Noli Me Tangere (Penguin Classics)

It's such a treat to see the first ever Filipino author to grace the pantheon of Penguin classics. I read some of the pages and it seems the translation is very good and quite readable. I think it's better than the Soledad Locsin or the Guerrero translations.

Also, why on earth do high school students here in the country are forced to read Noli and El Fili in TAGALOG? It's ironic to force down archaic Tagalog when English would have been better- considering that the Tagalog version is merely a translation of the Spanish original and may not be loyal to the tone of the novel. Is it because we want to sound patriotic by reading Rizal in Tagalog? I, for one, am from the Visayas, so learning Noli and El Fili in Tagalog was a big big headache.

How about you? What are your insights on the new Penguin Translation?

I've yet to read the Penguin translation, but I do somewhat share your sentiments about reading Rizal's works in Tagalog. It certainly does seem like some half-baked concession to a shallow form of patriotism. Just my opinion, of course.

It's a shame how the DoE "teaches" the Noli and Fili. When I was in high school, we didn't even have the original to read from - just these idiotic Cliffs Notes-type books, from which the teacher would summarize each chapter and ask about the morals that they had to teach. I never really learned to love Rizal's work, and someday I'm going to try to rectify that.

So which version should I read? I have the Guerrero translations at home, but do you think the Penguin translation comes across better?

Ah, yes, the Cliff notes on El Fili..."Mga Gabay sa Pag-aaral ng El Filibusterismo" We used them too in conjunction with the Tagalog textbooks. It's funny to recall that in High School, we didn't bother to read the textbook but rather rely on these Cliff notes because this was where our teacher gets her test questions.

the new translation I think i much better than Guerrero's (which I also like) because of the extensive use of the original words in tagalog, spanish, and latin. and the missing elias chapter was also translated.

Wow! You actually got hold of Noli Penguin Classic.
How different is the Harold Augenbraum translation from Locsin's? The latter also contains the missing Elias chapter.
Any special points to take note of in the introduction of the Penguin Noli?

I own a Locsin Noli. Hers uses English equivalent of words that correspond as nearly as possible to Rizal's original. Overall the version comes across a tad stuffy (but still a whole lot better than the Filipino translation we were forced to read back in high school).

for me, locsin's flow of words are somewhat archaic and i had a slow time reading it. the augenbraum translation has a better flow. drop by sa mga powerbooks and check out their open copies, that way you could compare. I just hope Pinoys will buy this, cuz I have this feeling that if the sales will be substantial, the El Fili will be next.

i just dunno if both were loyal to the original spanish, but the Locsin versions have a much better cover.

...but the Locsin versions have a much better cover.

if you're referring to the dust jacket, i most certainly agree. even the pages are not your run-of-the-mill acidfree paper.