3.99

4

Mar 14, 2019

“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
Why did no one tell me this book is hilarious? I can't believe it took me so long to finally pick it up.

Don Quixote is densest in the early chapters, which are packed full of footnotes that should be read for full context. I highly recommend using two bookmarks-- one for your place in the story and one for in the notes. If this seems too much like hard work, I want to reassure you “Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
Why did no one tell me this book is hilarious? I can't believe it took me so long to finally pick it up.

Don Quixote is densest in the early chapters, which are packed full of footnotes that should be read for full context. I highly recommend using two bookmarks-- one for your place in the story and one for in the notes. If this seems too much like hard work, I want to reassure you that the notes become less frequent as you progress through the book, but they add some very helpful background information in the beginning.

If you don't know what it's about, Don Quixote follows the titular character and his lovable squire, Sancho Panza, as the former declares himself a knight-errant and goes looking for noble adventures. The context is important here because, at the time of the novel, chivalry romances like Amadis De Gaula had become so popular in Spain that monarchs of the time feared the influence of them on the impressionable minds of young people.

Cervantes responded by writing a parody of these knightly adventures. Don Quixote has read so many of these books that they have had a profound effect on his mental state. He gets caught up in a fictional world created by his imagination and truly believes that not only is he a knight, but the inns he encounters are castles, the prostitutes are princesses, and the windmills are... giants. This latter is, apparently, an iconic moment in the novel and I can definitely see why-- it is so funny. I read it through about five times and laughed each time. I think it's the way I hear Sancho saying "What giants?" in my mind that cracks me up.

The adventures do feel repetitive at times, and I don't feel like either Part 1 or Part 2 needed to be as long as it was. The buffoonish squabbles get old after a while. However, I really enjoyed the switch to a more meta style in the second part, which the notes will tell you was published some ten years after the first. In this, Cervantes explores the idea of characters knowing they were being written about, and the book takes a more philosophical - and arguably darker - turn.

I read some critical interpretations alongside the book, and I found Edith Grossman's especially interesting. She says she saw Don Quixote as a terribly depressing book. Nabokov, too, called it "cruel and crude" (that's the guy who wrote about the stalking and raping of a child). And though there are many moments of humour, I don't disagree with them. There is something undeniably sad about this book, too.

Maybe it is sad because this man is so deluded, so wrapped up in fictions. Maybe it is the way he allows himself to be deceived, and the ways others take advantage of this chance at deception. But I think, personally, that it is sad because none of it is real. Don Quixote wants something admirable, to do good, defend the weak and defeat the bad guys, but it is all in his naive imagination.

I don't know what was truly intended by the ending but, unlike some, I don't see it as a final victory. Instead I see it as a sad loss of something important. Either way, I am glad to have finally read this book. We can argue about interpretations, but Don Quixote's impact on western literature cannot be overstated.

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5

Jun 24, 2014

“Don Quixote”, I answered, and looked into almost shocked facial expressions, followed by quiet, uncomfortable giggling.

What was the question? If my friends at the coffee table had asked: “What is your favourite book, Lisa?”, and received that answer, they would have nodded knowingly, sympathetically, adding some random fact about the 1000+-page-classic I claimed to love more than the countless other books I have read. But that was not the question. It was:

“With which literary character do you “Don Quixote”, I answered, and looked into almost shocked facial expressions, followed by quiet, uncomfortable giggling.

What was the question? If my friends at the coffee table had asked: “What is your favourite book, Lisa?”, and received that answer, they would have nodded knowingly, sympathetically, adding some random fact about the 1000+-page-classic I claimed to love more than the countless other books I have read. But that was not the question. It was:

“With which literary character do you identify most?”

I was not the first one around the table to answer, and there had been plenty of identification with the brave, the strong, the pretty, the good, the clever heroes and heroines of the literary universe before it was my turn. I had time to think, and to think carefully.

There is no one like Don Quixote to make me feel the connection between my reading self and my real life. Who else loved books to the extent that he was willing to immerse himself completely in the illusion of his beloved fiction, against all reason? Who else struggled to survive and keep the spirit of beautiful ideas in the face of ugly, mean, bullying reality?

Why was there such awkwardness when I said I identified with Don Quixote? Because he is clumsy, he is bullied by the brutal ordinary people who can’t stand a mind focused on literary thoughts and idealist ideas, he is treated badly and made fun of. He is so very UNCOOL! He makes a silly figure in the ordinary society where appearance and participation in shared activities are more important to social survival and reputation than reflective thinking and expression of individuality. He is off the main track, and that is only acceptable to the world if you are a strong, fighting, violent hero, not if you are a harmless, yet ridiculous dreamer.

If you can’t be one of the group, you have to be stronger, more violent than the majority. Just being different is the most dangerous, the most hated thing in the world. Still!

But I don’t think there was much choice for Don Quixote. He had seen the raging madness of the world, and made a decision:

“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”

In the most famous scene of all, the dialogue between Sancho Pansa and Don Quixote reveals the deliberate choice to see more in life than just the mere practicalities of food provision and business:

"What giants?" Asked Sancho Pansa.
"The ones you can see over there," answered his master, "with the huge arms, some of which are very nearly two leagues long."
"Now look, your grace," said Sancho, "what you see over there aren't giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone."
"Obviously," replied Don Quixote, "you don't know much about adventures.”

If you only have one life to live, why choose the boredom of reality when your mind can create an imaginary adventure of giant proportions?

What a wonderful match they are, the idealist dreamer and his realist companion, complementing each other perfectly while exploring the real world in the same way Dante and Virgil complement and support each other’s thoughts while they explore the fantastic fiction of Afterlife in the Divine Comedy.

To me there is more heroism in seeing a perfect horse in the lame Rosinante, or a beautiful woman in the ugly, mean Dulcinea, than there could ever be in the strongest superhero riding the most powerful horse and gaining the love of the most stunning lady. That is a no-brainer, while it requires deeper thinking skills to see the adventure and beauty in average, weak, ugly life.

The moment Don Quixote turns ridiculous, and sad and “quixotic” in my world, is the moment before death when he renounces his ideal in favour of the mainstream understanding of Christian “comme il faut”, breaking Sancho Pansa’s heart, who, in his own, realist and practical way, understands the world’s need for characters like Don Quixote.

The sanity Don Quixote gains when he dictates his last testament is the capitulation of the tired, worn-out spirit. He has already stopped living.

Another of my favourite windmill-fighting characters, Jean Barois, foresaw the weakness of old age and wrote his testament to the world at the height of his intellectual power, thus haunting the bigot winners of his dying body afterwards with his words of idealistic power from the other side of the grave.

And for all those who smile at Don Quixote: it is much braver, and harder, to fight inanimate, mechanised windmills than fire-spitting dragons!

And: you have to have more than an ounce of Don Quixote in you to try to review this book of superlatives! ...more

5

Oct 26, 2013

I first finished Part I of Don Quixote fifty years ago, and, although I never got around to reading Part II, over the years I managed to convince myself that I had. I suspect this may be true of many other readers as well, for when people share their favorite parts of the story, they invariably mention the battles with windmills and wine skins, the inn courtyard vigil and the blanket toss, but hardly ever bring up Don Quixote's vision in the dark cavern, the manipulations of the Duke and
I first finished Part I of Don Quixote fifty years ago, and, although I never got around to reading Part II, over the years I managed to convince myself that I had. I suspect this may be true of many other readers as well, for when people share their favorite parts of the story, they invariably mention the battles with windmills and wine skins, the inn courtyard vigil and the blanket toss, but hardly ever bring up Don Quixote's vision in the dark cavern, the manipulations of the Duke and Duchess, the wise decisions of Governor Sancho, or his master's fateful final battle with The Knight of the White Moon. Yet it is here, in the second part, that the world of “Quixote”—inspiring in its romance, sharp in its realism, magnificent in its variety—becomes surprisingly post-modernist and uniquely profound.

From the first, Quixote is complex and subtle. It is never a crude contrast between a crack-brained pretender to knighthood and his slow-witted “squire”: Quixote is only crazy on the subject of knight errantry, and Sancho, although naïve and illiterate, is a shrewd man filled with proverbial wisdom (albeit often inaptly applied). In spite of misfortune, they are never mere comedians slipping on the banana peel of existence; every slapstick trouncing they receive offers them yet another opportunity for reflection (often while literally on their backs, smarting from their recent wounds), and it is these discussions, filled with plausible arguments and vast logical gaps, that generate much of the rich humor of the book. Like Didi and Gogo, they are existential clowns, striving to understand a baffling world at least as foolish as themselves.

Reckless passion and a kind of rough chivalry pervade the novel's world of folly. The shepherds and goatherds may eat their simple meals around a crude campfire, yet they understand—and admire—pastoral poetry and the noble act of pining away for love. Each wandering wayfarer in the Quixote landscape seem eager to relate some lengthy tale of Romantic obsession and adventure. All this makes our Knight of the Woeful Countenance seem more like a variation than an exception, his devotion to exemplary deeds and his Dulcinea not so much a social aberration as a dedication to one bizarre strain of a still flourishing tradition.

It is in the second part, however, that “Quixote” succeeds in surprising the reader. Cervantes published this sequel almost ten years later, spurred to do so by his outrage at the printing of an unauthorized continuation by an Aragonese called “Avellanada.” In Cervantes sequel, the knight and his squire soon learn that almost everyone they encounter on the road is familiar with their history, having read not only Cervantes but Avellanada as well. (Not surprisingly, the Don and Sancho condemn Avellanada as spurious nonsense.) These “readers,” upon encountering our heroes, freely share with them their own interpretations of the pair's adventures, and some of them—notably the Duke and Duchess—actively participate in the narrative by constructing elaborate pranks, the basis of even more marvelous deeds to come. These two things cause a contradictory movement in our characters' consciousness: they become at once more self-reflective and more deeply committed to their fantasies. By the novel's end, these reflections on the nature of the self and the nature of narrative have caused Sancho to become wiser and allowed the old Don to face his death clear-eyed, without his chivalric illusions.

