Book Description
Launched simultaneously in Spain and the Americas, this work aims to divulge the great novel of Spanish Literature by means of a high quality, well-taken care of edition at a very reduced price. The book contains a prologue by Mario Vargas Llosa, an introductory text and complementary analysis by other academics, along with an extensive glossary of terms that will help readers get to know Cervantes' language. This beautiful hardbound edition is 5 x 8 inches, 1360 pages of fine biblical Italian paper, and will be sewn at the spine with fine vegetable thread. This work constitutes, without a doubt, the most complete, serious, high quality commemorative edition.
Having an immediate success when first published 400 years ago, and with its experimental form and literary playfulness, Don Quixote has been recognized as the world's first modern novel. Don Quixote tells the story of a middle-aged Spanish gentleman who, obsessed with the chivalrous ideals found in romantic books, decides to take up his lance and sword to defend the helpless, destroy the wicked, and win the heart of his beloved Dulcinea. Seated upon his ever so lean horse, and accompanied by the pragmatic and faithful squire Sancho Panza, Don Quixote rides the roads of Spain seeking glory and grand adventure. Along the way the duo meet a dazzling assortment of characters whose diverse beliefs and perspectives reveal how reality and imagination are frequently indistinguishable.
Customer Reviews:
Authoritative edition.......2007-10-05
This is a wonderful edition (in Spanish) of this classic. It's surprisingly modern and entertaining in the original Spanish. The footnotes are very helpful. The book is compact and easy to transport. Essays about the text round out the novel. If you want to read Don Quijote in the original language, this is the book to get. The price is right. The binding is excellent. My only complaint is the small print which is a little hard on the eyes, but probably only for older readers (like me).
A highly entertaining, unforgettable masterpiece.......2007-08-21
I read Don Quijote in Spanish (my native language) and actually started the book as a sort of challenge. I am not daunted by long books or by the classics, but I was afraid I would not care much for the story of the madman who fancies himself a knight after reading too many chivalry novels.
I started out with a lot of dread - the language is old-fashioned and it needs a little getting used to. I had to look up words frequently and I thought the whole 1100 pages would be a chore. But I was in for a big surprise: not only did I get used to the language right away (the notes to this edition are very helpful in that regard), I also started to enjoy its beauty. Cervantes has a way with words that is a delight to Spanish speakers of any time or age. And it is so funny! I found myself laughing out loud many times, especially at Cervantes' turns of phrase or at the sheer ridiculousness of the situations Don Quijote and Sancho get themselves into... what a delight! I had certainly not expected this book to be FUNNY - but it IS!
Also: Don Quijote and Sancho Panza are two of the most endearing characters I have found in literature, absolutely lovable. I had a hard time saying goodbye to them at the end of the book. And as Jorge Luis Borges said, it seems Cervantes had a hard time letting go of Alonso Quijano, too: the death of Don Quijote is told in a sentence that gets me every time in its simplicity and its love for the subject.
I won't go into the metafiction aspect of the novel - I mostly read for pleasure and I'm not a literary critic, but I enjoyed the essays that accompany this edition. In particular, that of Mario Vargas Llosa really opened my eyes to the fiction-within-fiction and the construction of the novel, as well as to other aspects of Don Quijote that enriched my experience of the novel.
In sum - this book works at all levels and for almost anyone, old or young. It delivers entertainment, two memorable and thoroughly lovable characters and food for thought, all in one package. Quite an accomplishment. No wonder Cervantes is among the literature greats!
An Antti Keisala Comment: Introspective Quijote........2007-02-19
I haven't yet gained the courage to give any special comment to any of the Shakespeares. But I'm now going to embark on the second hardest path: to say anything meaningful of Cervantes.
Cervantes is the creator of much, and if I tell you that I believe he has, alongisde to the Bible and Shakespeare, created the Western consciousness (here confess being heavily influenced by Bloom) I think you might get an idea of how much I respect the man and his work. And then I'm interested in something I call narrative introspection, which is basically a personal transmogrification of other theories of self-consciousness and self-reference in storytelling. If nothing else, I'm going to shed some light on this subject.
It feels daunting to write anything about Don Quijote, because like Hamlet, he seems to have usurped our culture in such a way that they're simply larger than the limits we know. They've been shaping our literary culture in such a profound way it's almost impossible to either approach them or given any new insight into them. That is, this comment doesn't pretend to be important in any way. And because in every instance I make clear that Bloom is an important influence in my ways of reading, I'll paraphrase him as he talks about the paradigm of how poets can't be Adams in the early morning; that there've been too many Adams that have already named everything. We simply approach wisdom and wit greater than ours, whatever we do. This is, in fact, a nicely and healthily humble way of approach Cervantes. He is one of the few Adams I can tell who have been naming everything for us.
The Introspective Narrative. So let's begin by talking about the introspective narrative. This is a term that simply refers to the self-conscious nature of narrative. If you know your Quijote, you already know exactly the things I refer to. Tristram Shandy is like this. Bulgakov, Joyce, Proust, Borges, Saramago, all of them and many more. This happens when a book is openly a book, and many times a book about books. Quijote is to me the epitome of this approach to literature, as in here the whole structure is astonishingly complicated. So complicated, in fact, that not many modern books can match this.
