Name: Don Quixote
Rating: 3.809895833333333 (192 reviews)
ISBN: 9781904919797

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

A sixteenth-century Spanish gentleman and his faithful friend set out to right the wrongs in the world.

Don Quixote

Nyibango Costa

These thoughts made him waver in his purpose, but, his madness being stronger than any other faculty, he resolved to have himself dubbed a knight by the first person he met…

ayoni

Heaven has made me, so you say, beautiful, and so much so that in spite of yourselves my beauty leads you to love me; and for the love you show me you say, and even urge, that I am bound to love you. By that natural understanding which God has given me I know that everything beautiful attracts love, but I cannot see how, by reason of being loved, that which is loved for its beauty is bound to love that which loves it; besides, it may happen that the lover of that which is beautiful may be ugly, and ugliness being detestable, it is very absurd to say, I love thee because thou art beautiful, thou must love me though I be ugly." But supposing the beauty cqual on both sides, it does not follow that the inclinations must be therefore alike, for it is not every beauty that excites love, some but pleasing the eye without winning the affection; and if every sort of beauty excited love and won the heart, the will would wander vaguely to and fro unable to make choice of any; for as there is an infinity of beautiful objects there must be an infinity of inclinations, and true love, I have heard it said, is indivisible, and must be voluntary and not compelled. 

as I believe it to be, why do you desire me to bend my will by force, for no other reason but that you say you love me? Nay-tell me-had Heaven made me ugly, as it has made me beautiful, could I with justice complain of you for not loving me? Moreover, you must remember that the beauty I possess was no choice of mine, for, be it what it may, Heaven of its bounty gave it me without my asking or choosing it; and as the viper, though it kills with it, does not deserve to be blamed for the poison it carries, as it is a gift of nature, neither do I deserve reproach for being beautiful; for beauty in a modest woman is like fire at a distance or a sharp sword; the one does not burn, the other does not cut, those who do not come too near. 

