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Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere
Crisostomo Ibarra returns to the Philippines after studying in Europe for seven years. His father has died mysteriously and soon new obstacles appear to his marriage to childhood sweetheart Maria Clara...
Noli Me Tangere reflects the society and incidents from the Philippines of Rizal's time, a country ruled by Spanish friars for over 300 years. As a result, many of the characters in the novel have now become woven into the culture.
The publication of this book and its sequel El Filibusterismo, led to Asia's first nationalist revolution in 1896. However no writer paid a higher price for self-expression: the Spanish executed Rizal primarily for his writings. But for the same reason, Filipinos embraced him as their national hero.
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This translation of Noli Me Tangere was first published in 1961 by Longman's in London. Ambassador Leon Ma. Guerrero also translated the sequel to the Noli, El Filibusterismo. Other works include "The First Filipino," which won the Jose Rizal Centennial biography competition.
Noli Me Tangere reflects the society and incidents from the Philippines of Rizal's time, a country ruled by Spanish friars for over 300 years. As a result, many of the characters in the novel have now become woven into the culture.
The publication of this book and its sequel El Filibusterismo, led to Asia's first nationalist revolution in 1896. However no writer paid a higher price for self-expression: the Spanish executed Rizal primarily for his writings. But for the same reason, Filipinos embraced him as their national hero.
--
This translation of Noli Me Tangere was first published in 1961 by Longman's in London. Ambassador Leon Ma. Guerrero also translated the sequel to the Noli, El Filibusterismo. Other works include "The First Filipino," which won the Jose Rizal Centennial biography competition.
470 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
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421 people want to read
About the author
León María Guerrero
15 books32 followersLeón María Ignacio Agapito Guerrero y Francisco better known simply as Leon Ma. Guerrero III, was a Filipino diplomat and novelist, and was one of the foremost Filipino nationalists of his era. A partner in the law practice of senator Claro M. Recto, he became Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs during the Magsaysay administration. His then controversial advocacy of 'Asia for the Asians' and espousal of a realistic re-examination of relations with the United States are now commonly accepted as being ahead of their time.
"Leoni," as his family called him, was born on March 24, 1915 in Ermita, Manila to one of the nation's most prominent families. His father was the famed Dr. Alfredo Leon Maria Guerrero, and his mother was Filomena Francisco, the first Filipino woman pharmacist.
His paternal grandfather, for whom he was named, was Leon María Guerrero, the distinguished botanist, Malolos Congress delegate, and member of the first Philippine Assembly. His sister, Carmen Guerrero Nakpil would also be grow up to be a journalist and, later one of the pre-eminent figures of Philippine letters.
On retirement he was the country's senior career diplomat having served as Ambassador in London, Madrid, New Delhi, Mexico City and Belgrade. On June 19, 1982, only a fewdays before he died, he received the, Gawad Mabini, the highest award in the Philippine Foreign Service.
He held the rank of Knight Grand Cross of the Knights of Rizal. Among his many works are internationally acclaimed translations of José Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo. He also wrote the biography of Rizal: The First Filipino.
His works are Twilight in Tokyo, Passion and Death of the USAFFE, Report from Europe, Alternatives for Asians,
An Asian on Asia, The First Filipino (Awarded first prize in the Rizal Biography Contest under the auspices of the José Rizal National Centennial Commission), El Si y El No. (Winner of the Premio Zobel), Las Dos Muertes de General Aguinaldo, Two Friars in Exodus (A Contribution to Studies in Philippine Church History), The Philippine Revolution by Apolinario Mabini, Today Began Yesterday, We Filipinos (Posthumous anthology of his writings), translations of: Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal and El Filibusterismo by José Rizal.
"Leoni," as his family called him, was born on March 24, 1915 in Ermita, Manila to one of the nation's most prominent families. His father was the famed Dr. Alfredo Leon Maria Guerrero, and his mother was Filomena Francisco, the first Filipino woman pharmacist.
His paternal grandfather, for whom he was named, was Leon María Guerrero, the distinguished botanist, Malolos Congress delegate, and member of the first Philippine Assembly. His sister, Carmen Guerrero Nakpil would also be grow up to be a journalist and, later one of the pre-eminent figures of Philippine letters.
On retirement he was the country's senior career diplomat having served as Ambassador in London, Madrid, New Delhi, Mexico City and Belgrade. On June 19, 1982, only a fewdays before he died, he received the, Gawad Mabini, the highest award in the Philippine Foreign Service.
He held the rank of Knight Grand Cross of the Knights of Rizal. Among his many works are internationally acclaimed translations of José Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo. He also wrote the biography of Rizal: The First Filipino.
His works are Twilight in Tokyo, Passion and Death of the USAFFE, Report from Europe, Alternatives for Asians,
An Asian on Asia, The First Filipino (Awarded first prize in the Rizal Biography Contest under the auspices of the José Rizal National Centennial Commission), El Si y El No. (Winner of the Premio Zobel), Las Dos Muertes de General Aguinaldo, Two Friars in Exodus (A Contribution to Studies in Philippine Church History), The Philippine Revolution by Apolinario Mabini, Today Began Yesterday, We Filipinos (Posthumous anthology of his writings), translations of: Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal and El Filibusterismo by José Rizal.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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March 19, 2023“..in life it is not the criminal but the honest man who arouses the greatest hatred.”