First, we have a book that Cervantes, the narrator, claims to have in his possession. This book is arguably written in Arabic, of which the humble narrator merely makes a translation. An interesting detail is that in Islamic countries any translation of the Qu'ran is treated only as an interpretation. If we select an approach like this it already adds another layer to the story: that what we get is not only a translation, it's an interpretation of the original. Then we have the story itself, that of an elderly man living in the villa of La Mancha, interested in romances of chivalry. What happens is like from a dream come true: the reality of this elderly man mixes with the reality (or should we say 'fiction') of the romances in a way that creates a character called Don Quijote (I rather use this spelling over Quixote) who starts to live this chivarly fiction. What happens is something unique in works that were to come: a shift of reality, where we can view both realities, occurs not mechanically but organically through the most genius device: Quijote starts to enchant Sancho Panza, who starts believing his master's fiction. Sancho is the centre of all the different kind of shifts, as there are some obvious things he recongizes as fiction, yet some he believes. And then there are stories told throughout and some of these mesh with the 'reality' we're attached to, that of Quijote/Pancha.
The latter volume takes this further. If you don't already know, there was an imitation-Cervantes publishing an alleged second part to Don Quijote. Cervantes himself addresses this in the preface, but takes it further by inserting that book into the reality of Don Quijote: Quijote, who of course is a 'fictional' character in his own world, finds out that there is a book of a hidalgo named Don Quijote that has been published and getting some widespread attention. Characters move from layer to layer, and characters that are fictional to our Sancho and company suddenly emerge in the same layer as do our heroes.
It shouldn't be that surprising that such introspection is natural and extremely organically handled in Spanish-language (or Portuguese) literature, and now cinema. Borges, an Argentine, is a literary giant who dedicated much of writings to ideas like this; Saramago, perhaps the greatest living writer alongside Harold Pinter, does the same yet with a synthesis that's highly unpredictable and shrouded into the wafflings of the narrator, as in "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ" and "Stone Raft". Gabriel García Marquez helped to create a re-emerging literary genre with his magical realism, a sort of an anti-thesis to the `artificial', that is, provocative self-reference of the works like Tristram Shandy. In cinema Julio Medem and others (Almodóvar, Cuarón, Iñárritu) are rewriting the ways in which you show narrative visually.
The Style of Cervantes: Irony & Self-Reference. The gamut of Cervantes' ironic flare is distinguishably excessive, erratic in a sophisticated way that's comparable to only that of Shakespeare or Chaucer. This is the funniest book, especially if you're into the whole self-reference thing. There is constant punning and sublime irony. Only Bulgakov is as radically and deliciously grotesque with his irony, making him the decendant of Cervantes, just as Douglas Adams could be the descendant of Lewis Carroll. The second part is more unified, but it lacks the fervent humour. But there the irony becomes organically a part of the shifting layers, and this is the birth of a kind of layered irony, where the layers themselves comment on each in an ironic way.
I haven't read Cervantes in English so I can't comment on the translation. I know it in the original Spanish and Finnish, my native language, in which we have an excellently ironic translation available. Yet if you're looking for an edition in the original Spanish, this is worthy; this is the 400th anniversary Real Academia edition I'm talking about. It has editorial insight, yet what it preserves is the beauty of Cervantes' language. Modern Spanish meanings of difficult words to comprehend are given in annotation. I've been reading this with the Finnish translation, then by itself, and it's a profound experience. And I'm really not the right person to brag about his Spanish. But this is a great edition to strengthen both your Spanish and read the great genius in his own, familiar language.
The edition itself is a hefty book, almost 1,400 pages. The paper's thin, yet the text remains readable. Of all the introducing writings, Mario Vargas Llosa's "Una novela para el siglo XXI' is the most vividly written. Also included are Francisco Ayala's "La Invención del `Quijote'" and Martín de Riquer's "Cervantes y el `Quijote'". Notes on the text are provided in summary by Francisco Rico. A glossary of words is also provided in the end of the book. Very useful, very well thought out.
A treasure of a book.
A Great, Grand, Wonderful Book.......2007-02-13
A middle-aged Spanish gentleman with too much time on his hands devotes himself to romantic novels of knighthood and chivalry. As he loses himself in this literature his mind begins to snap. He decides to become a latter-day knight-errant, a man who rides through the world in an old suit of armor, righting wrongs and protecting the helpless, just like the heroes of his books. His journey through the countryside leads to one disaster after another, one catastrophic misunderstanding after another. Funny--yes, but also touching and moving.
Later Don Quijote is joined by his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, who is supposedly of sound mind--at least sounder than his master--a simple, earthy man given to spewing cliches and trying to correct his master's misconceptions. Sancho also has his fantasy--that he will be rewarded with an island to rule, and riches.
Of course you know what happens--or, do you? The book is packed with diversions, digressions, conversations, poems. pastoral entertainments, dramas of unrequited love, and the growing fame of the characters even as they ride--so that by the end of Part II they are running into people who have read part I. The book is written simply, in conversational style, but packed and layered with meaning.