The history and adventures of the renowned Don Quixote

Edwin Lang

Five stars, of course. When the United States dropped its first and then its second atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively, indiscriminately killing or maiming thousands of men, women, boys and girls, pregnant women, those nursing babies in diapers, grandmothers, and old men sharing a sake with friends after a life-time of work, I see that day as when the United States lost its soul both as a country and a people. And when the Catholic church - in turn - failed to fall to its knees in horror and condemn that action, and failed to encourage Catholics and Christians everywhere to do the same and to begin a prolonged period of mourning it too lost its soul: By 1954, there was a stream of men and women leaving the religious life which morphed into an exodus after Vatican II. It is interesting that in its voluminous documents on Vatican II there is hardly a mention of soul. Books like Don Quixote are like an antidote to the malaise that has gripped much of modern-day society. I say this because, while we laugh at Don Quixote’s madness and Sancho Panza’s bumbling, they remain good people through all their challenges and hardships. In the Light that is Part 1 of the Quixote and in the Dark that is Part 2, they don’t waiver: Don Quixote remains true to his ideals and to the notions of what it means to be a gentleman, chivalric and heroic, and Sancho relentlessly supports him despite his apparent madness. They have integrity. Cervantes writes the Quixote as an old man, relatively speaking and given the hard life that had been imposed on him, dying about ten years after the release of Part 1 and just a year after that of Part 2. Fans of ‘he not busy being born is busy dying’ in Bob Dylan’s It’s OK Ma, I’m only bleeding, might recall what he means by being busy and how it characterizes both Don Quixote, who when he mounts his trusty steed his life is ‘busy dying’ and Sancho who is ‘busy living’, amassing experience and wisdom in following Don Quixote. I came across and used as a post-read exercise a series of lectures given by Yale scholar Robert Gonzalez Echevarria (in 2006 I think), <a href="https://oyc.yale.edu/spanish-and-portuguese/span-300/" rel="nofollow noopener"> Cervantes’ Don Quixote | Open Yale Courses </a>. In it, among many aspects of the Quixote, Professor Echevarria describes the difference between Part 1 and 2, namely that Part 1 reflects the ideals of the Renaissance and Part 2 those of the Baroque period. The Renaissance is what I called a period of Light, reflecting a youthful idealism and hope, where people felt confident in the future of people and in progress. The Baroque seems a more complex and darker period, a world that felt it had been abandoned by God and which in turn had abandoned its ideals. So, it is Don Quixote’s mad idealism that drives the events in Part 1 – exacting a cost on both him and Sancho, and where ultimately our hero is arrested (for the outlaw that he inadvertently had become), shackled and humiliatingly returned home in a cage. As it does again, perhaps to a lesser degree in the darker Part 2, where much happens at night and where our protagonists are subject to an uncomfortable degree of cruelty in the extended series of jokes played on them by those who really should be behaving better. In spite of all this hardship there is a real sense of joy in the two books comprising the Quixote and in Cervantes’ attitude towards life and life in Spain. And you can sense his love of both Don Quixote and Sancho who never lose their sense of mission and integrity despite all that befalls them, all amid the growing respect and friendship between the two men. Cervantes also, many times, paints portraits of strong, intelligent and willful female protagonists, such as Donatea who drive many of the stories within the Quixote. Cervantes though had by all accounts, except in his last decade, a very difficult life. He had been a soldier, wounded and then imprisoned. In Spain, he was imprisoned a number of times for an inability to pay his bills. He earned little money on Part 1 in spite of the worldwide fame that began to come his way only to be defrauded by his publisher. Another author fraudulently published a Part 2 of the Quixote which painted a picture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza as being little more than down and out outlaws. He became estranged from his daughter. And he was married. He lived his last days though with a sense that he had in the Quixote created something that would outlast him. Since the story of the Quixote is known by virtually everyone I mention something I learned from Professor Echevarria’s series of lectures which might not be well-known: Franz Kafka had written a short tale called The Truth about Sancho Panza wherein Kafka reveals that it had been Sancho who had immersed himself in chivalric romances, to such a degree that he had becoming obsessed, and maybe even, possessed by them, so much so that he, Sancho, created a fictional Don Quixote to exorcise himself from his chivalric fantasies. I liked Kafka’s take on this because we readers get to like Sancho Panza very much, laughing sometimes out loud at his antics, and especially in Part 2 where he blossoms forth and shares the stage as much as Don Quixote does and doing for example a really commendable job during his governorship of the Island of Batavia. Edwin

Don Quixote of the Mancha

i love these two pathetic gullible losers so much

Stas

Miguel de Unamuno

Don Quixote de la Mancha (Oxford World's Classics)

I can see why it's a classic, and the first section is great, but the second half of Part 1 dragged a bit. I might come back and read Part 2 one day. Maybe.

Doug Belshaw

Edith Grossman

Sarah Sammis

I know I promised two more posts from my reading of Don Quixote but I was so close to finishing it just made more sense to read all the way to end. Had I only read fifty pages, I would be writing about Scooby-Doo and the post would have been called "Scooby-Doo Meets Don Quixote." Seeing though that section in context with the ending, I feel Bender's Big Score makes a more apt comparison.

Before the novel begins to wind down, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza have one final adventure to Barcelona. Along the way they meet just about ever famous (real and fictional) character of their times. These numerous meetings remind me of the many heads in jars that play important roles in the Futurama world. In Bender's Big Score the head museum is the introduction of Fry's rival an arch enemy: Lars. 

Although Lars is treated as a comedic foil for Fry while the main plot of the take over of Earth unfolds, his identity ends up being one of the most important details to the film. Likewise, Quixote's many sparing matches against other knights errant disguise the greatest threat to Quixote's well being and his ultimate downfall. As Don Quixote de la Mancha isn't science fiction, and Bender's Big Score is, the solutions behind these hidden identities are very different. Nonetheless, thematically they are similar in how they drive the plot.