Something happens here which is almost astonishing: in “Quixote” we can sense the novel--not only this particular novel, but the novel considered as a form--becoming aware of itself. Cervantes' casual foray into meta-fiction—which may have started with his human impulse to ridicule the Aragonese thief who hijacked his narrative—becomes an endless quest for an Eldorado rich and strange. The novel seems to mature and become self reflective, newly aware of how consciousness constructs narrative, how narrative may in turn alter consciousness, and how such alterations may further refine the nature of narrative itself.

The vast treasures of the quest now lie before us: the works of Fielding, Sterne, Dostoevsky, Proust, Joyce, Nabokov, and many others. Yes, what happens here is astonishing: in “Quixote” we overhear the soul of Western fiction at the moment it begins to talk to itself. ...more

5

Mar 10, 2014

A book of parallels, Don Quixote by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, through two of the most emblematic characters ever conceived, discusses what's imagined and what's seen, the ideal vs. the real, the conflicts between illusion and actuality and how these solid lines start to blur by the influences Don Quixote and Sancho Panza inflict on each other through the course of this comic (yet sad sometimes...) tale.

A second-hand account translated from Arab historian Cide Hamete Benengeli A book of parallels, Don Quixote by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, through two of the most emblematic characters ever conceived, discusses what's imagined and what's seen, the ideal vs. the real, the conflicts between illusion and actuality and how these solid lines start to blur by the influences Don Quixote and Sancho Panza inflict on each other through the course of this comic (yet sad sometimes...) tale.

A second-hand account translated from Arab historian Cide Hamete Benengeli - that's how our narrator describes it -, the book tells the story of Alonso Quixano, a country gentleman around fifty years of age, retired, who lives with his niece and a housekeeper in a village of La Mancha. A big chivalry tales enthusiast, he spends most of his time reading books (Amadís de Gaula, Orlando Furioso and Tirant lo Blanch, among others) about knights and their unending courage and dangerous quests. His excessive reading (is reading ever too much? :)) takes a toll on his mind - or "his brains got so dry that he lost his wits."

Wishing to seek for adventures and enforce peace and justice, he renames himself Don Quixote, designates Dulcinea del Toboso as the lady of his heart - "for a knight-errant without love was like a tree without leaves or fruit, or a body without a soul" -, puts on an old armor that had belonged to his great-grandfather, gets on his horse (now called Rocinante) and, early in the morning, starts his enterprise as knight-errant. After some muddles, Don Quixote ends up being severely beaten and is returned to his home by a peasant who recognizes him. That is the end of his first sally.

At this point, you can't help but ask yourself: what really goes on inside of Don Quixote's head? Could he simply be deemed as crazy? In every aspect but his love for chivalry, it's noticeable how he's witty and sharp - and this becomes clearer as the story goes on. Putting aside the crazy card for a minute, it's impossible not to wonder if and why he's possibly trying to escape reality. Has he been unhappy or unsatisfied with his life? He often talks about how one day a book will be written about him, telling all of his great deeds. Does he feel he's lacking accomplishments in life and therefore embarks on his imbroglio? These are just a few of the superficial questions this apparently simple book raises.

After a short period of unconsciousness - during which his friends burn most of his books of chivalry in a funny yet unsettling scene where the parish curate judge one by one if they're appropriate or not -, our clumsy hero decides that he needs an esquire and convinces his neighbor Sancho of joining him on his quests, by promising him governorship of an ínsula. Here, we witness the birth of literary's best relationship between a protagonist and his sidekick.

Sancho Panza, described as a farm laborer, honest man but with very little wit in his pate, leaves his wife and children to serve as Quixote's esquire. Big-bellied, a mouthful of proverbs and the ever-faithful companion, Sancho follows his master and obeys his wishes, but not without speaking his mind - until he is forbidden to, since Quixote can't take his blabbering anymore; much to our amusement though, the knight lifts his ban. Matching Don Quixote's supposed insanity is Sancho's so-called stupidity. Sure, he's uneducated and illiterate, but could he be called stupid or dumb? He realizes very early that his master is delusional as far as his chivalry ways go and is often baffled by his actions - but still, never leaves his side; is that because of friendship and his unwavering loyalty?

One of the most striking aspects of the novel is its language: written in a playful and light tone, almost evoking innocence, Cervantes was able to make his readers go through moments containing some evil doings and violence without feeling any disgust; some punches and kicks were rather funny and amusing. And how was one supposed to witness Sancho's unfortunate encounter with the blanketers without any giggles? Even being an one thousand pages book, it never feels tiring to read it: its episodic format, constituted mainly of short chapters, keeps you going on just for one more. Before you realize it, you're three hundred pages deep already.

Contrary to popular belief that sequels are never as good as the original, a second volume of Don Quixote appeared in 1615 - first volume came out in 1605; nowadays it's mostly published as single work - and is just as good (and has often been regarded by critics as better) than the first installment for its greater character development and philosophical insights. Written by Cervantes partially as a response to an unauthorized continuation of the novel, this infamous part 2 is actually one of the matters discussed by Cervantes on his own sequel, as Don Quixote and Sancho find out through someone who recognizes their names that there's a book written about them. After hearing some of the book's contents, they dismiss it as being full of lies and injuries. This was one of Cervantes innovations where characters were aware that they were being written about.

Don Quixote ranks really high on "best books ever written" lists - most of the time, it stands proudly at number one. Based on the number of adaptations alone - dozens of films, operas and ballets -, books that were influenced by it - Madame Bovary by Flaubert; The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Sterne and The Idiot by Dostoyevsky, to name just a few -, comics, cartoons and even a painting by Picasso and a sculpture by Dalí, it becomes quite clear that it isn't without reason that Don Quixote had an enormous artistic impact in the world and is considered to be one of the best works of fiction ever written.

Rating: simply put, Don Quixote is an undeniable masterpiece that's both amusing and thought-provoking that never let me down: 5 stars. ...more

5

May 14, 2008

992. Don Quixote = Don Quijote de La mancha (Don Quijote de la Mancha #1-2), Miguel de Cervantes
The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha, or just Don Quixote, is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Published in two volumes, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears 992. Don Quixote = Don Quijote de La mancha (Don Quijote de la Mancha #1-2), Miguel de Cervantes
The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha, or just Don Quixote, is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Published in two volumes, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published.
عنوانها: دن کیشوت؛ دون کیخوته؛ نویسنده: سر وانتس؛ انتشاراتیها: (روایت، نیل، وستا، روزگار، ) ادبیات اسپانیا؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1972 میلادی
عنوان: دون کیشوت؛ نویسنده: سروانتس؛ مترجم: محمد قاضی؛ تهران، انتشارات نیل، 1349 ؛ دو جلد جمعا در 1286 صفحه؛ یکی از کتابهای مجموعه ی ده رمان بزرگ جهان
عنوان: دون کیشوت؛ نویسنده: سروانتس؛ مترجم: ذبیح الله منصوری؛ ...، چاپ دیگر: تهران، کتاب وستا، 1389؛ در 564 ص؛ شابک: 9786009104475؛
عنوان: دون کیخوته (دن کیشوت)؛ نویسنده: سروانتس؛ مترجم: کیومرث پارسای؛ تهران، روزگار، 1390 ؛ دو جلد حدود 1300 ص؛ شابک دوره: 9789643741259؛
این اثر از کهنترین رمانها در زبان‌های نوین اروپایی ست. بسیاری آن را بهترین کتاب نوشته شده، به زبان اسپانیایی، می‌دانند. «سروانتس» بخش نخست «دن کیشوت» را در زندان نوشتند، و نخستین بار در سال 1605 میلادی، در «مادرید» منتشر کردند، و بخش دوم آن، ده سال بعد در سال 1615 میلادی، به چاپ رسید. «دن کیشوت» زندگی فردی را به خوانشگر نشان می‌دهد، که دچار توهم است، و اوقات خود را با خواندن آثار ممنوعه می‌گذراند. در زمان روایت داستان، نوشتن و خواندن آثاری که به شوالیه ها می‌پرداخت، قدغن بود؛ و شخصیت اصلی داستان، خود را جای یکی از همین شوالیه‌ ها میشمارد، و دشمنانی فرضی را، در برابر خویش می‌بیند، که االبته کوه‌ها و درخت‌ها هستند. «دن کیشوت» پهلوانی خیالی، و بی‌دست‌ و پاست که خود را شکست‌ ناپذیر می‌پندارد. او به سفرهایی طولانی می‌رود، و در میانه ی همین سفرهاست، که اعمالی عجیب و غریب، از وی سر می‌زند. وی که هدفی جز نجات مردمان، از ظلم و استبداد حاکمان ظالم، ندارد، نگاهی تخیلی به اطراف خویش دارد، و همه چیز را، در قالب ابزار جنگی می‌بیند. تاکنون هیچ کتابی، به اندازه ی «دن کیشوت»، این‌همه مورد عشق و علاقه ی ملل گوناگون نبوده‌ است. بسیاری از کتاب‌ها هستند، که تنها به یک قوم و ملت اختصاص دارند؛ و از حدود مرز یک کشور فراتر نمی‌روند، بسیاری دیگر نیز هستند، که در میان ملل دیگر هم خوانشگر دارند، اما تنها مورد پسند طبقه ی روشنفکر، یا مردمان عادی، یا طبقات ممتاز جامعه هستند؛ اما «دن کیشوت» تمام حصارهای جغرافیایی، نژادی، اجتماعی، و طبقاتی را، در هم شکسته، و عنوان خود را با دنیا و بشریت، گره زده است ا. شربیانی ...more

0

Mar 13, 2016

Can I tell you a story - only it may take a little time because sometimes a thousand trifles have to be recounted, as irrelevant as they are necessary, for the true understanding of a tale.

Chapter I : Regarding what befell the narrator on visiting a theatre

The comic operetta Don Quixote was being performed at my local theatre and I was amongst the audience at the first performance. It was a lively and entertaining re-enactment featuring the knight errant Don Quixote and his erring squire Sancho Can I tell you a story - only it may take a little time because sometimes a thousand trifles have to be recounted, as irrelevant as they are necessary, for the true understanding of a tale.

