Who was Jose Rizal? While most Filipinos know him to be our national hero, many will find that there is a superficiality to their knowledge of the Filipino patriot. In this collection of essays, historian Jose Victor Z. Torres invites us to engage in an in-depth reexamination of how we see Rizal. Addressing the sociohistorical context of Rizal’s nineteenth-century world, his novels, and his ambitions, Torres offers a thought-provoking perspective on Rizal. By stripping away the title of pambansang bayani and delving into a deeper, more personal understanding of who he was through this work, we can reconfigure our perception of Rizal to gain a richer appreciation of his life and legacy. Beyond looking at Rizal as a hero, we might want to discover who Rizal was at the end of the day—a human being.
Published in 2021