In previous posts I have assigned the roles of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza to the characters in whatever film or television show I'm discussing. For Futurama as a whole, Don Quixote is clearly Fry who has taken on an entirely different life (though very simi liar in ways to his past one) in the future . His somewhat-loyal companion and Sancho Panza equivalent is clearly Bender. Bender starts off the series as a suicidal robot and through his friendship with Fry has become a God, a pharaoh, a famous actor, a famous athlete, a famous chef and so forth.

Don Quixote ends not with Sr. Quixana dying alone as Miles says in "Disarmed and Dangerous" but with his friends and family at his bedside. He dies relatively happy and fulfilled for the time spent adventuring. Of course for Futurama to continue it's plans of three more movies after Bender's Big Score, they couldn't very well kill of Fry. How then can he live and still be Don Quixote? That's where Lars comes in and science fiction takes over. Fry becomes both the Knight of the Mirrors and Don Quixote, playing out both sides of the final act through a temporal paradox.

In re-reading Don Quixote slowly and blogging about the process, I have come to appreciate the novel's continuing influence. Cervantes's novel manages to capture a wide range of literary tropes that are still being used today. Since beginning the process of blogging about Don Quixote last November, I have started to see Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in all sorts of unexpected places. 
Read all of my posts on the book:
 
  

   
    Book One
   
  

   
    Book Two
   
  

   
    Book Three
   
  

   The start of Book Four 
  

   Book Four: The end of Part One  
  

   
    Jay and Silent Bob
   
  

   
    Harold and Kumar
   
  

   
    The La Mancha Story
   
  

   Disarmed and Dangerous (CSI) 
  

   Try to Remember (Magnum PI, season 2)  
  

   Divide and Conquer (Teen Titans, season 1)  
  

   Sancho's Big Score (Futurama)

0xADADA

Cervantes wrote the first postmodern book before there was a “modern” to be “post” about. It’s a critical intervention of fiction vs reality, true vs false, and the beauty of the synthesis of the two. To put it simply, a remarkable work of literary genius, accessible, outrageously funny, and a beautiful distillation of the universal human condition. The most seminal book in western literature, it has defined countless characters archetypes, tropes, and the complete foundation of postmodernism. It’s fun, it’s high art & low art, it’s philosophical. Children laugh at the title, and adults revere its timeless wisdom. This is the type of book to re-read at inflection points in one’s life and take away something new and different each time. It’s a classic, but so much more than that.

Retells the adventures of an eccentric country gentleman and his companion who set out as knight and squire of old to right wrongs and punish evil.

Had its moments, but wow.. I see why they made an abridged version of this. I was not enjoying this enough to continue plugging through another 900+ pages

Greg Burkett

Barbara Williford

Oh Don, Oh Don! Bless his heart. No one told me this book was so funny!

Don Quixote is a lover of books. Unfortunately he is caught up in this fantasy of a knight errant and wonders the country with his side kick Sancho, defending orphans, widows and the downtrodden. Through his adventures he comes across some colorful characters. His journey includes their stories, criminals and cons, an elaborate plot to fool the great knight and other adventures and calamities. A really fun read!

*narration of the audible was excellent.

Dylan Garrett

I became gradually more attached to the characters over the very long course of the book, and the audio book became a comfort-listen during my morning runs.
Overall, a surprisingly nice and entertaining read, given the original publication date. Even though the books aren't anything alike, it makes me think of Lord of the Rings. Both long journeys with characters that end up feeling like old friends.

jana 

Dom Quixote de La Mancha

Nelson Zagalo

“Dom Quixote” é uma viagem por uma geografia de nós tão próxima, ainda que num tempo tão distante, mas capaz de nos levar a conhecer gente que tão pouco de nós difere e assim nos dar a conhecer mais sobre nós mesmos. Se isto não bastasse, ler "Dom Quixote" é ler a pauta da história da literatura, encontrar o berço da forma e estrutura daquilo que hoje assumimos simplesmente como, o Romance.

[IMAGEM]
Para ler com links e imagens, ler em: http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2...


1. O significado do meu Dom Quixote

“O Cavaleiro de Triste Figura” é este o título que D. Quixote adota a meio da narrativa, sendo este central na compreensão do personagem, dos seus motivos e desígnio, e que sustentando todo o universo choca com o reconhecido género cómico de que se compõe a obra.

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Série de animação “Don Quijote de La Mancha” (1979)

Tive o meu primeiro contacto com a personagem de D. Quixote através da série de animação para televisão, “Don Quijote de La Mancha” (1979) , que passou em Portugal em 1984, nas manhãs de sábado, na RTP 1. A marca foi forte, e desde então nunca mais me abandonou, ficando na memória alguns dos episódios marcantes que agora pude revisitar ao ler o livro. Em essência guardo dessas manhãs mais questões que respostas, o que evidencia desde logo toda a importância do universo criado por Cervantes. D. Quixote não tinha propriamente um desígnio, além da sua Dulcineia, que nunca surge, que não existe, tal como quase tudo apenas existe na sua cabeça. A banda desenhada foi aqui crucial por poder mostrar o fantástico e o impossível, permitindo-nos entrar pela mente adentro do personagem, e obrigando-nos a questionar a diferença entre o real e o imaginário.

O primeiro volume (1605) é bastante mais cómico, centrado em acções concretas e delimitadas - exemplos como o dos Moinhos, das Ovelhas ou do Elmo de Mambrino - e aquele de que tenho mais memórias, ainda que televisivas. O segundo volume (1615), apesar de servir uma Busca também, a terceira saída de D. Quixote, é também a sua última, mas mais do que isso, é muito mais madura, o personagem D. Quixote está envelhecido, porque a própria pena de Cervantes tem agora mais 10 anos. Notamos que a escrita e a estrutura é bastante mais robusta, mas notamos que o universo quixotesco se complexifica, ganha densidade e profundidade. Relendo estas palavras percebo que aquando do visionamento da série, a minha idade não me terá permitido atingir o fundamento da segunda metade.

O “cavaleiro-andante” que servia de rótulo ao tipo de cavaleiro dos romances medievais, o senhor seguidor das normas de cavalheiro, em Cervantes, pela crítica desse modelo, e por via de uma abordagem anti-herói, assume o lugar de todos nós, errantes nesta vida. O cavaleiro não quer seguir apenas as regras e convenções, antes procura respostas, busca um sentido para a vida. D. Quixote é apresentado como alguém extremamente lúcido mas que sofre de uma mania (ser cavaleiro-andante) que o deixa louco a esparsos momentos, mas não teremos todos momentos destes, com manias nossas? Daí que ler "Dom Quixote" exija um esforço da nossa parte, sermos capazes de nos revermos no personagem para o podermos compreender, porque a todo o momento Cervantes nos vai rasteirando, lançando a dúvida sobre se o próprio D. Quixote acredita naquilo que diz.

Para se chegar ao coração de toda esta busca e errância, que define o quixotismo, temos de olhar para história de vida do próprio Cervantes. Nascido de boas famílias, mas sem grandes posses, teve uma vida atribulada (cativo durante anos, em tempo de guerra em Itália, e mais tarde preso por falta de pagamento de dívidas), viveu em Lisboa dois anos, mas foi em Espanha que viveu como verdadeiro nómada, passando por imensas cidades ao longo da sua vida. Os empregos medianos que teve nunca lhe agradaram, e as vezes que procurou outros lugares, foi sempre preterido. No amor passou por amores proibidos pelas famílias, nunca encontrando um amor que lhe permitisse assentar. Apesar do sucesso dos seus livros em vida, nunca pôde viver da escrita.