Chapter I : Regarding what befell the narrator on visiting a theatre

The comic operetta Don Quixote was being performed at my local theatre and I was amongst the audience at the first performance. It was a lively and entertaining re-enactment featuring the knight errant Don Quixote and his erring squire Sancho Panza, and many of their adventures were recounted. As I sat in the theatre watching the performance I found myself more and more drawn towards the happenings on the stage. I continually shifted in my seat, and half-rose from it many times. I kept wanting to intervene, to give Don Quixote a fine new coat of armour, for example, and to exchange the old shaving bowl he wore on his head for the real Helmet of Mambrino which, as an avid reader with a large library, I knew exactly where to find.
I wanted to give his horse Rocinante a really good feed so that he would have some flesh on his poor bones (though I also knew that his and his master’s bony condition had saved them already from being eaten by a hungry lion).
I wanted to give Sancho Panza an even larger role in the story, with longer speeches, more proverbs, and greater opportunity to influence events.
I wanted to go backstage and meet with the producer - and perhaps get a glimpse of the man who wrote the libretto.
But most of all I wanted Don Quixote to finally meet the Lady Dulcinea.

Chapter II : In which the diverting adventure of a puppet master is recounted, along with other things that are really worthwhile.

The operetta had reached the scene where Don Quixote is sitting in an inn along with other customers watching a traveling puppeteer’s production of the tale of a beautiful princess held captive in a castle. In the course of the puppet show, the puppet princess escapes from the castle and is pursued by her captors. Before anyone realised what he intended, Don Quixote sprang from his seat intent on rescuing the princess. He swung his sword at the hoard of cardboard figures, reducing them, and the entire puppet theatre to smithereens within minutes. Pandemonium ensued.

Don Quixote’s reckless actions were just the example I needed. Though it wasn't easy to move fast in my long opera gown, I ran towards the steps at the side of the stage, heedless of the whisperings and murmurings of the people I’d disturbed on the way. Before anyone knew what I intended, I had joined the actors on the stage where the puppet master was loudly bewailing the destruction of his puppet theatre. Don Quixote was dreamily contemplating the havoc he had created when he glanced up and noticed me standing near him. The Knight of the Sorrowful Face never looked so happy.
“The Lady Dulcinea at last, freed from her enchantment,” he said, dropping to one knee and covering my hands with kisses.
Everyone was stupefied.
“If that's the Lady Dulcurea”, muttered Sancho Panza, looking me up and down, “I’ll eat my packsaddle!”
“Curb your tongue, you jester and longtime nuisance,” responded Don Quixote, “does it seem right to dishonour and insult a duenna as venerable and worthy of respect as she? Consider and reflect on your words before they leave your mouth.”
I wasn’t terribly pleased to be described as a ‘duenna’ but I didn’t have time to debate the point because at that moment, the producer emerged from the wings and began to propel me from the stage.
“The Lady Dulcinea will appear at the proper time, dear Don Quixote,” he whispered consolingly, “and those words you’ve just uttered about the duenna belong in a later scene. This is the scene with the puppet theatre in the inn. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Then he signalled to the puppet master to carry on with his speech and pushed me into the wings - though I struggled a bit. I’d quite enjoyed being addressed as the Lady Dulcinea, duenna or no duenna.

Chapter III : Which continues the tale of The Reader who was Recklessly Meddlesome

“What do you think you're doing interfering in my production in such a ridiculous fashion?” the producer hissed into my ear, pushing me down a corridor and closing the door to the stage.
"It's all so entrancing I just couldn't stay in my seat," I insisted excitedly. “And I want to help Don Quixote, and Sancho Panza too, I want to arrange things better for them."
"What would you do for Sancho Panza?" he asked, standing with his back to the stage door and stroking his pointed beard thoughtfully.
"I'd give him a lot more speeches," I said eagerly, seeing that he'd calmed down a bit. "Speeches that would show him to be cleverer than he appears at the moment because I'm certain he is really very clever."
"And what would you do for Don Quixote?"
"I would give him success in a tournament, and I'd like to think he might sometime meet the Lady Dulcinea, even if only briefly."
He didn’t answer immediately, just continued to stroke his beard thoughtfully. It seemed that he might be considering my request.
“Can I examine your spectacles,” he asked suddenly, holding out his hand.
I was so surprised that I handed over my glasses immediately.
“Tortoiseshell, I see,” he said, tapping the frames with his index finger, “I've only ever seen it used for peinetas. Can I borrow these spectacles?”
“Absolutely not,” I cried, “I can’t see a thing without them and I’ll miss the rest of the play - I’m missing enough as it is.”
“Hmm, if you won’t lend the spectacles, perhaps you’d lend your person?” he said with the trace of a smile. “After the interval there’s a short scene involving a duenna called Doña Rodríguez who wears spectacles, and since you want so much to be involved, you could take her place. She only appears once, and only has a couple of lines to deliver. But you must remove that ring,” he said, pointing to a ring I wore on my left hand.
I was thrilled to be given a chance to take part and agreed immediately, especially when the director said he might tweak some of the later scenes to allow Sancho Panzo to have a greater role, just as I had requested. He went off to consult with Cide Hamete, the librettist, while a costume person brought me a long and elaborate headdress to wear, complete with a peineta. The whole thing resembled a nun's veil. I donned it unwillingly. What can't be cured must be endured, after all, and the habit does not make the nun.


Chapter IV : Which deals wth matters related to this history and no other

Immediately after the interval comes the scene where Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are being welcomed to the castle of a wealthy duke. All the duennas in the service of the duchess stand in line to greet them. This was my big scene. Each duenna is supposed to be accompanied by a daughter so I also had a daughter whose job was to hold the end of my long headdress. As I stood with all the others, the two heroes passed so close to me I could have reached out and touched their sleeves. Just as they were about to enter the castle, Sancho stopped as if he'd forgotten something, and then he turned to me and said,
"Señora Gonzalez, or whatever your grace's name may be..”
"Doña Rodriguez de Grijalba is my name,” I responded, settling into my role, "How can I help you, brother?”
I was ready to oblige him in whatever way I could until I heard what he wanted. I was to go outside the castle gate and find his donkey and take him to the stable, because the donkey apparently didn't like to be left alone under any circumstances. I didn't think this was at all the kind of duty a duenna was supposed to undertake, and so I told Sancho - in a slightly raised voice. Then we traded a few insults in which the word 'old' was mentioned. The duchess and Don Quixote overheard and the Don castigated Sancho severely (see his lines above) while the duchess explained that though I was wearing spectacles and a wimple, I was in fact still quite young. I was mollified and Sancho went on his way, muttering something about the need for duennas to show more generosity towards donkeys.

Chapter V : Which recounts the second adventure of the Duenna, also called Doña Rodriguez

I watched the next few scenes from the wings. It seemed to me that the Duke and Duchess were organizing some very elaborate entertainments at the expense of the two heroes, entertainments in which a fair amount of trickery and deceit was involved. The more I watched, the less I liked it, especially when Don Quixote was clawed by a bunch of angry cats he thought were demons. He was recovering in his bed from this attack when I decided to creep into his chamber during the night and warn him about what the Duke and Duchess were up to. To get his attention, I had to pretend there was a damsel in distress who needed his help, so I told him that my daughter had been forsaken by her lover and would he please challenge the lover to a duel. That was exactly the right way to get him onside and he began to pay attention to the rest of what I had to say. I had just begun to explain about all the trickery that was going on in the castle when some figures dressed in black appeared and began to spank me unmercifully. “Ouch,” I cried, "help, help!", but to no avail (see update status: page 772) because Don Quixote was also being attacked, and since Sancho Panza was far away, he couldn't comfort either of us with his soothing proverbs. And so ended my unfortunate and embarrassing mid-night tête à tête with the noble knight.

Chapter VI : Regarding matters that concern and pertain to this adventure

Back stage, everybody was complaining about my foolishness and audacity in meddling in the plot and generally making a spectacle of myself. The director said he regretted letting me play the part of the duenna. I was forbidden to step on stage again, and more or less thrown out of the theatre. But I didn't want to leave without speaking further with Don Quixote, and even with Sancho, who'd suddenly begun to deliver some of the best speeches of the entire opera, filled with juicy proverbs like pears in a wicker basket.
I reckoned I might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb, and how would an omelette get made if we didn’t break a few eggs, so I hid behind a windmill prop in the wings and waited my chance. As the Don and his squire were taking leave of the Duke, I stepped onstage once again and had the most interesting of my encounters with Don Quixote and the wise squire Sancho.
When we had finished conversing, I withdrew to a seat at the back of the theatre to watch the rest of the operetta, completely satisfied that my interventions had been useful and were achieving some effect.

Postscript: Which recounts what will be seen by whoever reads it and other matters which will be understood if the reader reads with attention

So now you've heard the story of how Doña Rodriguez, who was only supposed to have one scene in the opera, ended up having three, and of how this crazy reader, who recklessly entered the story, brought this mischief about. If you don't believe any of this could have happened, read Chapter LVI of Don Quixote, Regarding the extraordinary and unprecedentedly successful battle that Don Quixote of La Mancha had with the footman Tosilos in defense of the daughter of the duenna Doña Rodriguez.
And when you’ve read that, read Chapter LXIX : Concerning the strangest and most remarkable event to befall Don Quixote in the entire course of his history which features not just one spectacle-wearing duenna but four!
My tortoiseshell glasses had started a craze.


When the performance was finally over, I left the theatre, pleased that my recklessness had lead to such a satisfying outcome, but thoughtful too about some of the things that had happened.
Why had Don Quixote addressed me as the Lady Dulcinea?
Why had the director asked me to remove my ring? I took it from my pocket and examined it. It's an old ring, in fact it's been in my family for a long, long time. I had picked it to wear to the theatre because it has a heraldic design, showing a gyron or triangular shape inside a coat of arms.
What all that signifies however, I cannot quite grasp for the moment, but I’m hoping some attentive reader will soon tell me.. ...more

4

Feb 19, 2018

This book wore my @ss out! It's funny and good and I love tomes but I don't think I was totally ready this time. Whew ......



The narrator was great on audio but I couldn't keep up in my book for reasons so I just listened.



