Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616)

Es difícil precisar exactamente por qué Don Quijote de la Mancha sigue siendo no solo un clásico de clásicos, sino una magnífica novela.
No le faltan defectos: estructura desordenada; algunas discordancias entre distintos capítulos; algunos episodios demasiado retóricos o artificiosos; la barrera lingüística que presenta un libro con cuatrocientos años de edad; sus intimidantes mil doscientas páginas…
Sus personajes evolucionan y se sienten reales. A medida que avanzas en la show more lectura, Don Quijote y Sancho se sienten cada vez más como tus amigos reales, amigos que te hacen reír y te conmueven. Cada uno de los dos tiene su conjunto de rasgos distintivos y contrastantes, pero a medida que la historia avanza, don Quijote se «sanchifica» y Sancho se «quijotiza».
La novela sirve de plataforma para reflexionar sobre temas como la distinción entre realidad y fantasía, la diversidad de puntos de vista, los ideales y el pragmatismo, la naturaleza de la ficción, la libertad, la amistad, el amor, la locura y la dualidad del ser humano.
Don Quijote y Sancho se han convertido en símbolos duraderos de España, del mundo hispanohablante y de las complejas dualidades del ser humano. En esto consiste, en parte, la perdurabilidad de la novela como clásico universal.
Un viaje tanto a la realidad mundana como al imaginario fantástico de la España de finales del siglo XVII.
Un libro que se presenta como infinito, que nunca se agota, que siempre se puede leer de otra forma, del que siempre se pueden sacar tesoros escondidos, y del que se pueden hacer (y se han hecho) innumerables interpretaciones.
Una lectura ineludible antes de fenecer... show less

Many people have heard of Don Quixote (or Don Quijote in this translation), but to read both volumes of the book takes some reading commitment. It was the next book on my shelf and although not unread; I had read it such a long time ago I had only a vague impression. Reading today a revised translation by Diana De Armas Wilson with its introduction by the original translator Burton Raffel was very much in keeping with Miguel de Cervantes claiming that his Don Quijote was a translation from show more the Arabic historian Cide Hamete Benengeli, which put me in tune with the meta fictional aspects of this book.

It has been labelled as the first novel ever written, (first volume published in 1605), but I can vouch to the fact that this is not true having read novels from the previous century. It's claim to be the first modern novel bears more consideration, as from my reading experience it shines like a beacon of light, a sort of lighthouse beacon which lights the way for character development and interior reflections, authorial interventions, open ended interpretations, and endless discussions on the aims and objectives of the author. The dark side of the lighthouse beacon is its disparagement of the subject matter of the popular fiction of its time, the books of chivalry: knights in armour riding out to do fantastic deeds. These are the very books that caused Don Quijote to go insane. He was of the opinion that all the stories written on chivalry must be historically accurate, because they were printed in books. Why would anyone write about things that were not true, that did not happen. There is a scene very early on in the first volume when Don Quijote has returned exhausted from his first adventure and the priest and the barber go through his library throwing out of the window all the bad books on chivalry that they intend to burn.

The basic premise of the novel is that a rich landowner Don Quijote has become infatuated and addicted to books of chivalry and takes it upon himself to revive the whole idea of knight errantry. Cervantes says:

"Indeed his mind was so tattered and torn that finally, it produced the strangest notion any madman ever conceived, and then considered it not just appropriate but inevitable. As much for the sake of his own greater honour as for his duty to the nation, he decided to turn himself into a knight errant, travelling all over the world with his horse and his weapons, seeking adventures and doing everything that, according to his books, earlier knights had done, righting every manner of wrong, giving himself the opportunity to experience every sort of danger, so that surmounting them all, he would cover himself with eternal fame and glory"

Don Quijote recruits an employee of his Sancho Panza to be his squire and saddles up his old horse Rocinante, puts on some old armour and together they ride out; Sancho Panza on his beloved donkey, looking for adventures. Not only is Don Quijote insane, but he also suffers from hallucinations, seeing wayside inns as castles, windmills as giants, and herds of sheep as a marauding army. He also dreams of an impossibly beautiful woman who will be the love of his life and to whom he will dedicate his conquests: the matchless Dulcinea del Tobolso. Tobolso is a town near where Don Quijote lives and he might have caught sight of a pretty girl there.

There have been many interpretations of Don Quijote. A ribald, knockabout, slapstick comedy; there are certainly many funny incidents along the way that can make the reader laugh out loud. A loveable idealist who follows his heart and an unflappable optimist. A tragic hero figure in the best traditions of a romantic interpretation. Christians might interpret him as a Christ like figure, or that it is a cabalistic Jewish text. Some may think it is an allegory of Spanish politics or an attack on romantic chivalry that Cervantes claims it to be. It is in my opinion primarily a novel about insanity, self delusion and how other people handle, care for, or make fun of people who are insane. Don Quijote's sanity comes and goes, in book two his periods of lucidity increase until he returns home almost cured of his delusions. During his adventures people are often surprised by his educated response to questions, he gives Sancho Panza excellent advice on how to be a governor of a municipality. Don Quijote's insanity leads inevitably to mood swings, he is easily angered and in fact twice tries to kill Sancho Panza.

Many classic works are infused with thoughts and ideas about writing and literature and Don Quijote is no exception to this. The prologue of the book addressed to the idle reader written by Cervantes talks about the difficulties of writing the prologue, reminding readers that he is only the stepfather to the book not its parent. He then tells of a conversation with a friend who tells him shortcuts to write a successful piece of literature. Throughout the actual novel there are pauses where Cervantes reflects on the art of writing.