2. Do nascimento da Prosa Narrativa

Antes de “Dom Quixote” existiram várias formas narrativas, porque é que então consideramos este como a origem do livro de ficção (romance), tal como hoje o conhecemos? Para tal é preciso olhar à história e procurar compreender como contávamos histórias, nomeadamente com livro como meio. Essencialmente tivemos três formas: o Poema, o Drama e a Prosa.

As histórias na forma de Poema, ou seja em que história vai sendo contada por meio de versos estruturados para a produção de efeitos estéticos. Iniciados com os fundacionais épicos “Gilgamesh” (~-2100), “Ilíada” (~-800) e “Odisseia” (~-800) que serviram de modelo a “Eneida” (~-30), “Metamorfose” (~800), “Beowulf” (~900), “Divina Commedia” (~1300) e “Lusíadas” (~1500).

As histórias na forma de Drama, ou seja, em que a história vai sendo contada por meio de diálogos, aqueles que poderão ser colocados em cena por atores. Iniciadas com as tragédias gregas de Ésquilo , Eurípides e Sófocles à volta de -450, e que atingiriam o pináculo da sua forma com Shakespeare, no tempo de D. Quixote, em ~1600. Aliás Shakespeare morreu 10 dias depois de Cervantes, dois génios das letras, viveram na exacta mesma época a poucos quilômetros entre si, mas que nunca se chegaram a conhecer.

As histórias na forma de prosa começaram antes dos Poemas e Drama, mas no início serviram apenas a não-ficção. Costumamos reportar na nossa noção histórica ocidental à Grécia antiga, nomeadamente ao seu legado filosófico, com a tríade Sócrates, Platão e Aristóteles. Esta nunca desapareceu e continua até aos dias de hoje, nas várias disciplinas académicas. Aqui usa-se a prosa, mas o objetivo não é elaborar uma história, antes reportar um problema real, preocupando-se apenas com o fundamento do problema, esquecendo a forma, assumindo-a o mais próximo possível da oralidade e do suposto pensamento. Assim na Grécia antiga era fácil distinguir o real do ficcional olhando apenas à forma dos escritos.

A prosa como ficção surge muito mais tarde, no final da Idade Média (~1300). Os primeiros escritos surgem como registos de lendas, em que o ficcional se mistura com o real. Das lendas não se sabia o que era verdade, e o que era inventado, daí que os registos que vão acontecendo sofram dessa ambivalência na própria forma. Estas lendas escritas iniciam um novo género que se intitularia de “Romances de Cavalaria”, sendo estes a base daquilo que viria ficar conhecido como simplesmente Romance. O pioneiro, ou o mais recordado, dos registos destas lendas, é marcado por Rei Artur, responsável por vários romances em França e Inglaterra (~1300), e o final por “Dom Quixote” (1605 e 1615), pelo meio muitos houveram, tais como o imensamente citado em "Dom Quixote", “Amadis de Gaula” (1496), que ainda hoje se discute se terá sido escrito por espanhol ou português.

3. A importância de “Dom Quixote”

“Dom Quixote” (1605 e 1615) de Cervantes, à semelhança de “The Birth of a Nation” de D.W. Griffith no cinema, não inventa propriamente nada, antes consolida, solidificando conhecimentos previamente distribuídos em várias obras. Os processos criativos não emergem no vazio, mas antes da complexidade e imensidade de caminhos de cada movimentação artística. Obras como “Dom Quixote” ou “The Birth of a Nation", surgem como marcos de viragem porque dão sentido ao caos de possibilidades criativas, criando uma base sólida a partir da qual todos os que lhe sucedem, ali se ancoram.

Na verdade o século XVII é considerado como o século de ouro espanhol por tudo aquilo que o país deu à humanidade em termos artísticos e científicos. Não foi apenas um efeito tardio da Renascença, embora também, mas foi um um claro efeito da imensa riqueza extraída das colónias da América Latina. O mais visível destes efeitos surgiu na forma arquitectónica das suas catedrais, assim como na pintura de Velázquez, El Greco, Alonso Berruguete ou Luis de Morales, mas tudo em redor beneficiou desta erupção intelectual, sendo "Dom Quixote" um dos melhores exemplares desse período.