Happy Reading!

Mel This book wore my @ss out! It's funny and good and I love tomes but I don't think I was totally ready this time. Whew ......



The narrator was great on audio but I couldn't keep up in my book for reasons so I just listened.



Happy Reading!

Mel ❤️ ...more

3

Jan 25, 2011

done quixote!!!
pun quixote!!
fun quixote??
none quixote...

and that's not entirely true; there are some rollicking good times in here, but the first part is so much endlessly episodic violence, and while the second half becomes calmer and more focused, it never got my imagination engaged nor my blood flowing.

in fact, although i know he really does love it, i can't help but feel that brian's recommending this to me is similar to the duke and duchess having their fun with don q. i feel like brian is done quixote!!!
pun quixote!!
fun quixote??
none quixote...

and that's not entirely true; there are some rollicking good times in here, but the first part is so much endlessly episodic violence, and while the second half becomes calmer and more focused, it never got my imagination engaged nor my blood flowing.

in fact, although i know he really does love it, i can't help but feel that brian's recommending this to me is similar to the duke and duchess having their fun with don q. i feel like brian is pulling a prank on me - that he does not want me to meet my reading goal and is laughingly crowing, "no, karen, you will not read 150 books this year!! i am preventing you!!"

i will show you. despite the amount of time i was stalled on this one, i will come right back in the game.

but this, i did not love this. and a lot of it is just context. i can appreciate it as an artifact and as a foundation for western literature, but it suffers from the fate of any work that was not edited professionally.

tastes change over time. just in the same way that marilyn monroe would have probably had to drop fifteen pounds to rock our modern-day underfed runway ideal, so this book could lose a similar amount of text. stop frothing, bri, seriously if this turned up in some slush pile somewhere, there would be allll kinds of criticism, and it might even get passed around the office (lgm) a few times to the giggles of the editorial assistants: "this guy can't even keep the supporting character's wife's name straight!!", "this is inconsistent!!"," "this is repetitive!""what is this interlude that has nothing to do with anything else doing in here??" "this is flat-out stolen from another source!!!"

an editor would go to town on this puppy.

but we have the luxury of reading this 500 years after it was written and marveling at how fresh and modern it still sounds. and part of it is very modern. but grossman's frequent "cervantes probably meant ____here" or "this is the wrong reference" would not play in a modern novel. if jonathan safran foer had done this, there would be a crown of pretentious classics majors drawling, "i can't believe he said "perseus" when he meant "theseus"... " guffaw guffaw.

but 500 years down the road, we can afford to be more forgiving. vanity press authors take heart!

and i am aware i am being nitpicky, i am more just interested in pointing out how a lot of people who love this book would be very indignant to read something produced today that had so many obvious flaws.

but i do admire longevity.

i just couldn't get into it, overall. there are a lot of great moments here: the burning of the books (nooo!), the puppet show, don q. in a cage, and great non-action sequences in the discussions of the value of drama as a medium and the difficulty of translation and many other minor occurrences.

the first half is just episode after episode of this delusional thug with some kind of 'roid-rage, meth-aggression attacking people and innocent lions, unprovoked, and his sidekick who is a grasping fiend who would sell you out for even the promise of a sandwich. and it all reads like marx brothers slapsticky stuff. i mean, how do you break someone's nose with a loaf of bread??

with the second half, it is better and becomes more self-reflexive and much sadder, but a lot of it still remains tedious. the second half, written ten years after the first part, frequently references the unauthorized sequel to don q that some guy wrote and pissed cervantes off. it is like a mean girl passing notes to the cool kids, "did you hear what he said??? that's my man he's messing with!!" etc etc.

and i am not a lazy reader, even though my tastes tend toward a faster pace than this, but i have read plenty of slow-paced, dense prose that didn't make me take out my mental red pen and slash away at what i felt was extraneous or repetitious.

i can appreciate the message about art and its impact and its potential and its place in the world, but i did not have fun reading this book.

and i make no apologies.



and for jasmine - who doesn't think there is anything complicated or pretentious in the spanish language - this qualifies, i think. it gets all meta in the second act. for its time, it was seriously mind-bending stuff.

come to my blog! ...more

5

May 30, 2008

Whatever else Don Quixote may be, I never found it boring. Parts of it were very funny, others had wonderful similarities with Shakespeare, some bits were more serious: it's like a mini library in a single volume. Wonderful.

Overall, it has quite a Shakespearean feel - more in the plotting and tales within tales (eg The Man Who was Recklessly Curious, stolen by Mozart for Cosi fan Tutte) than the language. In fact, the story of Cardenio is thought to be the basis for Shakespeare's lost play of Whatever else Don Quixote may be, I never found it boring. Parts of it were very funny, others had wonderful similarities with Shakespeare, some bits were more serious: it's like a mini library in a single volume. Wonderful.

Overall, it has quite a Shakespearean feel - more in the plotting and tales within tales (eg The Man Who was Recklessly Curious, stolen by Mozart for Cosi fan Tutte) than the language. In fact, the story of Cardenio is thought to be the basis for Shakespeare's lost play of the same name.

Humour

Very funny - slapstick, toilet and more subtle humour, with lots of factual historical and chivalric detail as well, but it doesn't feel especially Spanish to me. Certainly long, but I don't understand why, supposedly, so few people manage to finish it. Some of DQ's delusions hurt only himself (tilting at windmills), but others lead to suffering for his "squire" Sancho Panza (tossed in a blanket) or reluctant beneficiaries of his salvation (the beaten servant, beaten even more once DQ departs) and bemuse people (mistaking inns for castles, sheep for enemy armies and ordinary women as princesses) and are used to justify theft (the golden "helmet"/bowl) and non-payment to inn-keepers. His resolute optimism in the face of severe pain and disaster is extraordinary. Meanwhile, Sancho wavers between credulity (wishfully thinking the promise of an island for him to rule will come true) and pragmatism.

Two Parts

Part II starts with Cervantes' response to the unknown writer of an unofficial sequel to part 1, though DQ, Sancho and others also critique it in early chapters. The following story presumes that part 1 is true, and shows how DQ's resulting fame affects his subsequent adventures. A very modern mix of "fact" and fiction. Some characters doubt his exploits, others pander to them, especially the duke and duchess who go to great lengths to treat him in knightly/chivalric manner, and provide new adventures (for their amusement, at the painful expense of DQ and Sancho). Sancho gets rather more scope for lengthy meanderings of jumbled and largely irrelevant proverbs. Less slapstick and more pontificating than part I - both DQ's advice to Sancho on how to govern his promised insula and when Sancho has intriguing disputes to resolve.

A Third, courtesy of Borges?

Borges wrote the short story "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" (published in The Garden of Forking Paths ). Menard is an imaginary writer, described as if he's real, who “did not want to compose another Quixote” but “the Quixote” by combining the don and Sancho into a single character and by, in some sense, becoming Cervantes.

What Don Q Means to Me

(This section was added after an epiphany, which prompted me to make my reviews more personal.)

I was wary of this book for many years; I feared it was too heavy in ounces and themes/plot/language, but only the former is true, and that can be obviated by a comfy chair (or an ebook).

I plucked up the courage to read it shortly after joining GR, partly through encouragement from others. It was a revelation, both in terms of the power of GR friends to enrich my life and my own confidence as a reader.

My enjoyment was heightened by reading it whilst my son and his friend who was staying (both aged ~10) repeatedly watched and quoted Monty Python's Holy Grail - very appropriate!


...more

5

Dec 24, 2012

When I read excerpts of Don Quixote in high school, which I think must be a requisite for any Spanish language class taken by anybody ever, I was astounded that something so seemingly banal could be as wildly popular and possess such longevity as this book is and does. At the time, I did not find Don Quixote to be anything more than a bumbling fool chasing imaginary villains and falling into easily avoidable situations, and the forced hilarity that would ensue seemed to be of the same kind I When I read excerpts of Don Quixote in high school, which I think must be a requisite for any Spanish language class taken by anybody ever, I was astounded that something so seemingly banal could be as wildly popular and possess such longevity as this book is and does. At the time, I did not find Don Quixote to be anything more than a bumbling fool chasing imaginary villains and falling into easily avoidable situations, and the forced hilarity that would ensue seemed to be of the same kind I recognized in farcical skits performed by eegits like The Three Stooges.

But I suspected there was something more to Don Quixote than what my 14 year-old impressions were telling me, and I’m glad I finally read this book in its entirety. Having done so, I’ve discovered that Don Quixote is not a bumbling idiot—far from it, in fact. He is highly intelligent, highly perceptive and observant, and most surprisingly, and in spite of his delusions of being a knight errant, he is actually also highly self-aware. The combination of these traits makes him one of the most interesting characters in literature, and if it weren’t for his fallibility in misinterpreting reality (to put it nicely), the brilliance of Don Quixote would be elevated to unapproachable levels.

Putting the characters aside, though, I have to say that the storytelling here is simply superb. When reading an English translation, I never know whether credit for this ought to be awarded to the author or to the translator (or to both!), but nonetheless this is the kind of writing that just pulls a reader along effortlessly. Each episodic adventure rolls seamlessly into the next and even while the subject of many of these adventures covers similar ground—a maiden who has been dishonored by her man is one such theme, for example—it never seems recycled.

Don Quixote is actually comprised of two volumes written about a decade apart. Historically speaking, there was an erroneous book published in between Cervantes’s own two works under the pretense of being the “real” volume two of the tale of Don Quixote, but was attributed to an unidentified author with the pseudonym Avellaneda. It is likely that this fake version lit a match under Cervantes, and what I love about this little piece of history is that when Cervantes actually completes his authentic second volume, it is riddled with allusions to Avellaneda’s deceptive book, and these allusions become so ingrained in the text that it becomes difficult to separate fact from fiction. At one point Don Quixote meets someone who claims to know him, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the claimant has actually met Avellaneda’s Don Quixote, and the real Don Quixote is horrified that someone should have the audacity, not just to impersonate him, but to do such a horrible job impersonating him, that he goes to great lengths (and yes, we’re talking about the character here) to prove to anyone and everyone that he is the real Don Quixote. He even changes his itinerary to avoid a city that the fake Don Quixote purportedly goes to, just to make it clear that Avellaneda is a lying whore and cannot be trusted. Metafictional stuff like that can be pretty entertaining in its own right, but the fact that it was implemented in a book written over four hundred years ago just makes it all the more mind blowing, or at least it does to me.