“If I believed in miracles, I would not believe in God. I would believe in a man-made god; I would believe that in truth man had made God in his own image and likeness..” (Elias)
“If I believed in miracles, I would not believe in God. I would believe in a man-made god; I would believe that in truth man had made God in his own image and likeness..” (Elias)
March 20, 2023
“Now misfortune has snatched away the blindfold from my eyes. Now I see the horrible cancer that is gnawing away at our society, that seizes on the flesh of our country, and must be torn out. They have opened my eyes to our social cancer.”
Excerpt From
Noli Me Tangere
Jose Rizal, Translated by Leon Ma. Guerrero
https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...
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I hope Filipinos would really understand and appreciate this novel.
Excerpt From
Noli Me Tangere
Jose Rizal, Translated by Leon Ma. Guerrero
https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...
This material may be protected by copyright.
I hope Filipinos would really understand and appreciate this novel.
January 12, 2022
Leon Ma. Guerrero's translation perfectly captured Rizal's description of the Filipino struggle against the Spaniards and itself. Three centuries of conditioning and assimilition to a culture that did nothing but exploit and degrade resulted to the identity crises Filipinos of today experience. The most heartbreaking thing, perhaps, that I can glean with this story is that the Philippines may no longer be a colony of Spain but the Filipinos still suffer the same social cancer.
January 8, 2020
Trigger warning: child harm. It's very well written and keeps your attention, but it isn't a happy book at all. Don't keep reading hoping things will turn out okay. If human misery doesn't bother you and you want insight into the Philippines under control of Spain and the Catholic Church, you might enjoy this book.
April 7, 2020
Everything in this book is still very relevant in the Philippines today. The positive and negative traits of the Filipinos, the oppression during the Spanish colonization, the ideals of Ibarra and Elias about the oprpession, may be opposites but its ends still meet. A lot of the characters tell well about what was happening during these times and represented well the different people on the society at that time. This book really showed why Rizal was executed because he had opened the eyes of the public by flipping pages.
December 14, 2022
Im so glad to find Noli in English! I know that there are other English translations out there, but so far I love Mr. Guerrero’s translation.
It took me quite a while to finish this book, because its a “heavy” book. The tragedies, misfortunes, injustices that befall to most of the characters where hard for me to bear. Nevertheless, this book is a classic and masterpiece each Filipino should read.
It took me quite a while to finish this book, because its a “heavy” book. The tragedies, misfortunes, injustices that befall to most of the characters where hard for me to bear. Nevertheless, this book is a classic and masterpiece each Filipino should read.
October 8, 2025
One of the most—and first—monumental achievements in Philippine literature. Its publication helped ignite a revolution that eventually led to the country's liberation. And no wonder: the pages of this novel seethe with rage so palpable you can still feel it more than a century and a half later.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
January 3, 2022
Jose Rízal was truly a genius. The national hero of the Philippines, he incited revolt against the oppressive Spanish rule through peaceful means, specifically through his writing. Until he was executed. This book is a powerful commentary on the lives of the colonized Filipinos.
July 29, 2023
It is ironic that we’re freed by a book and our national hero is a writer but we barely read unless its required by the school
November 16, 2024
Novela basada en la época colonial española de Filipinas que expone las injusticias del ese período, valora el nacionalismo, valora las luchas de los antepasados y la unidad del pueblo filipino.
February 22, 2021
reading this in english made me realize I should read more filipino/tagalog books. I am so bad at my own national language. noli me tangere is a book not for the faint of heart. after more than a hundred years the problems and issues tackled in the book are still as relevant as ever. the younger generation should read this not because it is included in the philippine curriculum but because it is about opening our eyes and minds to the harshness of real world and not staying silent. it is about standing up to our oppressors and grabbing them by their tails and taking courage!
August 29, 2020
It's fiery when the author says what he wants to say through the characters. Some of the characters are obviously caricatures and are meant to be laughed at without analyzing them too much. There are far too many people in the story, though. So many names with which I personally couldn't keep up, and without which the story could have held up just the same.
Noli is a sad painting of Philippine society. What makes it sadder is that in 2020, the criticisms about our country in this book written in 1887 still apply.
Noli is a sad painting of Philippine society. What makes it sadder is that in 2020, the criticisms about our country in this book written in 1887 still apply.
June 19, 2024
Latin for Touch Me Not is a novel by Filipino writer and activist Jose P. Rizal and was published during the Spanish colonial period. It explores inequalities in law and practice in terms of the treatment by the ruling government and the Spanish Catholic friars of the resident peoples in the late 19th century.
November 10, 2023
My most highlighted book. Lot's of takeaways and very thought provoking
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews