Noli Me Tangere

By: José Rizal

Narrated by: Richard E. Grant

Jose Rizal’s two novels Noli Me Tangere and its sequel El Filibusterismo are beloved classics in The Philippines. Here, they are read with characteristic flair by Academy-Award Nominee Richard E. Grant, who apart from his work in Film and TV, is well-loved by audiobook listeners.

It might be fiction, but it is also Philippine history.

Rizal travelled to Europe as a student and wrote these books there under difficult circumstances. His friends helped ship them back to Manila where the books were swiftly banned by the Spanish authorities. They took exception to the hilarious satirical portrayals of Philippine society at the time - and paticurlaly of the Spanish Friars and their nominal secular overlords. The vivid characters in these books are known to all Filipinos, and many of the personalities described are said to persist to the present day.

However, Rizal paid a high penalty for self-expression; he was executed by firing squad on 30 December 1896 mainly because of these two books. Filipinos, inspired by Rizal, declared independence, establishing Asia's first democratic republic in 1898, which survived in the face of a bitter war against US occupying forces until 1901. In 1946, exactly half a century after Rizal's execution, Filipinos became the first Asians to win independence from Western colonialism.

©2010 Chalcot Press (P)2021 Chalcot Press

Very much recommended

This version of Rizal's Noli Me Tangere is a reliable source of the author's original. It is accessible / understandable even for the casual reader / listener, while at the same time, it is a strong companion to scholars and students studying the hero and the Philippines of the 1890s.

Timeless

Classics are timeless when they speak clearly of the human condition, that sadly has changed little over hundreds if not thousands of years. Because of this you will find many truths in this story that, to those who are paying attention, are still true and relevant today.

The story is a national treasure; the performance.

I wish there was a voice actress for the women dialogues. The narrator's female voice is distracting.

Narration is my only complaint

Read this because my girlfriend is Filipino and it was wonderful. Feels relevant even today. It is even more poignant knowing that Rizal sparked the independence movement and was condemned over authoring this. I only wish it wasn’t read with British accents, the performance is solid but using Cockney or Scottish burr to voice characters with Spanish names/dialogue felt clumsy and inappropriate. Very thankful that Audible has it in the catalog though it’s such a historically significant piece of literature.

Timeless story but needs different performer

Truly thrilling to have this book in Audible, thank you! The story is timeless, tragically published at the price of blood of our National hero, Jose Rizal. A must read/listen for everyone.

My only complaint is the performance. I wish it was read and performed by a Filipino, Spanish, or someone who can pronounce well the words in Filipino and Spanish.