All in all, I had a hard time letting go of DQ when I finished this book. It turns out I really fell for the guy. ...more

5

Feb 04, 2011

The Double-Edged Sword

It is a double-edged sword isn't it, reading great books too early in life?

If we read a book too early in life, we may not grasp it fully but the book becomes part of us and forms a part of our thinking itself, maybe even of our writing. But on the other hand, the reading is never complete and we may never come back to it, in a world too full of books.

And if we wait to read till we are mature, we will never become good readers and writers who can do justice to good
The Double-Edged Sword

It is a double-edged sword isn't it, reading great books too early in life?

If we read a book too early in life, we may not grasp it fully but the book becomes part of us and forms a part of our thinking itself, maybe even of our writing. But on the other hand, the reading is never complete and we may never come back to it, in a world too full of books.

And if we wait to read till we are mature, we will never become good readers and writers who can do justice to good books... so we have to read some good books early and do injustice to them. Only then can we do justice to ourselves and to great books later on.

One is reminded of Calvino in Why Read the Classics when we meditate on this.

Now the question is which books to do the injustice to and which the justice. Do we select the best for the earliest so that they become a part of us or do we leave the very best for later so that we can enjoy them to the fullest?

Tough choice. I have never been able to resolve. Have you? ...more

5

Aug 25, 2010

I guess the goal of reviewing something like Don Quixote is to make you less frightened of it. It's intimidating, right? It's 940 pages long and it's from 500 years ago. But Grossman's translation is modern and easy to read, and the work itself is so much fun that it ends up not being difficult at all.

Much of Book I is concerned with the story of Cardenio, which Shakespeare apparently liked so much that he wrote a now-lost play about the guy. I loved that part, but for me, the pace slowed down a I guess the goal of reviewing something like Don Quixote is to make you less frightened of it. It's intimidating, right? It's 940 pages long and it's from 500 years ago. But Grossman's translation is modern and easy to read, and the work itself is so much fun that it ends up not being difficult at all.

Much of Book I is concerned with the story of Cardenio, which Shakespeare apparently liked so much that he wrote a now-lost play about the guy. I loved that part, but for me, the pace slowed down a bit in the latter third of Book I. There are two more "novellas" inserted that have little or nothing to do with the plot; feel free to skip them. (They're discussed in the comments section below this review, if you're interested.)

Book II was published ten years after Book I, in 1615, and with it Cervantes pulls a typically Cervantes-esque trick: he imagines that Don Quixote is now a celebrity due to Book I's success. This changes the perspective considerably; whereas folks used to be mystified by Don Quixote, now they often recognize him, which generally results in them fucking with him. It invigorates the story; since Book II feels so different, I didn't get the feeling I often get with wicked long books where I kinda get bogged down around the 2/3 mark. In fact, I ended up liking Book II even better than Book I.

Quixote messes with your head. Cervantes pulls so many tricks out of his bag that you're never sure what's coming next. For a while I suspected that the footnotes had been written by Cervantes as well, and were all made up. I had to Wikipedia Martin de Riquer to make sure he was a real guy. That's how sneaky Cervantes is: he makes you think anything is possible.

I thought Don Quixote was tremendous. It's like nothing else in the world. I'm glad I read it. And I'll end with what might be the best quote of all time, and a brilliant thing to say to your wife:

"I want you to see me naked and performing one or two dozen mad acts, which will take me less than half an hour, because if you have seen them with your own eyes, you can safely swear to any others you might wish to add."

Right? Don Quixote kicks ass.

By the way, for another take on the story, here's Kafka:Without making any boast of it Sancho Panza succeeded in the course of years, by devouring a great number of romances of chivalry and adventure in the evening and night hours, in so diverting from him his demon, whom he later called Don Quixote, that his demon thereupon set out in perfect freedom on the maddest exploits, which, however, for the lack of a preordained object, which should have been Sancho Panza himself, harmed nobody. A free man, Sancho Panza philosophically followed Don Quixote on his crusades, perhaps out of a sense of responsibility, and had of them a great and edifying entertainment to the end of his days.(This is the entire text of his parable "The Truth about Sancho Panza"; it and others can be found here.) ...more

4

Aug 14, 2018

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.


Addled Knight Goes Looking for Trouble and Finds It: "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes



“El que lee mucho y anda mucho, ve mucho y sabe mucho.”


In "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote is one of my favourite novels, exasperating though it is at times with all those stories within stories, knockabout humour and cruel practical jokes. Simply because it’s so complex, we both admire and laugh at Don Quixote. When he speaks we are If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.


Addled Knight Goes Looking for Trouble and Finds It: "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes



“El que lee mucho y anda mucho, ve mucho y sabe mucho.”


In "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote is one of my favourite novels, exasperating though it is at times with all those stories within stories, knockabout humour and cruel practical jokes. Simply because it’s so complex, we both admire and laugh at Don Quixote. When he speaks we are inclined to share his world view. And then Cervantes reminds us of what a ridiculous figure he is and undermines the effect. Until Quixote opens his mouth again. This happens again and again - until we end up seeing the novel - and the world - in two incompatible ways at once. ...more

5

Nov 04, 2016

To compensate for an unliterary childhood (no furtive torch readings of Alice under the duvet until the wee hours for me), I hit the universities to read English Literature, which I failed to study, focusing instead on the local record shop and depression. To compensate for an unliterary literature degree, I ramped up the reading to more sensible levels, and began an ongoing passionate marriage with the written word: a marriage of comfortable convenience spiced up from time to time with trips To compensate for an unliterary childhood (no furtive torch readings of Alice under the duvet until the wee hours for me), I hit the universities to read English Literature, which I failed to study, focusing instead on the local record shop and depression. To compensate for an unliterary literature degree, I ramped up the reading to more sensible levels, and began an ongoing passionate marriage with the written word: a marriage of comfortable convenience spiced up from time to time with trips into mindblowing orgasmic delight. As I leave my twenties, a mostly intolerable decade, survived thanks to all the books on my ‘read’ shelf, I raise a virtual muglet of hemlock to the written word and to Goodreads (which has steadily declined over the years, sadly, and not because of the users), and this masterpiece, the final orgasmic delight of this decade of life, the sort of novel that arrives once in a while and reinforces the most important thing: transcending the shittiness of existence through the soma of language. Cheers, pals! ...more

5

Jul 16, 2016

Cervantes, Don Quixote. "In a certain corner of la Mancha, the name of which I do not choose to remember, there lately lived one of those country gentleman, who adorn their halls with rusty lace and worm-eaten target, and ride forth on the skeleton of a horse, to course with a sort of a starved greyhound."

Don Quixote is one my favorite comedies of all time. This opening phrase is steeped with irony and sarcasm. We are introduced to the loser town which the author is obviously embarrased to have Cervantes, Don Quixote. "In a certain corner of la Mancha, the name of which I do not choose to remember, there lately lived one of those country gentleman, who adorn their halls with rusty lace and worm-eaten target, and ride forth on the skeleton of a horse, to course with a sort of a starved greyhound."

Don Quixote is one my favorite comedies of all time. This opening phrase is steeped with irony and sarcasm. We are introduced to the loser town which the author is obviously embarrased to have known and a out of date (rusty) and poor (worm-eaten) country gentleman (read "redneck") and given a less than complimentary portrait of his magnificent steed, Rocinante (starved greyhound). Cervantes chooses to reveal himself from the get-go ("I") and stays with us during the entire two volumes of time-enduring text that is his literary legacy to us. This is also evident from the long and rambling sentence form. There is galantry (ride forth) and pretention (adorn their halls) and yet a sort of hopelessless (skeleton of a horse) that infuses this sentence with a life of its own. And, the rest only gets better. ...more

5

Sep 27, 2013

I “audio-read” this book for about two months on my one hour daily commutes to work. It made the journeys very pleasant and I barely notice the dull sceneries as they go by. The journey of Don Quixote and his trusty squire Sancho Panza is much more vivid and enjoyable.

I had my doubts about the basic premise of this book. A crazy old guy with a Buzz Lightyear-like delusion travels through Spain with a peasant sidekick. How did the author manage to fill a thousand or so pages with that? Would the I “audio-read” this book for about two months on my one hour daily commutes to work. It made the journeys very pleasant and I barely notice the dull sceneries as they go by. The journey of Don Quixote and his trusty squire Sancho Panza is much more vivid and enjoyable.

I had my doubts about the basic premise of this book. A crazy old guy with a Buzz Lightyear-like delusion travels through Spain with a peasant sidekick. How did the author manage to fill a thousand or so pages with that? Would the joke not have worn thin to the point of implosion by the end of the book? Ironically these doubts attract me toward the book rather than repel me. Not being a cat I quite like indulging my curiosity.



The book got off to a rocky start for me with a bunch of sonnets in the first chapter which nearly unmanned me and send me running, but once I am done with them it was pretty much plain sailing all the way. A two months voyage if you will. While reading the first five or so chapters, I did get the feeling that the story is rather repetitious, basically just one misadventure after another. Don Q traveling across the land, making a public nuisance of himself, and Sancho going along in the hope of financial gains. However, as I read on these characters do come alive and begin to seem like old friends, to the extent that I was quite happy just to tag along and see what nonsense they get up to. The basic routine seems to be that the duo travel along with no set destination, come across some people minding their own business, and half the time mistaking them for enemies, giants or wizards, start messing with them and consequently get their asses kicked. I expected to be tired of such shenanigan well before the end of the book but the author seems well aware of this possibility and switches gear with the narrative as the story progress. Most chapters tend to be episodic with several “side stories” interspersed into the main adventure of our heroes. There is even a fairly lengthy novella entitled: “The Man Who Was Recklessly Curious” which is kind of silly yet thought provoking. Various colorful characters enter and leave the novel providing needed variation from just Don Q and his antics.