Em termos da prosa narrativa “Dom Quixote” estabelece convenções e parâmetros estéticos centrais no contar de histórias elaboradas que se mantém até hoje. Desde logo pela troca de lugares entre a relevância do enredo pelos personagens. Aristoteles considerava o enredo a primeira força motriz do drama, no entanto Cervantes vem demonstrar como só pela assunção dos personagens como dominantes se pode construir uma história de eventos longa e complexa, capaz de eliminar a impressão de meros quadros delimitados e sucessivos de acções. Com a história a progredir pela força dos personagens, e não estes a serem empurrados pelas acções narrativas, o entrelaçar da estrutura de eventos torna-se mais fluída, porque mais coerente, mais próxima da estrutura de que se compõem o modo como vemos as nossas próprias vidas. Isto nota-se logo no primeiro volume, mas é no segundo que a estratégia é mais bem desenhada, e a estrutura assume toda a sua evidência. Mesmo fazendo uso do recorte em pequenos capítulos, estes nunca são desligados, Cervantes esforça-se por manter uma coesão completa entre cada momento, como se um fio de realidade nos fosse sendo servido, e não apenas um conjunto de cenas ou momentos.


4. Da escrita e tradução

A escrita em "Dom Quixote" apresenta dois problemas que a tornam ligeiramente difícil, a erudição e os arcaísmos. Os livros são do século XVII, como tal o espanhol escrito é bastante distante do que hoje se escreve, não apenas alguns dos termos, como expressões e artifícios gramaticais que foram caindo em desuso. Por outro lado Cervantes apresenta um enorme background literário que lhe permite não apenas chamar ao seu texto citações de muitos clássicos e seus contemporâneos, e ao mesmo tempo apresentar uma linguagem bem elaborada, entrosada e trabalhada. Tudo isto dificulta a leitura, mas antes disso dificulta o trabalho de tradução.

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Em português existem várias traduções, uma das mais conhecidas é a do escritor Aquilino Ribeiro, que de tanto ter trabalhado a tradução acabou por criar uma nova versão, em vez de uma tradução. Li apenas os primeiros capítulos nesta versão, e pareceu-me demasiada arcaica, existe uma clara tentativa de traduzir do espanhol antigo para o português antigo, o que dificulta imenso a leitura. No Brasil existem várias traduções recentes, li vários capítulos da nova da Penguin Brasil, realizada por Ernani Ssó, no qual este procura realizar o inverso, trazendo a obra para um português contemporâneo. O texto fica muito mais acessível, assumo mesmo que as partes cómicas ficam com mais graça, mas o texto perde em erudição, e acaba criando-se uma nova versão da obra, já que muitas vezes Ssó transforma completamente aquilo que o autor escreveu. A versão na qual acabei por ler praticamente todo o texto foi a de Miguel Serras Pereira, premiada em 2006 pelo PEN, e agora re-editada numa edição especial para a comemoração dos 50 anos da editora D. Quixote. Comparando alguns trechos com a versão espanhola, mais recente da Real Academia Española, o texto segue quase totalmente o original, obrigando-nos muitas vezes a recorrer ao dicionário pelo uso de vocábulos já fora de uso, ou provenientes do castelhano. De qualquer modo a leitura, apesar de menos escorreita que a versão de Ssó, é ainda assim bastante fluída, com a vantagem de podermos sentir por vezes a proximidade temporal por via do texto.


Para ler com links e imagens, ler em: http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2...

A true history of adventures shared between great friends - a knight errant Don Quixote whose head melted from reading, his squire and a proverb fanatic Sancho Panza who was promised an insulà, and Cide Hemet Benengeli the narrator. It intends to give the most accurate chivalry experience in Spain featuring only the most important adventures. The text and narration are lengthy, there are a ton of times the same idea is being expressed or retold, and it even features some curious short stories that the characters just happened to see, as expected when writing something as true as Don Quixote.