I think a person should be over fifty to really appreciate Don Quijote, but if you can't wait, well, I won't stop you. You'll just have to read it again later. It's the greatest story of a midlife crisis ever written, but it's also much, much more. A story about mankind and its vanities and its willingness to pursue fantasy and its need for freedom. Don Quijote and Sancho seem to fail at every turn, yet in fact, they have changed the world. And are changing it still. Somewhere, somewhere they're riding still. I recommend this one with total enthusiasm. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Hilarious!.......2007-01-06
If you liked Don Quixote in English, you will LOVE it in Spanish.
Nothing like reading something in its original language. The only problem you could have is not understanding some of the words, and tenses because of the "Old Spanish" but don't worry, this book has footnotes for that.
Nothing gets lost in time.
Buy it, and read it. This version is great!
Book Description
Edith Grossman's definitive English translation of the Spanish masterpiece. Widely regarded as one of the funniest and most tragic books ever written,
Don Quixote chronicles the adventures of the self-created knight-errant Don Quixote of La Mancha and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through sixteenth-century Spain. You haven't experienced
Don Quixote in English until you've read this masterful translation.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Don Quixote.......2007-05-14
This was purchased for my son's high english class. He preferred this edition to the abridged one I had initially purchased at a local bookstore. I have always been able to rely on Amazon to find what I need.
The Funniest and Most Profound Novel Ever Written.......2007-05-07
It is not often noted, but nowhere will you find more beautiful descriptions of nature than in Don Quixote. Check the following description the morning, where "Aurora," of course, is the goddess of dawn.
"And now a thousand kinds of little painted birds began to warble in the trees, and with their blithe and jocund notes they seemed to welcome and salute the fresh Aurora, who already was showing her beautiful countenance through the gates and balconies of the East, shaking from her tresses countless liquid pearls. The plants, bathing in that fragrant moisture, seemed likewise to shed a spray of tiny white gems, the willow trees distilled sweet manna, the fountains laughed, the brooks murmured, and the meadows clad themselves in all their glory at her coming."
One critic said that just when the comedy in Don Quixote is at its best, its meaning is most profound. I agree. I read Don Quixote when I was fifty (the same age Don Quixote set out on his adventures).
I loved the Signet Classics edition translated by Walter Starkie, but there is a lot to be gained by reading the introductions to other editions. I own five different translations, and the introductory essays are excellent.
Critics have often called Don Quixote an "accidental masterpiece." It is as if Cervantes set out to tell a good story with many funny scenes, but by the end, the combination of all these incidents had revealed an astounding work of art.
What are we to make of this idealist who bashes innocent people about the head, leaving them on the ground with blood running out of their ears. As a modern man, I had real problems with that sort of humor--if it was humor. Ah, and there's the rub! said Hamlet.
MORE THAN A CLASSIC.......2007-04-17
I read an older translation in paperback and loved the story, it is truely a classic. When this translation was released I had to have the hardback copy. I read the book again, and have since reread it. I also have the video with JOHN LITHGOW and BOB HOSKINS. Recently I also purchased a framed print by PABLO PICASSO. You might be correct in saying that I am "hooked line and sinker" on this book.
Worth Trying at Least Once.......2007-03-11
When a book is generally considered to be not only the first but the best novel of all time, there's not a whole lot to add to the conversation. About the only thing to comment on is whether or not the story is of interest to a modern audience. And of course, the answer is "maybe". Here are three things to think about:
It's very long. The two parts (originally published about a decade apart), are about 500 pages each. If that's daunting, the good news is that one can read just about any chapter at random and have a pretty good sense of whether or not one will like the entire work. Moreover, it's a work that lends itself to episodic reading. It's full of self-contained adventures that can be read in a weekend and then one can put the book aside, read something else, and come back to it weeks later with no ill effects.
It's very easy to read. The prose is very very accessible -- at least in this newest translation. The writing is of its era, which is to say at times its long-winded, flowery, mannered, repetitive. It's also surprisingly funny and coarse -- in a Three Stooges and fart jokes kind of way. There are plenty of other surprises, such as stories within stories, and elements of metafiction in part II.
It's enjoyable on several levels. The episodic adventures of the bumbling knight-errant wannabe and his proverb-laden sidekick can be read and enjoyed on a purely surface level. However, there are plenty of layers to be explored by those with a desire to do so. For example, Quixote's quests raise some fairly large questions of faith and idealism, not to mention questions of sanity and reality. There are plenty of social questions to, such as matter of class and religion, and whether or not Cervantes is satirizing the elite and clergy.
So, if the notion of reading a book written four-hundred years ago sounds ridiculous to you, then you probably aren't going to like it. If the idea of reading a classic piece of literature appeals to you, but seems daunting, it's worth dipping into to see if it's your cup of tea. On the whole, it's a work probably best read as part of a book group or in some other semi-formal setting, where one can discuss it, since there is quite a bit lurking beneath its picaresque depths.
Humanities Crowning Literary Achievement.......2007-02-10
No other writing encompasses as much ground as this novel. It is the story of bravery in the face of unsurmountable odds.
Alonso Quixano was a man who loved to read. He particularly loved books on Knights and their passion for helping others. The Don took his stories of Knightly heroism so seriously that he believed that he too could right society's wrongs and revive humanity. He followed the ethical codes of Knighthood and convinced a local man, Sancho Panza, to join him in his quest.
Throughout the first part of the novel, they come across many adventures where they valiantly attempt to help others. He travels thoughout Spain to help all he comes across, in the name of his fair maiden Dulcinea del Toboso, who is really a peasant girl who the Don has never seen, but understands that all Knights must have a woman who they fight for, and he has created this imaginary woman as a result. They fail many times in their adventures, and during those times when they do succeed, they are rarely ever appreciated, and ridiculed as a result.
The second part includes similiar adventures, but is also more serious, especially with the conversations between the Don and Sancho. Their downfalls are more painful, and because they have become well-known in Spain as a result of their adventures being printed, the people they come across pretend that they need rescuing, with terrible results, or knowingly play tricks on them to deride their cause.
The Don's good friends begin to see that he has suffered greatly with his efforts, and one of them challenges the Don to a duel. The loser is faced with permanent retirement of Knight-Errantry. Because a Knight never backs down from a challenge, the Don accepts this match and is defeated. The Don admits defeat, and sorrowfully retreats home.
The Don becomes ill, but it is not said as to why. Cervantes himself is unsure, but nonetheless, the Don Quixote becomes very sick and is bed-ridden. Sancho never leaves his side, and the Don regains his, "sanity", realizing that his adventures were futile. He apologizes to a weeping Sancho for causing him to follow his, "illusional" quest for righting wrongs. The Don says goodbye to all and perishes in his bed.
The novel is so vast, that many interpretations and meanings can be concluded as a result.
It is a comedy, a love story, an adventure, a mystery, and ultimately, a tragedy all in one. It comprises every human emotion known to man. It is incredibly detailed with well-defined characters and a contemplation of the present and it's meaning throughout.
Don Quixote went from a man who was laughed and scoffed at in the beginning of the novel, into a man who was well-respected and admired for his bravery. Only in his death did everyone realize that the Don had a great vision. His vision was to help humanity and those who were in need. The greatest gift the Don possessed was the gift of honor. His moral code never wavered, no matter how dire the circumstances.
Finishing the novel, you realize that humanity as a whole is often quite cynical, and rarely does it attempt to change the things which are wrong in the world. When one encounters someone who tries to help others, they are laughed atm like the Don. The greatest moral one can take from this book is to appreciate the Don's bravery, and see that even though the Don may have believed deep-down inside that his many adventures would not be victorious, it was his attempt in the face of defeat that makes him the hero he was.
Book Description
Don Quixote, errant knight and sane madman, with the company of his faithful squire and wise fool, Sancho Panza, together roam the world and haunt readers' imaginations as they have for nearly four hundred years.
Translated with Notes by John Rutherford
Introduction by Roberto González Echevarría
Customer Reviews:
Sublime..........2007-10-07
This translation is actually the best that I have encountered. It is impossible to bring anything terribly critical to such a masterwork (yes, it's one of the few, the proud, the brave). If one were to critique, it would have to be based upon the translation, and again, I find this one to be extraordinarily acceptable and accessible.
I think it's important for readers to know (after reading this particular translation, or any of the recent best) the very crucial gap in time between the first "installment" of this saga and the "second." Problems have arisen in the past, in terms of translations, when the reader is presented with what is essentially one book and a sequel, but this translation militates against some of the usual difficulties.
Essentially, this is one of the great works of human literature that stands the test of time and remains as vibrant today as it was in the day of Cervantes. Supreme characterizations. Supreme wit. Supreme prose. Supreme insight.
If you don't fall in love with Don Quixote and his deliciously hapless "squire," you simply have no soul. Having read it again, I can say that this is a book that brings bittersweet tears to the eyes...simply because it has to end.
Students of the progressive development of the "novel" across what we may very loosely term "modernity" cannot bypass this seminal, pivotal, CRUCIAL component. To do so would be anathema...complete impotence. In fact, I cannot imagine any serious reader of literature (contemporary or otherwise) failing to read and absorb this jewel of human accomplishment.
When an inexpensive edition like this is carefully handled and reverently preserved (for even the most humble library), the enormity of the "pap" we are offered by current "literature" becomes all the more galling.
Long live any and all "Enchanters."
Absolutely delightful.......2007-09-14
Funny that despite it's renown, I didn't really know what to expect when I decided to read Don Quixote. It's a sublimely hilarious meditation on the nature of belief, madness, religion, passion, ambition, creativity...life itself.
I did have a brief period early on where I thought the 'gag' was getting a bit tired, but that was short-lived, as perhaps I realized (if only subconsciously) that this 'gag' was in fact a profound device with which to consider all of the above topics, and by the end I found myself not wanting it to end.
Monty Python, at least 'Holy Grail', owes their life to this book, and in fact I couldn't stop picturing John Cleese as Don Quixote the whole time. I also started thinking Ricky Gervais would make a great Sancho Panza...
Read it. Amazing longevity........2007-08-11
It will keep you smiling and laughing from start to finish. It is not a monumental book you will find yourself struggling to finish. You will be happily reading page after page. As funny as the day it was written. If you are even mildly considering this book, buy it. You will not be dissapointed.
