Adventures of Don Quixote

If you want to make going through "Don Quixote" as painless as possible, get the Samuel Putnam translation from the 1950's (ISBN: 0679602860), published these days by the Modern Library. The Modern Library edition also has copious footnotes at the back of the book (Putnam's original ones), which is quite nice. For my money, nobody has ever come close to matching the natural grace and power Putnam summoned when he pulled this one off. If you can't find the Putnam, the Charles Jarvis translation (used in the Oxford World's Classics edition, ISBN: 0192834835) is, despite having originally been published in the 1600's (!), a serviceable second choice. Also well-glossed.

I took the time to read both volumes of Don Quixote, starting at the end of this past summer, and just finishing up in mid-November, and even better, in the New Century Library version, lovely old leather bound books with gold ribbons for markers. I didn't read it straight; it was interspersed with many other books on my stack.Oh my. What a satisfying read. Of course you are familiar with the basic premise of this book, the mad Don Quixote tilting after windmills, his faithful squire Sancho Panza at his side and always on the lookout for a good meal. What I was not prepared for, and was totally delighted by, were the many and varied side stories, the topsy turvy relationship between madness and sanity (and who is which, anyway?), the wisdom of Sancho Panza as Governor (at long last!) of his very own island, and the surreal relationship between the narrator, the author, and the narrated.This is a complex work, and could be discussed with many different themes in mind--idealism vs. pragmatism, honesty vs. duplicity, madness vs. sanity, the follies of the rich vs. the follies of the poor. Chivalry. Romantic love. Storytelling. Renunciation. The Quest. Devotion. Class structure. Religious persecution. The only thing that bothered me about this book was that everybody was endlessly enchanted and ready to give the benefit of the doubt to beautiful young men and women, that beauty in this book equaled virtue and a kind heart, a small complaint indeed regarding this masterpiece.If you've already read this book, this is just preaching to the choir. But if you're trying to decide whether or not to take the time, the answer is yes, yes and yes! You won't regret it, and your heart and soul will thank you.

I was assigned to read this book this year in my senior Humanities class. We were not expected to read every chapter, but once I started, I couldn't dream of skipping anything. Don Quixote, Book 1, tells the story of a man more optimistic and idealistic than any other in literature. He sets out as a "righter of wrongs and injustices" and doesn't let anything stand in his way. Book one is also incredibly funny in many parts, both physically and intellectually. Book 2, although a somewhat difficult read and much less humorous, is by far the better work of art. At first, I was apalled at the ending of the book, but I now feel that Cervantes was justified in his ending because he wanted us to mourn the absence of chivalry and hope in our world. I cannot express how much perspective this book will add to your life. Tip: If you are reading Don Quixote in English, I reccommend the Putnam translation.

Don Quixote De La Mancha is a long book which many people nowadays wouldn't stop and read. Where's the time? But it is nonetheless a story everyone knows. Who hasn't heard of that crazy man chasing after the windmills with his partner Sancho Panza? It is work of art that has universal appeal due to it's clash between reality and idealism...something with which we all deal with in our lives. I read Don Quixote while in college and aside from it being a portrait of decadent Spanish society at the height of Spain's glorious empire, the book is often vulgar and downright hillarious. A true work of comedy. I recommend this book to everyone. Give it a chance even if it is so long. It's well worth it. You'll not only laugh out loud, you will have educated your mind with what is called the first novel and one of the masterpieces of world literature.