There are a lot of different people that tried to tackle this book, so it's important to pick the right version of the text for you.

It is hard to behave and act accordingly when the sources of your knowledge are limited, and you don't venture out to other limits, genres, or works. Is excelling in one field limiting you, and how would you become aware of it? What is the appeal of fiction and to what extent should it reflect reality? Can you as a reader understand the author, especially under a translation? What right does anyone have to write a review?

Oh, beauteous Dulcinea of Toboso, answer my sorrows and spare me the weight of having thought. How do I escape the thoughts of love as big as yours? Let's stop delaying time, mount the horses (not vegan), and travel beyond the meadows for there are damsels in distress at every corner waiting to be rescued! 

Nota

A true history of adventures shared between great friends - a knight errant Don Quixote whose head melted from reading, his squire and a proverb fanatic Sancho Panza who was promised an insulà, and Cide Hemet Benengeli the narrator. It intends to give the most accurate chivalry experience in Spain featuring only the most important adventures. The text and narration are lengthy, there are a ton of times the same idea is being expressed or retold, and it even features some curious short stories that the characters just happened to see, as expected when writing something as true as Don Quixote.

There are a lot of different people that tried to tackle this book, so it's important to pick the right version of the text for you.

It is hard to behave and act accordingly when the sources of your knowledge are limited, and you don't venture out to other limits, genres, or works. Is excelling in one field limiting you, and how would you become aware of it? What is the appeal of fiction and to what extent should it reflect reality? Can you as a reader understand the author, especially under a translation? What right does anyone have to write a review?

Oh, beauteous Dulcinea of Toboso, answer my sorrows and spare me the weight of having thought. How do I escape the thoughts of love as big as yours? Let's stop delaying time, mount the horses (not vegan), and travel beyond the meadows for there are damsels in distress at every corner waiting to be rescued! 



Alice Belle

It was a book I had to read for school. I don't like reading when I am required to so it took me a long time to finish it. It was funny at some points, but I'm not a big fan of it.

Fraser Simons

This was a weird book for several reasons. At a meta level, I really like the ideas presented, and sometimes how they’re explored. Especially the idea of winding up a character with chivalric stories as a way of showcasing how nonsensical and unrealistic what those tales communicate. They function as puritanical propaganda essentially and if you’ve ever read them, then you know they are often don’t make an effort to make actual sense, in terms of a through line narrative or keeping to tone or the expectations that they set. 

Having an older Everyman embody those qualities and loose him upon (then) modern times showcases how, whatever your beliefs and value systems, the person that is most well liked and is willing to inflict violence is the person who decides what social constructs are going to be accepted by everyone else. And obviously those notions embodied in Quixote butt heads continually with people that don’t subscribe to them, and is seen as a someone who is mentally ill and he and his squire Sancho get regularly trounced. 

Regardless of your perceptions there are physical limitations to imagination; things that can be dominated and things that cannot be. Most conflicts and situations see the duo interrogate class and values, to varying degrees of success.

It’s also wonderfully and terribly aware of itself. The author exercises a heavy hand in inserting himself in the narrative, further commenting outright on the themes and the art of writing itself, and our relationship to fiction as we consume it. How what we consume works on us has always fascinated me, as it obviously informs how we construct our lens of the world. Whether people admit it or not, absolutely everything we consume—on the page or otherwise—informs how we interact with any number of things. It’s how advertising works. It’s how propaganda works. It’s how socialization and social dynamics works. And so on. 

The high level concept, various themes, and some of the humour I appreciated and resonated with. But, for me, the low brow humour and continual inserts from the author immediately stymied my enjoyment whenever I would get into the fiction. The craft is obviously good to me, and I got something out of it. But it’s a book I appreciate, will absolutely only remember the take away, not plot details whatsoever, and can’t say it was a pleasure to consume. Very glad to be completely done with it.