One Of Literatures Greatest Works!.......2007-03-13
"Don Quixote" by Cervantes is a novel that Aubrey Bell once said should be read "in youth, middle age, and old age." Having read it twice now, that just leaves 'old age' for me. [Maybe?] However, I do not believe that this is the greatest novel of all time, as has been professed by many. There are just too many great novels out there, and I do not believe that there is any single book which can claim that honored status. There are too many great books I have read in my life, and hopefully there will be more in my future. Having stated this up front, I do recommend the Samuel Putnam translation. There are many translations out there, and for a novel as long as this one, you might want to save yourself some grief.
Don Quixote is a magnificent novel; and a somewhat delightfully humorous one at that: However, it does take patience, and the right translation will save you much aggravation. Should you find yourself stuck and not able to go any further, put the book down for awhile and come back to it later when you are in the mood. [I can assure you that this is not a "Finnegans Wake" type novel]. I would have to credit my English teacher, Mr. Thomas, in the 9th grade for turning me on to this novel. Although the book itself was a fixture in my house; and my elder siblings had read the novel, I never really wanted to read the book. However, at the time I was begining to immerse myself in all sorts of literature that was new to me: But this one particular book took a budge.
And that budge came from my English teacher Mr. Thomas, who introduced me to many works of classical literature. And I have been forever grateful to him for doing so: not only for "Don Quixote," but for the many novels he introduced me to; and in doing so he also had the patience in answering my many inquisitive questions. My first reading of "Don Quixote," was the Samuel Putnam translation. What I really liked about that translation was the introductory biographical and critical analysis of not only the novel, but also the life of Cervantes. However, if footnotes are not your cup of tea, then you might want to skip that translation. However, I did find it to be smooth reading. However, I did enjoy the translation by John Rutherford. [Yet, I am still partial to Samuel Putnam's translation: and I do recommend that particular translation].
It is has been pretty much established that Cervantes' novel was the first of its kind: In terms of literary style, as he broke the mold in narrative literature for his time. When I first read this novel, I discovered that there was an extreme dynamism in his writing which until his book came along did not exist. Cervantes breathed life into his characters, and I remember this being one of the first classics of literature that I truly enjoyed reading. Some of the reviewers stated that they liked the first part of the novel more: Yet, I liked the entire novel. I have read many books since I first read "Don Quixote," but for some reason this novel has stayed with me for a long time, as have the memories of my English teacher Mr. Thomas. I highly recommend the novel, and hope that you give it the patience an old classic such as this one merits. [Stars: 4.5]
An overlooked classic.......2006-08-13
As an invertebrate reader, let me just say that I do not require a book to make me laugh at the very first word, let alone the first word of the first page of a PROLOGUE. For reasons the translator himself explains in his introduction, this is a truly astounding piece of the translator's art -- two-belly-laughs-a-page stuff. The long sentences that were fashionable then, translated into easy present-day English, start out so seriously, leading the reader warily [he's not going to get me this time!] into a thicket with an IED of absurdity hidden in it. This is followed by half a page of fairly reasonable stuff to lull you into complacency. It's exhausting.
Cervantes will go places.
A caveat: Cervantes was a wretched failure until he wrote this slender volume at fifty-five. Unless you've lived an unusual life, this kind of irony is for folks well over forty.
Average customer rating:
- Cruel and unusual
- brilliant
- An Excellent Analysis and a Comprehensive Introduction
- Who is Nabokov??? No answers.... and-the-room-was-so-silent-I-heard-a Cough.
- Backhanded homage, Bloom's agon
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Lectures on Don Quixote
Vladimir Nabokov
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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Book Description
A fastidiously shaped series of lectures based on a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the Spanish classic. Rejecting the common interpretation of Don Quixote as a warm satire, Nabokov perceives the work as a catalog of cruelty through which the gaunt knight passes. Edited and with a Preface by Fredson Bowers; photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Cruel and unusual.......2007-06-13
"... one of the most bitter and barbarous books ever penned" said Nabokov about "Don Quixote". Exposing the flood of physical and emotional abuse inflicted on the half insane knight and his largely average squire is at the heart of these lectures. In the early 50's, when Nabokov delivered his lectures on "Don Quixote" at Harvard, this was a radically new take on the classic novel which most critics considered good-natured and almost pastoral. For Nabokov, however, this position was quite in line with his signature irreverent views. He has always been sensitive to human suffering and considered pity for human condition one of the main attributes of art (in his "Lectures on Literature", for example, he especially noted compassion for the lame girl in "Ulysses" and Gregor's quiet suffering as a beetle in "Metamorphosis").
Building up on the themes of cruelty and insanity, Nabokov points out that in 1600's both were enjoyed as entertainment. The raw cruelty of 3,000 lashes that Sancho is to receive, or Don Quixote's suspension by the hand for two hours during which he "bellows like a bull", or the sick pleasure that many of the book's characters derive from Don Quixote's insanity and from playing into it - all that was run of the mill fun in Cervantes's Europe. Nabokov believes that this crude entertainment was the main source of the book's appeal for the readers when the book came out.
