Don Quixote (1605)

Abandoned for the second time before the end of Part 1. I know, I know--but it's so repetitive and flat-out unfunny. It's the same joke over and over and over. And while there's something archetypical in the Knight of the Rueful Countenance and his squire, the page-by-page reading gets more laborious, to the point where it feels like homework. This is a book more honored in the breach than the observance. ( )

“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. And the relationship between Quixote and Sancho is one of the most beautiful friendships in literature. And then there are all the meta-fictional or postmodern tricks. There’s just so much to talk about.

Violent slapstick isn’t to everyone’s taste and four hundred-year-old Spanish satire, where you have to read the footnotes to get the punch line, is … tricky. There is not in all the world’s literature, and that of the universe, as far as we know, and if you follow positivist logic, being as no other life has as of yet been detected, two palsy and yet hierarchised figures whose genial, sharp, philosophical and jocoserious dialogue, and whose philosophical adventures, bring them so endearing and humanly close to each other as the “Distinguidos” Señores Alonso Quijano and Sancho Panza. It is worth it to learn Spanish and travel the entire peninsula, which Alberti said looks like the hide of a bull, just to appreciate the impressive genius with which a writer can glean and reproduce in words the soul of his land.

Cervantes also proves being a misogynist does not preclude great literature. Nor does being a violent, macho hypocrite. Hemingway sends his regards. ( )

I feel like I should throw myself a party having finally finished Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote," which took me about two months to read. It was overall a worthwhile read, even though it sometimes became a bit tedious, it was mostly an interesting book.

As most people are probably aware, Don Quixote goes a bit off his rocker, becomes a knight errant and crisscrosses the countryside with his trusty squire Sancho Panza. They get into heaps of trouble while he tilts at windmills, which he believes are dragons, and pining for the love of the Dulcinea de Toboso, whom he believes is enchanted and trapped in a cave. As Don Quixote's reputation spread, people take advantage of his madness for their own amusement.

While I felt first portion of the book got a bit repetitive, Cervantes seemed to get better as he went along about putting Don Quixote in new amusing situations. This is definitely one of those classic books I'm happy to have finally read, but that I probably would never read again. ( )

The worst thing about finishing Don Quixote is that I feel as though I should have a lot more to say about 940 pages of classic literature that I read over the span of 5 or so months than I actually do. I read too many other things and thought about too many other things in between spurts of reading that really all I can say about it is "I finished." It didn't affect me as deeply as other classics I've read, but I don't think my opinion is going to detract from it's fame and greatness at all. I laughed a little, I was bored sometimes, but I finished it. ( )

illustrated by enric ricart, printed on sumptuous watermarked guarro paper
printed by oliva de vilanova barcelona.
638/1500. ( )