Noli me tángere (1899)

Ibarra returns to the Philippines hoping to improve his community, only to encounter the interlocking power of clergy, officialdom and social ambition. Rizal mixes farce with a fierce account of colonial injustice. The original Spanish novel was published in 1887; this record represents an 1899 Spanish reprint. For English, choose Harold Augenbraum's 2006 Penguin translation. The question is what reform can achieve when powerful people profit from preventing it.