Don Quixote mistaking a windmill for a Japanese mecha. Art by Realityendshere

The novel’s greatest strength for me is the character development. Don Quixote is not like any lunatic I have ever seen or heard about. While his insanity is relentless it also seems to be oddly systematic or deliberate. He can speak eloquently and sensibly about all kinds of things until he or somebody else shoehorns in the subject of knight errantry then his dementia comes into full display. Sancho Panza, the Robin to his Batty Man, is no less anomalous. His IQ seems to fluctuate with no discernible pattern, plus he is a proverbs machine, with none of the proverbs ever suited to the occasion.

This novel is divided into two parts and I find “Part II” (originally published ten years after Part I) even funnier and more entertaining than Part I. In this second volume Don Quixote and Sancho have become legends in their own lunchtime as “Volume I” is published and become something of a best-seller. Consequently, many of the new characters that are introduced in this part of the book know immediately who they are and often help to facilitate their madness just for kicks. Much hilarity ensues.

Toward the end, I did feel that the book is rather overwritten and I imagined that the job of abridging this book probably is not all that hard as it seems fairly obvious which chapters could easy be jettisoned. However, once I arrived at the poignant final chapter felt a feeling of regret that I have to leave these two crazy buggers now. Looks like a reread in printed format is in order. Maybe I will read it in the Batcave.
___________________________
Note: This audiobook version is translated by Edith Grossman and read amazingly well by George Guidall.

...more

5

Oct 29, 2019

Renowned the world over for its portrayal of a delusional knight-errant, Don Quixote, and his squire, Sancho Panza, Cervantes’ masterpiece is funny, tragic and way too relatable.



The line between wisdom and madness is flipped on its head over and over. Published in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote still amazes! I’d read the first part of Don Quixote several times, but never read the complete novel before now. While reading the first part gets the reader most of the iconic scenes from this work (most Renowned the world over for its portrayal of a delusional knight-errant, Don Quixote, and his squire, Sancho Panza, Cervantes’ masterpiece is funny, tragic and way too relatable.



The line between wisdom and madness is flipped on its head over and over. Published in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote still amazes! I’d read the first part of Don Quixote several times, but never read the complete novel before now. While reading the first part gets the reader most of the iconic scenes from this work (most will recognize Don Quixote battling windmills, or mistaking a peasant for a lady, for instance), a complete read turns Don Quixote and Sancho into old friends that is consequently enjoyable and satisfying.

Don Quixote is unable to revive the age of chivalry in 16th century Spain. Already, living according to these codes is antiquated. However, because the first part of the Don Quixote’s ‘history’ was published during his lifetime, when he takes up knight-errantry again he finds that he and his squire are famous for their many adventures. It is a dubious fame for which he and Sancho are continuously pranked. The message is clear (for me) in this part: Is it better to believe in something and see life as an adventure or not be fooled? What would be lost if Don Quixote’s sanity were restored? So much could be said. This is admittedly a long read, but very worthwhile!
...more

4

Jan 27, 2008

I'll be the first to admit it: I'm a fan of popular fiction. I desire enjoyment from certain factors of pacing and style that the literary elite consider "common" and I, in turn, generally find "literature" to be incredibly pretentious. This has led me to hold what some might consider "uncultured" opinions about various great works.

Which brings us to Don Quixote, which many in the literary elite consider to be the greatest novel ever written.

Did I love Don Quixote? I wouldn't go that far. Does I'll be the first to admit it: I'm a fan of popular fiction. I desire enjoyment from certain factors of pacing and style that the literary elite consider "common" and I, in turn, generally find "literature" to be incredibly pretentious. This has led me to hold what some might consider "uncultured" opinions about various great works.

Which brings us to Don Quixote, which many in the literary elite consider to be the greatest novel ever written.

Did I love Don Quixote? I wouldn't go that far. Does it deserve to be called the greatest novel ever written? I'm willing to put it on the short list.

Here's the thing: Cervantes published Don Quixote in the early 17th century, while Shakespeare was still working through his "tragic" phase (Hamlet & whatnot). By rights, it should be like so much other "classic literature:" dense, slow, utterly irrelevant to modern life, and soporific. Instead, it's dense, slow, engaging, and surprisingly relevant. Cervantes manages, almost continuously, to be clever in ways that transcend the 400-year gap and resonate with us now. There's no question that adapting to the writing style of that era is a challenge, and Don Quixote will be slow going to readers accustomed to modern pop fiction. But most intelligent readers will consider this a price worth paying.

Why Don Quixote still works stems largely from its having taken the formulas of "heroic knighthood" (which we are still vaguely familiar with as legend today) and showing it to be cartoonish and absurd. Despite the cultural gap, modern readers will still get the gist of the parody, even if they haven't read the chivalric literature that it is an explicit parody of.

The other reason the story works is because, strangely, we find ourselves continuously at odds with the author over the character of Don Quixote himself. We are told, at every turn, that Quixote is a fool, a madman, and a sinner. Cervantes breaks from the traditional role of a passive narrator to make constant judgment on Quixote's failures and flaws. And because we see Quixote so maligned by both his own author and everyone in the book, we as the reader fall in love with him. By writing a book about a dreamer with unassailable ideals but using the narrative voice of a vitriolic cynic, Cervantes forces us to stand up for the nobility and purity that Quixote achieves. Cervantes has, in effect, martyred his own protagonist in such a dramatic way that it falls to the reader to elevate Quixote to the status of saint.

And any book that can pull that off is worth the difficult prose. ...more

5

Sep 07, 2018

“I know who I am,” replied don Quijote, “and I know who I can be...”
I bought this book under the sway of a caprice which, if it were not too hackneyed to say so, I would call quixotic. This was two years ago. I was in the royal palace in La Granja de San Ildefonso, near Segovia. I had just toured the palace—one of the finest in Spain—and was about to explore the French gardens, modeled after those in Versailles, when I encountered the gift shop. Normally I do not buy anything in gift shops, “I know who I am,” replied don Quijote, “and I know who I can be...”
I bought this book under the sway of a caprice which, if it were not too hackneyed to say so, I would call quixotic. This was two years ago. I was in the royal palace in La Granja de San Ildefonso, near Segovia. I had just toured the palace—one of the finest in Spain—and was about to explore the French gardens, modeled after those in Versailles, when I encountered the gift shop. Normally I do not buy anything in gift shops, since half of it is rubbish and all of it is overpriced. But this book, this particular volume, called out to me and I obeyed.

It was a foolish purchase—not only because I paid gift-shop prices, but because my Spanish was not anywhere near the level I needed to read it. And at the time, I had no idea I would be staying in Spain for so long. There was a very good chance, in other words, that I would never be able to tackle this overpriced brick with Bible-thin pages. At least I left myself some hope. For this is not the original El ingenioso caballero don Quijote de la Mancha—written in Spanish contemporaneous with Shakespeare’s English—but a bastardization: its style diligently modernized by the writer Andrés Trapiello. Even with this crutch, and even with an additional two years of living in Spain, this book was a serious challenge.

Before charging headlong into the thickets of criticism, I want to say a word in praise of Trapiello’s edition. Cervantes’s Spanish is not as difficult as Shakespeare’s English, but it still foreign enough to prove an obstacle even to native speakers. I know many Spaniards, even well-read ones, who have never successfully made it through El Quijote for this very reason (or so they allege). Trapiello has done the Spanish-speaking world a great service, then, since he has successfully made El Quijote as accessible as it would have been to its first readers, while preserving the instantly recognizable Cervantine style. And while I can see why purists would object to this defacement of hallowed beauty, I would counter that, if ever there were a book to painlessly enjoy, it is El Quijote.

To get a taste of the change, here is Trapiello’s opening lines:
En un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, vivía no hace mucho un hidalgo de los de lanza ya olvidada, escudo antiguo, rocín flaco y galgo corredor. Consumían tres partes de su hacienda una olla con algo más de vaca que carnero, ropa vieja casi todas las noches, huevos con torreznos los sábados, lentejas los viernes y algún palomino de añadidura los domingos.
And here is the original:
En un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, no ha mucho tiempo que vivía un hidalgo de los de lanza en astillero, adarga antigua, rocín flaco y galgo corredor. Una olla de algo más vaca que carnero, salpicón las más noches, duelos y quebrantos los sábados, lentejas los viernes, algún palomino de añadidura los domingos, consumían tres partes de su hacienda.
Now, undeniably something is lost in the transition. Cervantes’s “duelos y quebrantos” (lit. “aches and pains”), for example, is undeniably more evocative than Trapiello’s “huevos con torreznos” (eggs with bacon); but without Trapiello I would have no idea what Cervantes meant. It is also worth noting how similar the two are; Trapiello has taken care to change only what he must.

Onward to the book itself. But I hesitate. The more I contemplate this book, the more I think that a critic must be as daft as the don and as simple as his squire to think he can get to the bottom of it. Cervantes was either extremely muddle-headed or fantastically subtle, since this book resists any definite conclusions you may try to wring from its pages. Perhaps, like many great books, it simply got out of the author’s control. Just as Tolstoy set out to write the parable of a fallen woman and gave us Anna Karenina, and as Mark Twain set out to write a boys’ book and invented American literature, it seems Cervantes set out to write a satire of chivalric romances and produced one of the great works of universal art. It is as if a New Yorker cartoonist accidentally doodled Guernica.

The key to the book’s enduring beauty, I think, is Cervantes’s special brand of irony. He is the only author I know who can produce scorn and admiration in the same sentence. He is able to ruthlessly make fun of everything under the sun, while in the same moment praising them to the heavens. The book itself embodies this paradox: for it is at once the greatest rejection of chivalric romance and its greatest embodiment—an adventure tale that laughs at adventure tales. There is no question that Cervantes finds the old don ridiculous, and he makes us agree with him; yet by the end, Quijote is more heroic than Sir Galahad himself.

