my pinoy pride.
* i've always found ibarra's (crisostomo's?) and maría clara's romance to be a tragedy. we never really got to see them develop, just the obstacles keeping them apart the entire novel.
* it takes a lotta guts to call out pretty much everything that rizal did. catholicism, education, the government. and i'm glad for that, he sparked a revolution didn't he? it's almost prophetical in some passages, how much he wants to spark change, even the smallest idea, with his writing.
"Combat begins in the sphere of ideas, to descend into the arena, which will be covered in blood." - Elías
* i found the narrator to be very amusing, almost cheeky sometimes. i liked how they would keep you in the dark about something, only hinting at it with the tiniest bit of foreshadowing or dialogue, only for it to spark into something so much bigger later on. it also felt really meta (in a good way) when it felt like the narrator was guiding you along, into different conversations at a dinner party or to see another perspective of a situation.
* one gripe i had though: maybe it just went over my head (or it has something to do with the satirical nature of the book) but some of those philosophical tangents went on for way too long. i want to go back and cross out entire pages which i just found superfluous. i really liked some of what philosopher tasio had to say but it felt bogged down by pages and pages of flowery, roundabout writing, like i had to pan around for it like gold in a sieve.
Our teacher only made us read the summary; though, I wish we had read the entire thing.
the book “started the Philippine revolution” which is amazing and the plot is so good. My only personal comment is just the complexity in the words and phrases that took me a while to understand but thats just a me problem.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
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.
Didn't fully read the book, understood the story from class
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No