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Brimming with romance and adventure, Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote is considered by many to be the greatest work in the Spanish literary canon. Both humane and humorous, the two volume oeuvre centres on the adventures of the self-styled knight errant Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Quixote's credulous and chubby squire. Together the unlikely pair of heroes bumble their way from one bizarre adventure to another fueled in their quests by Quixote's histrionic world view and Sancho's, who in conjunction with Quixote provides the spark for endlessly bizarre discussions in which Quixote's heightened, insane conception of the world is brought crashing to earth by Sancho's common sense.
DLSmithies: Don Quixote was Flaubert's favourite book, and I've read somewhere that the idea of Madame Bovary is to re-tell the story of Don Quixote in a different context. Don Quixote is obsessed with chivalric literature, and immerses himself in it to the extent that he loses his grip on reality. Emma Bovary is bewitched by Romantic literature in the same way. There are lots of parallels between the two novels, and I think putting them side by side can lead to a better understanding of both.… (more)
CGlanovsky: In several of his critical essays Borges makes insightful and unique mention of Don Quixote sometimes directly and sometimes in reference to other works.
g026r: The spurious continuation, published in 1614 while Cervantes was still working on his own Part II and which affected that work to a significant degree.
Lirmac: References to then-famous romances, such as this one by Ariosto, provide much of the humour in Don Quixote. In addition to enriching Cervantes' work, Orlando Furioso is entertaining in its own right (especially in this modern verse translation).
Edit: I apparently didn't read the author bio carefully enough - I think it noteworthy that Cervantes spend 6 years as a prisoner of the Turks in Algiers. [a:Eric A. Kimmel|2602|Eric A. Kimmel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1507394162p2/2602.jpg], the folklorist, speculates that Sancho Panza was inspired by Joha aka Nasreddin Hoja. I wouldn't be surprised. --- Every time I pick this up I fall immediately asleep. It's easy to read, at least in the Starkie translation, with bits of cleverness, but way too much naming of the (obscure to us) texts that it's mocking, and the speeches are long-winded every. single. time. I might be happier with a careful abridgement, taking off maybe 15%.
Shakespeare might be harder to read, but at least he is concise and to the point.
I've worked my way through the adventure at the inn, in the nighttime with the moll Maritornes and all the cudgel work. So much violence! Do fans of this also like Three Stooges?
But at XVIII I'm switching to the advice of the author of [b:Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits|6113032|Beowulf on the Beach What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits|Jack Murnighan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320516870l/6113032._SY75_.jpg|6291046]: "Part I, Chapters I-VIII (getting to the windmills) and LII (the last chapter); then read Part II, I-V and the scenes of Sancho governing the 'island,' Chapters XLV, XLVII, XLIX, LI, and LIII. All told, that's less than two hundred pages."
Granted, if I had done that at the beginning, I would have missed the feminist speech by the beautiful Marcela, which would be a shame. And don't get me wrong; if you have time and energy there's a lot to like about this book, including women and servants who are people (!).
Oh, and the windmill scene? Much too short. --- So, I'm almost done with Murnighan's selections now, and reading in between those chapters in the second part. Again, it's the voices of the women I'd lose if I had skipped them... I'm having doubts of the trustworthiness of Murnighan.... --- As I skimmed onward to the end, having decided that I can't just abandon the book at LIII of book two, I found even more of interest. The false Arcadians, like Marie Antoinette and her entourage playing at being shepherdesses, all 'back to nature.' And the tragic fate of the Moriscos. And more of Sancho's Solomon-like wisdom. And a charming twist ending.
All told, I've wound up reading probably almost 1/2 of the book, which imo isn't bad! There really is a lot here to enjoy.
But what do I see promoted by the publisher in the last pages of this book? Three classic stories of knights & chivalry! According to the preface, Cervantes other works, including [b:The Dialogue of the Dogs|305888|The Dialogue of the Dogs|Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328728959l/305888._SY75_.jpg|21734139] and [b:Galatea|33873670|Galatea|Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1484616863l/33873670._SX50_.jpg|2338085], should be the first 'further readings' to be recommended. I am interested in them myself, if they are more concise than this!
Don Quixote proved to be a surprisingly humorous and a very enjoyable read, and one I would recommend to anyone who has ever shown an interest in reading it. However, I feel compelled to offer a word of caution before starting this work. My copy's translation (the Everyman's Library) is by P. A. Motteux. After having delved deep into this text, I can unequivocally say that this is not the translation for me. Do yourself a favor and take some time to compare the translations that are available. Choose the one that best suits your tastes; for believe me, a good translation greatly affects the enjoyment of your reading. I recommend looking at John Rutherford or Edith Grossman. Both of these are very good translations. I ended up picking up a copy by Edith Grossman half-way through and I do not regret my decision. ( )
Read the first volume of the Duke Classics edition on my tablet. It took awhile to warm up to it; got better as it went along. Reminded me of Canterbury Tales. Pause and come back to start volume 2 another time. ( )
[John Rutherford’s] effort, in fact, is something of a triumph: for the first time, we are given a chance to read the novel as Cervantes intended it, in other words as the comic masterpiece it undoubtedly is; and it is hard to believe that his version will be surpassed for many generations.
Probably only Shakespeare has captured and delighted more minds than Cervantes. And by the strangest chance, they died on the same day, the 23rd of April, 1616. —J. B. Priestley
Dedication
to my children and grandchildren - (Walter Starkie translation)
First words
Idle reader, you need no oath of mine to convince you that I wish this book, the child of my brain, were the handsomest, the liveliest, and the wisest that could be conceived. • • Prologue
URGANDA THE UNKNOWN TO THE BOOK OF DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA • • Prefatory Verses
Which tells of the quality and manner of the life of the famous gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. • • Chapter 1 -- (Walter Starkie translation)
Quotations
Last words
" . . . For my sole aim has been to arouse men's scorn for the false and absurd stories of knight-errantry, whose prestige as been shaken by this tale of my true Don Quixote, and which will, without any doubt, soon crumble in ruin. Vale." -- (Walter Starkie translation)
Brimming with romance and adventure, Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote is considered by many to be the greatest work in the Spanish literary canon. Both humane and humorous, the two volume oeuvre centres on the adventures of the self-styled knight errant Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Quixote's credulous and chubby squire. Together the unlikely pair of heroes bumble their way from one bizarre adventure to another fueled in their quests by Quixote's histrionic world view and Sancho's, who in conjunction with Quixote provides the spark for endlessly bizarre discussions in which Quixote's heightened, insane conception of the world is brought crashing to earth by Sancho's common sense.
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