The central question the book asks is whether idealism is noble or silly. The Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance is an undeniably hilarious figure. But do we laugh at his expense, or at our own? Is his idealism pathetic, or is it our realism? The book resists both horns of this dilemma, until finally we must conclude that we are all—dreamers and realists alike—equally ridiculous. For we all reside in a social world whose rules only exist in our beliefs and in our actions, a world which we create but do not design. It is only Quijote who seems to realize (however unconsciously) that, by changing the script, we can recreate the world. And he does. By the time we get to Part Two, everyone is playing along with Quijote.

Even so, I am not able to go so far as Miguel de Unamuno, and consider Quijote a sort of messiah. I do not think Cervantes’s irony permits this. For Quijote truly is out of touch, and frequently gets pummeled for it. And even when his fantasy inspires others to play along, and to help him create his new world, they never do so for disinterested reasons. Some, including Sancho, play along for gain; others do so to control or to help Quijote; and most do it just to have some fun at his expense. This is the dilemma faced by all revolutionaries: they have the vision to see a better world, the courage to usher it in with their actions, and the charisma to inspire others to follow them; but most worldlings chose to play along for ulterior motives, not for ideals; and so the new world becomes as corrupt as the old one. To put this another way, Quijote’s problem is not that he is out of touch with the social order, but that he is out of touch with the human heart.

Much of the greatness of this book lays in the relationship between the don and his squire. Few friendships in literature are so heartwarming. Sancho, in his simplicity, is the only one who can even partially meet Quijote in his new world—as a genuine participant in Quijote’s make-believe. Of course, Sancho is not free from ulterior motives, either. There is the island he is to rule over. But the longer the story goes on, the more Sancho believes in his master, and the less he pursues material gain. We are relieved to see that, when finally offered his island, the squire comes running back to the don in a matter of days. As the only two inhabitants of their new world, as the only two actors in their play, they are homeless without one another.

It is useful to compare Shakespeare’s and Cervantes’s method of characterization. As Harold Bloom points out, Shakespeare’s characters are most truly themselves when they are alone, soliloquizing. When together, on the other hand, even close friends and lovers never seem to communicate perfectly, but talk past each other, or talk for their own benefit, or simply show off. But don Quijote and Sancho Panza are most truly themselves when they are with each other; they draw one another out and spur one another on; they ceaselessly bicker while remaining absolutely loyal; they quibble and squabble while understanding one another perfectly. When they are separated during Sancho’s sojourn on the island, the reader feels that each has lost more than half of himself. For my part, though I am not sure it is more “realistic,” I find Cervantes’s friendship more heartening than the bard’s. Though they begin as polar opposites, the squire and the knight influence one another as the story progresses, eventually coming to resemble one another. This beats Romeo and Juliet by a league.

What strikes most contemporary readers of this ur-novel is its modernity. Formally, Cervantes is far more daring than his Victorian successors. This is admittedly more apparent in Part Two, when Cervantes has his characters travel around a world where Part One has already been published and read widely, and where the spurious Part Two by Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda (a pseudonym) has just been released. This leads to self-referential tricks worthy of the coolest postmodernist: the duo encountering readers of the prequels and commenting on their own portrayal. Another daring touch was Cervantes’s use of the Arabic historian Cide Hamete Berengeli—whose book, found on the streets of Toledo, he is merely transcribing into Castilian—which allows him to comment on the text he is writing: praising the historian’s scrupulous attention to detail and skipping over boring sections in the “original.”

All this is done, not merely to be clever, but to reinforce the sense of infinite irony that pervades the text. The gap opened up by these tricks is what gives Cervantes room to be so delightfully ambiguous. As the authorship is called into question, and as the characters—who are imaginative actors to begin with—become aware of themselves as characters, the sense of a guiding intelligence crafting the story becomes ever more tenuous. The final irony, then, is that this self-referential irony does not undermine the reality of the story, but only reinforces it. In Part Two, especially, the characters leap from the book into reality, becoming both readers and writers of themselves—so real, indeed, that we risk repeating the don’s error of mistaking the book with reality.

Having said all this in praise of El Quijote, I should mention some of the book’s flaws. These are mostly confined to Part One, wherein Cervantes inserts several short novelas that have, for the most part, aged poorly. At the time there was, apparently, a craze for pastoral love stories involving shepherds and shepherdesses, which nowadays is soppy sentimental trash. One must also admit that Cervantes was a very mediocre poet, so the verse scattered throughout these pages can safely be skipped. On the whole, though the book’s most iconic moments are in Part One, Part Two is much superior and more innovative.

Part Two is also far sadder. And this is the last ambiguity: the reader can never fully decide whether to laugh or cry. Tragedy and comedy are blended so deeply together that no emotional response seems adequate. I still have not decided with any certainty how I feel or what I think about this book. All I know is that I wish it could go on forever—that I could read another chapter of don Quijote’s and Sancho Panza’s adventures for the rest of my life. To reach the end is unbearable. Don Quijote should live eternal life. And he will. ...more

4

Jan 07, 2012

Book Review
4 out of 5 stars to Don Quixote, written around 1605 by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. A few interesting facts: (1) The book was originally written in Spanish, (2) I read an English translation as when I attempted to read the Spanish, between the changes in language over 400 years and my own limitations of the language at the time I read it, (3) this is considered one of the first "modern" novels and (4) all the great writers in the 19th century looked to this novel and author as Book Review
4 out of 5 stars to Don Quixote, written around 1605 by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. A few interesting facts: (1) The book was originally written in Spanish, (2) I read an English translation as when I attempted to read the Spanish, between the changes in language over 400 years and my own limitations of the language at the time I read it, (3) this is considered one of the first "modern" novels and (4) all the great writers in the 19th century looked to this novel and author as the person whose footsteps they should be following in... that's how good it was and how famous it was years ago. So many forget about it now, think of it as just some non-American book, a romance story or a play or film they watched. WRONG! It started as a great Spanish novel -- I'm only being funny with my little attitude here -- that influenced the entire world. If you haven't read it, you should definitely give it a chance. From romance to solid friendships, to travels and cultural experiences, this book tells of life's greatest pleasures and all the emotions that come with it.

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. ...more

5

Jul 07, 2011

I was in the fifth grade, devouring The Hardy Boys and Chip Hilton, on the cusp of adolescence, when a nun put this in my hands. Holding the thickness, I wondered at the malicious minds that devised new tortures for parochial education. But soon, a few chapters in, the world turned for me, colors changed; things and people, I realized, were not what they seemed. So, when I smile softly, or bristle instead, at the passing panoply, the quotidian things in life, it's because long ago someone laid I was in the fifth grade, devouring The Hardy Boys and Chip Hilton, on the cusp of adolescence, when a nun put this in my hands. Holding the thickness, I wondered at the malicious minds that devised new tortures for parochial education. But soon, a few chapters in, the world turned for me, colors changed; things and people, I realized, were not what they seemed. So, when I smile softly, or bristle instead, at the passing panoply, the quotidian things in life, it's because long ago someone laid Cervantes on my desk. Yes, there are faces in the clouds but not everyone sees them. When you're next stopped at a light, turn up your car radio, and match the baselines to the variety of walkers, even if they don't know they're dancing. ...more

4

Mar 23, 2013

CHAPTER XOXO

IN WHICH THE FAMOUS DON QUIXOTE AND HIS SQUIRE SANCHO PANZA TIME-TRAVEL AND DISCOVER THE INTERNET

Now as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were on their way to Saragossa, they chanced upon a certain madman raving on the road, the said madman wearing a robe of tattered condition repeatedly bellowed shouts of “To kill an infidel is not murder; it is the path to heaven!” Sancho, hearing the madman was not a little amused. But Don Quixote was quite perplexed. He said to Sancho, “By God, the CHAPTER XOXO