The two volumes were printed nine years apart and in the second volume the metafictional aspects take another turn. We are told that Don Quijote has become famous, because people have read about his exploits in the first volume. He starts to be recognised and some people take advantage of his fame. He complains however, that there seems to be two Don Quijote's riding around; one who is a bit of an idiot and one who is accomplishing good deeds, one book is poorly written while the other can stand up as a piece of literature. This together with authorial interventions, perhaps by the parent: Cide Hamete Benengali or perhaps the step father Cervantes himself adds further to the innovations that are introduced by the author.

The two volumes together make a superb reading experience. There are Don Quijote's sometimes rather puzzling exploits, there are stories within stories. There are two tremendous characters in the knight himself and his proverb loving squire Sancho Panza, who develop characteristics from each other. The stories are funny, sometimes violent, sometimes contemporary to that period of Spanish rule: the expulsion of the Moors and the jews feature heavily. Of course the reader rides along with Don Quijote sucking up the atmosphere of Spain in the early 17th century wondering about the next adventure that will befall the insane duo and caring about the health of the duo as well as despairing about the damage they cause. The Norton Critical Edition contains an excellent introduction and a beautiful translation. The criticism section however, leaves something to be desired. I know it is difficult to come to a conclusion about the main theme or thrust of this novel, but most of the extracts focus on individual stories. Some attempt at an overall impression would have been welcome. It is a book that one can return to and enjoy individual stories and exploits, with the whole scope of the book firmly in mind. Wonderful and a five star read. show less

"The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it surfaces above lies, as oil on water."

Don Quixote is a middle-aged man from the region of La Mancha in Spain obsessed with reading books about chivalrous knights errant. One day he decides to set out, taking with him an honest but simple farm labourer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, armed with a lance and a sword to right wrongs and rescue damsels. On his horse, Rozinante, who like his master is well past his prime, Don Quixote show more rides the roads of Spain in search of adventure and glory.

None of Don Quixote's adventures never really turn out as he would have hoped and his triumphs are more imaginary than real. He abandons a boy tied to a tree and being whipped by a farmer, simply because the farmer swears an oath that he will not harm the boy. He steals a barber’s basin believing it to be a mythical helmet, frees a wicked and devious man who has been sentenced to become a galley slave, absconds from an inn where he has spent the night without paying because he believes that he was a guest in a castle and therefore shouldn't have to pay. However, not everything that Don Quixote does turns out bad. He does manage, if unwittingly, to reunite two couples who had become estranged.

Despite often bearing the brunt of the physical punishments that result from Don Quixote’s erratic behaviour, Sancho nonetheless remains loyal to his master as he endeavours to limit Don Quixote's outlandish fantasies. The first part of the novel ends when two of Don Quixote’s friends, tricks him into returning home.

Once back in his home all of Don Quixote's books on knights errantry are burnt in an attempt to cure him of his madness but unfortunately it is far too deeply rooted to be cured so simply and it is only a matter of time before he sets out on his travels once again, accompanied by his faithful squire.

During the intervening period of time whilst they were back at home a book has been written relating the pair's earlier escapades making them infamous. Don Quixote and Sancho meet a Duke and Duchess who have read the book about their exploits and conspire to play tricks on them for their own amusement. Whilst staying with them Sancho becomes the governor of a fictitious island which he rules for ten days before resigning reasoning that it is better to be a happy farm labourer than a miserable governor.

On leaving the Duke and Duchess the pair travel on to Barcelona where Don Quixote is beaten and battered in a joust. They return to their respective homes where Don Quixote comes to recognise his folly whilst suffering from a fever which ultimately kills him.

Now I must admit that I was not expecting too much before starting this but was very pleasantly surprised as I found myself on more than one occasion in tears of laughter. Likewise I enjoyed many of the conversations between Don Quixote and Sancho. I ended up almost feeling rather sorry for Don Quixote in his madness as he strived to recreate a world that never really existed. In particular I felt sorry by how he was treated by the Duke and Duchess and was uncertain whether they were merely cruel or as barmy as our two heroes. However, I also found the novel overly long and at times fairly repetitive, equally as one of my fellow reviewers have stated I hated the fact that some of the paragraphs were several pages long. Although I did enjoy it, it was a plod rather than a sprint through it. I am glad that I've read it but it is highly unlikely that I will bother to revisit it. show less

When I revisited Don Quixote, I was floored by how modern it feels. Beneath the armor, the pratfalls, and the absurdity, it’s one of the most human stories ever told ... about a man so desperate to find purpose in life that he invents one. And somehow, we cheer him on for it.

Cervantes had the nerve to write about the death of idealism … and make it funny. He understood the madness of believing in something too deeply, and the tragedy of those who don’t believe in anything at all. show more Quixote tilts at windmills not because he’s insane, but because he refuses to accept a world stripped of wonder.

Maybe that’s why this book still hits me so hard. In wine, in art, in life, we’re all chasing that impossible balance between reason and passion ... between what is and what could be. At Rasa, we even named a wine after him: Tilting at Windmills ... a Grenache, Cab, and Syrah blend made in the Priorat style ... because Quixote’s spirit belongs in every bottle that dares to dream beyond convention.

Reading it again last year reminded me how much joy and heartbreak Cervantes packs into every scene. You laugh, you sigh, you ache … and you realize that maybe tilting at windmills isn’t madness after all. Maybe it’s the only sane way to live. show less