The novel's structure (which in Nabokov's world is second only to style) is really nonexistent: "The book belongs essentially to a primitive form, to the loosely strung, higgledy-pickled, variegated picaresque type". Nabokov notes that the many inconsistencies in the book Cervantes seems to either ignore or simply attribute to magic.
The novel's cruelty, its appeal to the "primitive reader" as a source of crude entertainment and its messy structure are described in convincing detail. By comparison, Nabokov's occasional appeal to Cervantes's genius is not developed into a stronger argument. Nabokov does note the dramatic dialogue which is "marvelous [...] even in translation", artistic and original depiction of Don Quixote and the equal number of the knight's losses and victories in each of the two parts of the book (Nabokov associates symmetry and balance with artistic genius). On balance, these lectures are much more about the novel's flaws.
If these lectures prompt one to pick up "Don Quixote", it would not be for the novel's artistic beauty that Nabokov highlighted: the first half of the book is mostly devoted to analyzing the novel's shortcomings and the second part to going over the synopsis of every chapter, with little commentary from Nabokov. These lectures are remarkable, however, for presenting a high standard of reading: for the attention to detail and for their inspiration to develop a literary opinion that you could truly claim your own.
brilliant.......2006-07-18
Great analysis. One only wonders whether, at turns, the criticism should be leveled at the translation.
An Excellent Analysis and a Comprehensive Introduction.......2006-04-30
I bought and read Nabokov's "Lectures on Literature" which is based on his European literature course that he taught at Cornell in the 1950s. That is an excellent guide to seven well known novels: "Mansfield Park, Bleak House, Madame Bovary, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Walk by Swann's Place, The Metamorphosis, and Ulysses." In that set of course notes he dissects each book and spends about 40 pages or so on each novel discussing style, structure, etc. He spends more time on Ulysses and less on Kafka's "The Metamorphosis."
The present book is a bit different. He prepared only six lectures that he gave in the spring of 1952 at Harvard for the course Humanities 2. The aim is to describe and give an overall context for the work "Don Quixote." The notes still exist in six manilla folders and they are the basis of the present book edited by Fredson Bowers.
The course starts with a very brief introduction in the same style as the Cornell lectures with sketches of maps, etc. Next, he describes in detail the character of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Those are the first two chapters, or about 24 pages. Then he describes the structure of the book for another 25 pages, again with copies of Nabokov's actual class notes.
Cruelty and mystification are covered in a similar but lengthy analysis, followed by The Chronicler's Theme, and Victory and Defeats. The second half of the book is a chapter by chapter summary of both volumes I and II. In total, it is just over 200 pages of notes.
As Guy Davenport states in his introduction, the book puts most other teachers to shame who attempt to teach Don Quixote in a week. It is refreshing and detailed, and as Nabokov points out, this is an analysis of a book that evokes cruel laughter. It is not a "gentrified" story of an old book; and, according to Nabakov, such a past but popular interpretation was a misreading of the story. He compares this "crude old book" to the more sophisticated plays of Shakespeare, a contemporary of Cervantes. He spend almost no time on the life of Cervantes, and he thinks that the important focus should be the book itself not Cervantes biography - interesting as his life might have been. He recommends the Samuel Putnam translation or the 1950 Penguin version by J.M. Cohen. He recommends avoiding the Viking Press 1949 version.
This is a comprehensive and easy to read analysis of the first great European novel.
Who is Nabokov??? No answers.... and-the-room-was-so-silent-I-heard-a Cough........2005-12-20
O.K., once again this Russian runaway is subjecting his very own petty preferences on a piece and scope of Western Literature that (HE...Vladimir the Great) is not a part of. Sorry Nabby, but your prose style is too flabby and your envious lil' lectures are a lot too gabby. So who is Nabokov? Well he is a guy who's
book o' pedophilia was only put on the map because a director named Kubrick decided to thumb it's pages. You don't like Hemingway,Camus,Faulkner or Cervantes....alright Nabby, you don't have to like them, your dead and barely living through Lolita. These great authors and their great opuses are still greatly alive with them. Sorry Nabby, maybe in your next lifetime you will be apart of the club.
Backhanded homage, Bloom's agon.......2002-05-04
Nabokov claims to dislike Don Quixote and considers the novel 'crewl' yet spent a significant portion of time analyzing the novel and teaching it. I am reminded of Tolstoy's dismissal of Shakespeare and his dissection of King Lear. Orwell correctly pointed out that, among these giants, bothering to grapple with another's legend so completely is a nod to greatness, one doesn't bother to kill a knat w/ a sledgehammer.
Customer Reviews:
Help me get through this........2006-07-22
I am in the process of reading this book with my child for a school assignment. I haven't quite figured out why so many people like it. It is the most boring book I've ever read, and it is way too long. It is pure drudgery!! Help me, I'm going to go crazy myself reading about crazy Don Quixote.