Liliana Andrade

Miguel de Cervantes

Hace más de un cuarto de siglo que Ediciones Cátedra publicó por primera vez una edición del " Quijote " en la colección Letras Hispánicas, a cargo del profesor John Jay Allen. En 1986, el profesor Allen modificó en parte la introducción a la luz de algunos estudios que habían ido apareciendo después de la primera edición. Posteriormente el texto también fue revisado teniendo en cuenta las nuevas lecturas y enmiendas que la crítica erudita y los investigadores han ido incorporando durante los últimos años. Coincidiendo con el cuarto centenario de la publicación del " Quijote " , Ediciones Cátedra, y una vez más al cuidado del profesor Allen, ofrece una edición renovada y puesta al día de la obra maestra de Cervantes.

Don Quijote de la Mancha

Andrea Cabezudo García

3'5/5
Realmente me he leído una versión adaptada pero merece ser anotado so

Dani

Así como es de extenso hay tanto para decir, situándonos en el momento de su creación no se puede decir otra cosa que es una gran obra, y que el Don estaba re chapita, jajaja.

'he thought it expedient and necessary that he should commence knight-errant, and wander through the world, with his horse and arms, in quest of adventures' Don Quixote, first published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, is one of the world's greatest comic novels. Inspired by tales of chivalry, Don Quixote of La Mancha embarks on a series of adventures with his faithful servant Sancho Panza by his side. The novel has acquired mythic status and its influence on modern fiction is profound. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Don Quixote de la Mancha

Sachali Lambinet

Probably didn’t understand it because I read it in sec 1 or 2. Will have to read it again 

Maytal

This book was so much fun, and Grossman's translations and footnotes helped give context. Could definitely tell the tonal switch between the first and second book. The second book seemed like it was only written because he was furious a fake sequel was written by someone else.

Jana Bušić

Jeni Enjaian

It's hard for me to review this book for several reasons. One, it took me forever to make my way through since I read only twelve pages a day. I started this book back at the end of December. Two, it is a very, veyr long book. Three, this book is in Spanish, obviously. Spanish is not my first language and even though I understand it fairly well, the language barrier is also a difficulty. Also, this is not modern Spanish. It's the equivalent of Shakespeare to the modern English language.

From what I did understand, this book has no overarching plot and is rather a series of random adventures that comment on various social structures/oddities/etc. of the day.

It is a classic after all and definitely should be read. I just wish I remembered why. ;)

❈ Elvira 🌕

Llevaba un tiempo sin ponerme a leer en serio, y que mejor forma que volver a hacerlo de una leyéndome El Quijote.

Primero de todo, darle las gracias a mi profesora de lengua por haberme despertado esas ganas de leerme este libro, y explicarlo de forma tan dedicada y asombrosa que ha hecho que entienda a la perfección el contexto en el que se escribió, y me dio una buena predisposición a leerme el libro.

Cuando empecé a leer, no sabía que esperar, pero terminé encontrándome con un libro que a pesar de los siglos, puede seguir haciéndole gracia (sí gracia, tiene unas escenas de comedia épicas) a una adolescente del siglo XXI. Al ponerte en contexto, la caracterización de los personajes es brutal, y creo que es uno de los puntos más fuertes de la historia.

Unpopular opinion, la segunda parte es mucho más interesante y está mucho mejor construida que la primera, pero no estáis listos para esta conversación.

Kerri McDonald

This book seriously made me want to gouge my eyes out. Very few books have done that.

Daryl Houston

This long book was a surprisingly quick and easy read, charming, funny, sometimes a little hateful. It's billed sometimes as the greatest novel of all time, and I'm not sure I agree with that claim. As a first-of-its-kind book, it's certainly an achievement worth noting, but on its own, I think it's more diverting than profound. A landmark book, sure. But capital-G great beyond its innovative achievement? I think probably not. Still, I enjoyed it and am glad to have this classic under my belt at last.

Don Quixote

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