22 h 15 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 546 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 546 pagesAbout this book
What happens when a young man’s hope for his country meets a town ruled by fear?
Crisostomo Ibarra returns to the Philippines after seven years in Europe, eager to build a school and marry Maria Clara. He believes education, patience, and goodwill can bring change. But under Spanish colonial rule, priests and officials hold power over lives, and even a hopeful plan meets resistance.
In Noli Me Tangere, José Rizal brings Ibarra’s hopes alongside the struggles of people with far less protection. Sisa fears for her sons. Elias, a hunted boatman, doubts that the law can help the poor. As Maria Clara faces the wishes of those around her, love and reform become painfully uncertain.
What you’ll discover
- Hope put to trial Follow Ibarra’s school project as his faith in peaceful change meets the town’s resistance.
- Love under pressure Meet Maria Clara, whose love for Ibarra strains against the demands of others.
- Power in everyday life See colonial oppression through small encounters with priests, officials, and those forced to obey.
- The cost of powerlessness Enter Sisa’s world, where a mother’s care cannot shield her children from cruelty.
- Satire with a sting Watch Rizal expose vanity and obedience through dinner-table rivalries and a town’s public celebrations.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like historical fiction, political satire, or the roots of a nation's story. It is also good for anyone curious about Spanish colonial life. If you want a fast plot with few characters, its many threads may feel crowded.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A doctor writes a novel to wake a nation
- Ibarra comes home to a party
- Maria Clara and a town of secrets
- Sisa loses her sons and her peace
- Ibarra plans a school for the town
- A day on the lake brings Elias
- The fiesta and the insult to a dead man
- What the story says about power, faith and change
- How Rizal tells it: satire, symbols and many voices
Who’s who
- Crisostomo IbarraA wealthy young Filipino back from seven years in Europe, he wants to build a school, honor his father and marry Maria Clara.
- Maria ClaraCaptain Tiago's gentle, devout daughter, raised in a convent school, she loves Ibarra and is bound by the wishes of those around her.
- EliasA quiet boatman and fugitive who saves Ibarra's life and speaks for the poor, he doubts that law will ever help them.
- Father DamasoA loud, proud Franciscan and former priest of San Diego who looks down on Filipinos and uses his standing to settle old scores.
- Father SalviThe thin, silent curate of San Diego, strict about church money and close to the hidden workings of the town.
- SisaA poor mother in San Diego who lives for her two sons, Basilio and Crispin, and suffers cruelly because she has no power.
- Tasio the SageAn old scholar thought mad by his neighbors, he writes in secret symbols and warns Ibarra that the town is not ready for change.
- Captain TiagoA rich, pious businessman who bows to every authority and sees Ibarra as a fine match for his daughter.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 22 h 15 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 546 pages: USD 16.95 when you start free, USD 22.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 546 pages: USD 23.95 when you start free, USD 29.95 on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: USD 0.14 a day, then USD 0.27 a day, never raised. Or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Noli Me Tangere in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Noli Me Tangere
by José Rizal· 1887
A young reformer faces clerical power in the colonial Philippines.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A doctor writes a novel to wake a nation
José Rizal was born in 1861 into a well-off Filipino family in Calamba, in Laguna province. He studied in Manila and then in Spain, where he trained in medicine and became active among Filipino students who wanted reform. He saw that the Spanish press and many in Madrid knew little of the real conditions in the islands. He decided that a novel might say what a political pamphlet could not.
He began writing Noli Me Tangere in Madrid and went on with it in Paris and Germany. Money was short. He finished the book in Berlin, and a friend helped him pay for the printing. The novel appeared in 1887 and soon found its way into the Philippines in secret.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
José Rizal
1861–1896 · Filipino novelist and nationalist
José Rizal was born in Calamba, Philippines, in 1861. He lived in the Philippines and Europe and worked as a physician and writer. He wrote the novels Noli Me Tangere, published in 1887, and El Filibusterismo, published in 1891. He was executed in Manila in 1896.
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More like this
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Noli Me Tangere
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy just the printed book?
Yes. The paperback costs USD 22.95 on its own. Start free and you pay the cost of printing: USD 16.95 for this paperback, and any other book at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is Noli Me Tangere about?
It tells of Crisostomo Ibarra, who returns to the Philippines from Europe and tries to improve his home town. He finds that priests, officials and fear of authority block him. The book shows the damage of Spanish colonial rule.
What does Noli Me Tangere mean?
It is Latin for touch me not, words from the Gospel of John. Rizal used it to suggest a social sickness so tender that people refuse to speak of it or treat it.
When was Noli Me Tangere written and is it a true story?
Rizal wrote it in Europe and it was printed in Berlin in 1887. The plot and characters are fiction, but the conditions it describes, such as the power of the friars, drew on real life in the colony.
Popular in classics
See all
Free
Free
Free