Don Quixote.......2006-06-12
This certainly was one of the more entertaining books I've read. The adventures of Sancho and Don Quixote were very well written, funny, and has captured the hearts of millions throughout the centuries. Don Quixote is a madman who believes himself to be a knight-errant destined to return the world to the prior "order". Immediately he gets dressed up in a very silly fashion and starts by attacking "giants", only they are windmills. The first part involves Don and his squire Sancho Panza in a series of silly conflicts that they get into, at the same time doing many great things. The first part was much better than the second part in my opinion as Quixote lost some of his humour and became somewhat more "normal" Sancho was a great clown and the book truly deserves to be named 'Don Quixote and Sancho Panza" Also, Quixote's folly was a little bit irritating for me at times. Especially when he kept mentioning stupid such as his "Lady Dulcinea el Toboso," who is truly a whore, and talking about enchantments which were simply the consequences of the stupid things that Don Quixote and his squire did upon themselves.
Of course, this book was more than simply a satire attacking the ancient tradition of knight-errants. Quixote said many things which made sense at the time, through what he said, we can see a glimpse of the life in the early 1600's and a little bit of Cervante's own experiences as a soldier. Many times did Don Quixote mention his badge, in which Cervantes truly valued for fighting the English armanda.
In conclusion, if you want to read about two clowns perform that were being put down on the pages of a 528 page book that is funny and very well-written, this would be a great book for you.
Easy to read, humorous, tends to drag.......2005-07-04
I read this book for a summer reading assignment for an English II Honors Course. Initially, I dreaded to start reading the 527 pages of "nothingness". However, I found that it was easy to understand (this was strange...a classic???) and I actually understood the humor. However, the chapters began to drag and I found myself becoming irritated with the insanity of Don Quixote. This is a good summer read to pass the hot lazy days with.
*I suggest you have a really fun book to read as soon as you finish the 527th page of Don Quixote*
Don Quixote "spanish wildman".......2004-03-11
Don Quixote (abridged) is a great piece of Spanish literature. It is chok full of comical escapades and satire. It is not a book that will not leave you holding on, trying to survive through the boring parts. It starts out, with a hook, and draws you deeper and deeper into the undefined plot. I defiantly enjoyed it, and laughed at the many stupid predicaments the knight fell into. It is a definite must read in my book!
Don Quixote the Wanna-Be-Knight.......2004-02-27
Don Quixote was a very good book to read. The whole book is very funny and some of the things that Cervantes has Don Quixote do are very entertaining. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in kinght erranty because this is a very good example of what not to do.
Customer Reviews:
Abridgment.......2007-05-01
Just a head's up for people. This book is an abridged version of Don Quixote. It says so on the title page, which unfortunately the publisher doesn't allow Amazon readers to see (at least at the time of my review).
It's a shame, too, because it is a nice edition at a more than reasonable price (currently $7.49): it is a hardback edition with a sturdy spine and binding; the pages are thick; and the font is clear. Overall, in my opinion, it's an aesthetically pleasing book.
I did check the publisher's website before purchasing Don Quixote to see if I could obtain certain information (e.g. translator), but at the time when I checked, I couldn't find such information anywhere.
I hope Ann Arbor Media Group will consider placing this sort of information on their website and/or online catalog one day.
Book Description
" Don Quixote is practically unthinkable as a living being," said novelist Milan Kundera. "And yet, in our memory, what character is more alive?"
----Widely regarded as the world's first
modern novel, Don Quixote chronicles the famous picaresque adventures of the noble knight-errant Don Quixote de La Mancha and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through sixteenth-century Spain. This Modern Library edition presents the acclaimed Samuel Putnam translation of the epic tale, complete with notes, variant readings, and an Introduction by the translator.
----The debt owed to Cervantes by literature is immense. From Milan Kundera: "Cervan-
tes is the founder of the Modern Era. . . . The novelist need answer to no one but
Cervantes." Lionel Trilling observed: "It can be said that all prose fiction is a variation on the theme of Don Quixote." Vladmir Nabo-kov wrote: "Don Quixote is greater today than he was in Cervantes's womb. [He] looms so wonderfully above the skyline of literature, a gaunt giant on a lean nag, that the book lives and will live through [his] sheer vitality. . . . He stands for everything that is gentle, forlorn, pure, unselfish, and gallant. The parody has become a paragon." And V. S. Pritchett observed: "Don Quixote begins as a province, turns into Spain, and ends as a universe. . . . The true spell of Cervantes is that he is a natural magician in pure story-telling."
The Modern Library has played a significant role in American cultural life for the better part of a century. The series was founded in 1917 by the publishers Boni and Liveright and eight years later acquired by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It provided the foun-
dation for their next publishing venture, Random House. The Modern Library has been a staple of the American book trade, providing readers with affordable hardbound editions of important works of literature and thought. For the Modern Library's seventy-fifth anniversary, Random House redesigned the series, restoring as its emblem the running torchbearer created by Lucian Bernhard in 1925 and refurbishing jackets, bindings, and type, as well as inaugurating a new program of selecting titles. The Modern Library continues to provide the world's best books, at the best prices.
Download Description
The best-known book in Spanish literature, telling the story of the adventurous knight-errant and his squire Sancho Panzo, who set out to right the wrongs of the world.
Customer Reviews:
Don Quixote.......2007-06-21
I love the story but have never been able to finish the book. I listened to this on a road trip to California and found it very enjoyable. They did cut a major section, but I guess that is what you contend with in an abridged version.