IN WHICH THE FAMOUS DON QUIXOTE AND HIS SQUIRE SANCHO PANZA TIME-TRAVEL AND DISCOVER THE INTERNET

Now as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were on their way to Saragossa, they chanced upon a certain madman raving on the road, the said madman wearing a robe of tattered condition repeatedly bellowed shouts of “To kill an infidel is not murder; it is the path to heaven!” Sancho, hearing the madman was not a little amused. But Don Quixote was quite perplexed. He said to Sancho, “By God, the saints take me if what this prophet is saying is not the gospel.” which Sancho replied, “The Lord works in mysterious ways. This madman is providing mirth to weary travellers and rebuke to infidels.” Don Quixote was struck by the irreverence of Sancho’s words and the sacrilegious usage of his proverb. He gave a smack to Sancho’s cheek and said “Thou drolleries are of ill will, thy proverbs are of Satan, may God forgive this sinful servant!” For Don Quixote had fancied the madman to be a person of the cloth and beheld him a clergy spreading the Lord’s good work. Sancho was taken aback. “A thousand cudgelings I have taken but non hurt as much as that smack on my cheek. Thou knowest thy servant is not the most well-mannered squire in the world, but my drolleries and proverbs are what I consider my bread and butter as the proverb states tis better to eat bread than pretend to eat cake. And to think I have taken this smack all for a madman!” Don Quixote was not but a little furious. “Confound thee you rascally clown! Thou stringeth proverbs as a noose around thy neck. I shall be thy hangman if thou wilt not shut thy mouth. For a squire to speak ill will against the Almighty’s messenger is to speak against the Almighty himself. And the squire’s punishment from heaven shall be multiplied tenfold and given to thy master likewise. Thou should learn to put a lid on thy pot as tis better to be safe than sorry.” Sancho was enraged by this for he fancied to himself that if he had a taste for proverbs, then his master had an appetite for them. Now as the knight-errant and squire were arguing astride Rocinante and Dapple, the two had been arguing for quite some time that they didn’t notice that they had long passed the madman, they were stirred by a red light that blinded them both and were deafened by a loud noise that sounded much like a million cannons firing off at the same time. Sancho was scared out of his wits and immediately fell off of Dapple and hid behind a large boulder praying to the virgin and to all the saints, rosary in hand. Don Quixote however, being the valiant knight-errant, was delighted by such a spectacle and filled his head with thoughts of an adventure of grand proportions. When the smoke cleared, they chanced upon one of the rarest sights of this adventure. The author Cide Hamete likens the sight to that of the Archangel Gibreel’s fiery chariot, proclaiming not for another thousand years shall a spectacle be ever seen again. For what greeted Don Quixote and cowardly Sancho was a metal contraption that had four wheels, much like a cart, but no mule or oxen in front. Inside a hollow space covered in front by glass was a man in a queer-fashioned attire. The queer man came out of the contraption, approached Don Quixote and said “What year is it?” Don Quixote struck by the lack of respect of the queer man replied “Give me your name cart-master, and I shall give you mine.” The queer man replied “The name’s Marty McFly, how are ya doin sir?” “I am the Knight of Lions formerly the Knight of the Rueful Countenance, no other than the renowned Don Quixote of La Mancha, I am riding my horse and should like to inquire as to the nature of that marvelous contraption.” Said Don Quixote delighted that he had been recognized a knight due to the “sir” addressed to him. “Oh, that? That’s a car but it’s also a time-machine, used to get back to the future and whatnot…” But before the queer man could finish his speech, he was cudgeled in the back of his head by Sancho Panza. “Ahhh the devil, go back to the hell were thou hast come from!!” Don Quixote was surprised by everything that happened that he was immobile and stared at the prostate man for quite some time. After he recovered his senses he declared “By God, Sancho! I think you’ve killed him. He was no devil, you dimwit! Granted, he was no Christian either by his attire, so I should think it not a sin to kill him. But I would have fancied learning more about him and his contraption.” “Aye, said Sancho, as the messenger speechified ‘to kill an infidel is not murder, tis the path to heaven.’ I should fancy that heaven has rejoiced for my actions, and it bears me great relief that that if I fail to become a governor or a bishop in this life, I could become a saint in the everlasting realm for killing a devil or infidel or beast-child.” “Thou hast spoken truly, Sancho” said Don Quixote. But he was so charmed by the weird contraption that he unmounted Rocinante and went inside it. Sancho was moved by fear for his master and entered the contraption with him in order to plead that they burn it and ask forgiveness from the virgin for being so un-catholic. Don Quixote however would do no such thing and was delighted by the panels and colorful buttons on the dashboard. Being a knight-errant has its perks and one of them being fearless curiosity; he pressed the buttons and hit the gas. Before Sancho could say ten hail-marys, they were speeding on the road and the contraption making all sorts of sounds. “Look at it go, Sancho! Tis faster than Rocinante and Dapple combined!” said Don Quixote full of mirth. Then everything seemed to fade and they were blinded and deafened and out of sync. In a moment, they recovered from being disoriented and were given such a surprise as to what they saw. In front of them was glorious medieval battle being fought. Don Quixote’s heart was stirred and he came out of the car and joined the fighting whacking and delivering cudgels to all who came upon his path. He was heard uttering cries of “For the lady Dulcinea del Toboso the peerless!” Sancho, though, was paralyzed by the sight and remained praying hail-marys inside the car. Meanwhile, Don Quixote encountered a valiant opponent. A great man with long hair and blue paint on his face, the man was attired in a weird skirt and shouting “For Scotland! For Scotland!” He slashed everyone who opposed him and they fell. Before long, as great men tend to be drawn and aware of greatness, the two opponents squared together. The Scotland man gave a slash with his broadsword and Don Quixote parried, he gave a slash of his own and cut a shallow wound on the man’s elbow. The man shouted “What the fuck man, are you trying to kill me?!!” “Isn’t that the whole idea of war, villain!” replied Don Quixote. He gave another blow and hit the man in the head and the man fell. Everybody stopped moving. One of the soldiers bent down, checked then said “Dude, you just killed Mel Gibson.” Don Quixote was elated. He didn’t know who the person was. But if everybody stopped fighting then he must have been a knight of great reputation. He shouted, “Let it be known that this day the great Don Quixote of La Mancha, Knight of Lions formerly Knight of the Rueful Countenance, conquered Sir Mel Gibson of Scotland. I command you all to pay your respects to the Lady Dulcinea del Toboso and recount to her this great story of valor and conquest under the oath of knight-errantry. You are all compelled to do this under the pain of evoking heaven’s wrath. That is all.” But instead of admiration, which he was expecting. The faces of the men were filled with anger and they gave him smacks and cudgels and his state was such a sorry one that he would have gone to his Maker, had not Sancho intervened, hauled him into the car and started the contraption to escape the angry mob. It was just then, when they were speeding away that Sancho noticed the weird boxes with lenses that surrounded the scene and the chairs and tables filled with victuals that were spread out. He cursed himself for missing out on the victuals and uttered a cry of despair for forgetting his trusty Dapple when he read a big sign saying “The Set of Brave Heart 1998” He gave a shake of his head for he didn’t know what it meant and pressed the red button. Then it happened again. Everything seemed to fade and they were blinded and deafened and out of sync, then they crashed. Don Quixote and Sancho found themselves in a weird room. It was quite dark, they considered it might be night-time. When they could see more clearly, they were astounded by the things around them. Sancho exclaimed, “Tis might be hell we have stumbled upon, my master. Ohhh, that my wife and children are left bereaved and wanting. God bless them, God forgive me.” “Shut thy trap, Sancho!”, remarked Don Quixote “tis not hell yet, see the person in the corner scared such that his mother might have considered him a braying pig. There are no cowardly clowns in hell, which is a place filled with demons, left-handed sinners, and moors.” “Thou art quite right my master.” Sancho now being quite reassured, ventured towards the beautiful man fairly scared in the corner. “What are thou called, stranger?” The man replied, “Dude, why did you crash your car into my room? This is fucking weird, my room’s on the second floor.” Don Quixote took over and said, “Speak up my good man, for if thy handsome countenance is any indication of thy person, I should assume thee to be intelligent and fair. Do not fret, for I shall ask Sancho here to make reparations for the unwanted destruction of property we have caused you. What art thou called?” The beautiful man responded, “You can call me JR.. JR Bacdayan” “Well, Sir JR Bacdayan of the handsome countenance, what is that gleaming contraption there on your right side?” Don Quixote was pointing at a laptop and was staring at it quite fondly. It was showing a video of a cat playing the piano. Don Quixote and Sancho were both intrigued and delighted. “My good man, is this the container of your talented cat? I have never seen a species of the feline family with such gifted acumen for music.” JR was laughing now, “Oh, that’s just the internet; it’s filled with information and stuff.” JR felt downright ecstatic, having caught a scent as to the two men’s identities. He thought to himself that he must be in a dream or something better. He asked them, “Want to see something neat?” By which Sancho replied, “I like clean things, my good man. Let us see if thou can clean better than I, for it is said that cleanliness is next to godliness.” Don Quixote gave a nod of agreement and JR was not but a little amused. So JR went to the laptop and clicked another browser tab. It displayed an awesome website and there was an unfinished writing in a language neither Don Quixote nor Sancho Panza could understand. Don Quixote inquired, “My friend, can thou relate to us what this texts mean?” JR grinned and said it was a book review of a novel he just read. He cleared his throat and read aloud, “Don Quixote is essentially a satirical novel about knight-errantry but it also encompasses the medieval life and remains a relevant totem of nobility and gracefulness in our times. It’s a lasting testament left by our forefathers on how to properly conduct ourselves in this mad world we live in.” Both Don Quixote and Sancho exchanged astounded looks. They were confused. But suddenly, a smile crept upon their lips, and slowly, steadily, the three of them started laughing. Their loud laughter was heard throughout the night. ...more

3

Aug 01, 2011

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, may be the beginning of slapstick.

This is regarded as one of the greatest novels of all time, and in a universal group. It is very entertaining, and even at times laugh out loud funny, which is strange considering its age, written around 1600, a contemporary of Shakespeare’s works.

Written in two parts, the second written and published ten years after the first, the second part more serious, and is in a different style. Though perhaps more jocular, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, may be the beginning of slapstick.

This is regarded as one of the greatest novels of all time, and in a universal group. It is very entertaining, and even at times laugh out loud funny, which is strange considering its age, written around 1600, a contemporary of Shakespeare’s works.

Written in two parts, the second written and published ten years after the first, the second part more serious, and is in a different style. Though perhaps more jocular, the first part is inferior to the second, perhaps Cervantes had matured as a writer and had gotten better.

Still, for a 400-year-old novel, it remains somewhat timeless. A good book.

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5

Oct 06, 2018

6/5.

This is quite simply the greatest thing I’ve ever read.

RTC

3

Aug 13, 2019

My god this was a long book and when I told my boyfriend I was reading this he tried to tell me I should read Das Kapital with him as well which is almost twice this long like no thank you. It was an okay book, I definitely enjoyed it more than I've enjoyed other classics I've picked up. It kind of reminded me of reading Candide because it had that same sort of satirical tone. Sancho was pretty amusing through out the book and Don Quixote's adherence to his belief that he was a knight was My god this was a long book and when I told my boyfriend I was reading this he tried to tell me I should read Das Kapital with him as well which is almost twice this long like no thank you. It was an okay book, I definitely enjoyed it more than I've enjoyed other classics I've picked up. It kind of reminded me of reading Candide because it had that same sort of satirical tone. Sancho was pretty amusing through out the book and Don Quixote's adherence to his belief that he was a knight was something. Some parts were better than others and I think I did enjoy part one of this a lot more than I enjoyed part two. The digs at whoever wrote the fake second part however through the actually second part written by Cervantes were pretty funny in their pettiness. I just also think the ending was kind of ridiculous where Don Quixote dies on his deathbed and suddenly he's sane and is denouncing chivalry. Felt dumb and unnecessary when the whole point of the book was to make fun of Don Quixote for his silliness in trying to imitate the stories of knights and since everything said there had been mentioned in the book at some point. I feel like I probably lost out on a lot of the word play since I was reading a translated version, though Sancho mixing up words was still included through out. I got pretty bored hearing Don Quixote complaining about Sancho's proverbs endlessly like how many comments on that does one need? Definitely enjoyed part one more for the parts of the story that weren't just related to Don Quixote and a footnote said people disliked the inclusion of things like the short novel but I actually liked them and so I missed it in part two. Just want to take a moment to say contemporary writing is definitely better than any of the classics I've read but I guess it's nice to see where the influence is coming from for all the contemporary books I might enjoy. ...more