Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not)

A scorching exposé of the Spanish government's corruption and abuses of power, this novel is famed as a catalyst to the Philippine Revolution. Noli Me Tángere was the first major artistic manifestation of Asian resistance to European colonialism written from the point of view of the oppressed. Its passionate tale of an idealistic young Filipino's challenges to authority plays out against a backdrop of repression, torture, and murder. Author José Rizal (1861–96) was a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement, which gave voice to a population that had simmered with resentment during three centuries of Spanish rule. Rizal paid with his life for his outspoken writings; a century later, the martyred author remains a symbol of Philippine nationalism as Noli Me Tángere takes its place among the revolutionary classics that have influenced history.