The best translation of the best novel.......2006-08-25
Don Quixote well deserves its place in the pantheon of world classics. For me, it's the ultimate desert island book. It is simply an indescribable jewel, full of fun, hilarity, adventure, beauty, wisdom, social commentary, tragedy, and entertainment. And I believe that J.M. Cohen's translation is the best there is. He obviously had a love for the material and left us a beautifully rendered work. The encomium in his Times obituary was on the mark when it said that he was "the translator of foreign prose classics for our times."
Beautiful!.......2006-01-22
The translation is perfect except, as the translator has noted, on the poems found through out the book. The book itself is just plain beautiful, the author, Cervantes, is a master of prose and creativity, not to mention he has a great sense of humor. In my opinion, he is not too far off from Shakespeare. A+
Maybe it's just me..........2005-12-31
But this audio version of Don Quixote wasn't enjoyable.
The Basics: This is a three hour abridgment of Don Quixote read by actor and stage performer Michael York. Don Quixote is the Spanish classic written by Miguel de Cervantes. It's the story if a disenchanted nobleman who takes on the persona of a Knight in a quest to find love and glory. The real work is much deeper than the popularized versions of this story, which is unfortunate. This is read well byt he talented Miachael York, but isn't nearly as entertaining as it could have been. It just seems to fall flat. Running time 3 hours.
Lets salute the knight-errantry, writer and translator!.......2005-10-16
Don Quixote by Cervantes is often called the first modern novel and many rate it as one of the best novels ever written in any language. That itself stirs enough interest and curiosity for a reader like me, and trust me, reading the novel is a highly rewarding and entertaining experience. The plot and sub-plots are primarily guided by Don Quixote's obsession with knight-errantly, forming acts to chivalry and participating in adventures in a manner he read in such books. Sancho serves as his squire and complements and supplements his master in every possible way. Quixote is kind at heart, his every act is inspired by a good intention, a dreamer trapped in a body that prompts him to be called the "knight of rueful countenance", a loyal lover whose never set eye on her who he so praises and desires in a chaste way! Yet he is so full of imaginary tales and characters that he lives in a make-believe world, where he mistakes windmills for monsters, herds of sheep for armies, and so on, attacks them, defends them, and Cerventes manages to weave a saga of such events in a form that identifies with allegory, fable, epic and comic drama at the same time.
Panza, on the other hand, is a fatso, ever hungry for food, wine and money, full of practical sensibility as well as easily misguided simplicity, and is as entertaining a case study as his master. To complete the cast, are two unlikely prime characters: Rocinante, who is a horse as old and shrivelled as his master and Dapple, Sancho's donkey who Sancho considers more dear to himself than anything in the world.
The novel starts at a slow pace, and with the mention of alll sorts of established names of knight-errantry that must have been vogue in those times, Cerventes builds the stage for the rise of our hero. Since I have never read any of the described references, the first fifty or so pages seemed quite obstruse to me. Like for every classic, I knew I had to read on atleast 200 pages for characters to establish themselves. Thereafter, the various escapades and misadventures described in the two books follow like eagerly waited episodes. Again this is a novel that must be read piecemeal.
Besides the humor, knight-errantry, a quixotic master and a pragmatic but simple squire, Cervantes masterfully creates a plethora of characters and situations where he writes about love, war, God, Moors, government, wife, and every conceivable thing related to man as a social being. In some ways, the book is an elegant discourse on how things are and how they could be. Even the humor laden with satire is a subtle taunt at the way good people eat humble pie when their dreamt adventures are deemed ordinary by plotting evil enchanters.
The book is full of proverbs that Sancho throws into his every sentence, so many of these are hilarious and yet all carry the wisdom of that age saved in one epic saga. Similarly, there must have been a considerable play of words, as Sancho misuses and mispronounces many words, and the translator Smollett tries hard to capture some of these.
Don Quixote, in effect, has the appeal and humor to last the humankind forever, and we bow to thee O Cerventes! for creating such a cornucopia of wisdom and instruction for us humble readers .
Average customer rating:
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Don Quixote (Cliffs Notes)
Marianne Sturman
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
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ASIN: 0822004151 |
Book Description
The original CliffsNotes study guides offer a look into critical elements and ideas within classic works of literature. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.
CliffsNotes on Don Quixote looks into the story of a man who seeks truth and justice with an internal vision so strong as to see through the illusion of external appearances.
Following the journey of a gentle (and mad) knight, this study guide provides summaries and commentaries for each chapter within this popular — and long — novel. Other features that help you figure out this important work include
- Biographical sketch and background of the author, Cervantes
- Essays that explore the author's technique, style, and characterization
- Explanation and examples of the novel's themes of quixotism, truth and justice, and reality and fantasy
- Suggested discussion questions
- Bibliography and list of other works by Cervantes
Classic literature or modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.
Customer Reviews:
don quijote.......2000-06-12
the book was one of the best books i've ever read! the book was great in detail
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Abriendo Puertas: Antologia De Literatura En Espanol, Tomo II (Spanish Reader)
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ,
Federico Garcia Lorca , and
Miguel De Unamuno
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Don Quijote de la Mancha
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra , and
Eduardo Alonso
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