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:
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.
A Good New Translation of an Old Classic.......2005-08-11
DON QUIXOTE was written exactly 400 years ago. Therefore as you can imagine it has been reviewed countless times already. It is called Europe's first narrative novel. I can only comment on the present translation, which I consider excellent. It sticks to the original Spanish in the important ways, but is not slavish ... lots of "thee", "thou" and "thy" have been modernized without really affecting the gist or the flavor of the story.
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
|
Lectures on Don Quixote
Vladimir Nabokov
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Nabokov, Vladimir
| Classics
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Criticism & Theory
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish & Portuguese
| European
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Nabokov, Vladimir
| ( N )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Lectures on Literature
-
Don Quixote
-
Strong Opinions
-
Don Quixote (Cliffs Notes)
-
Nikolai Gogol
ASIN: 0156495406 |
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.
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:
|
Don Quixote (Cliffs Notes)
Marianne Sturman
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Scandinavian
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish & Portuguese
| European
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Book Notes
| Education
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Study Guides
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Literary Criticism & Collections
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Children's Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Reference Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Literary Criticism & Collections
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Scandinavian
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Book Notes
| Education
| Reference
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Study Guides
| Reference
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All Amazon Upgrade
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Reference
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Cliffs Notes
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Children's Books
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Reference
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Don Quixote
-
Don Quixote de La Mancha (Modern Library)
-
Don Quixote (Signet Classics)
-
Don Quijote (Norton Critical Editions)
-
Lectures on Don Quixote
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
Book Description
Edith Grossman's definitive English translation of the Spanish masterpiece. Widely regarded as the world's first modern novel, and one of the funniest and most tragic books ever written, Don Quixote chronicles the famous picaresque adventures of the noble knight-errant Don Quixote of La Mancha and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through sixteenth-century Spain. Unless you read Spanish, you've never read Don Quixote.
"Though there have been many valuable English translations of Don Quixote, I would commend Edith Grossman's version for the extraordinarily high quality of her prose. The Knight and Sancho are so eloquently rendered by Grossman that the vitality of their characterization is more clearly conveyed than ever before. There is also an astonishing contextualization of Don Quixote and Sancho in Grossman's translation that I believe has not been achieved before. The spiritual atmosphere of a Spain already in steep decline can be felt throughout, thanks to her heightened quality of diction.
Grossman might be called the Glenn Gould of translators, because she, too, articulates every note. Reading her amazing mode of finding equivalents in English for Cervantes's darkening vision is an entrance into a further understanding of why this great book contains within itself all the novels that have followed in its sublime wake."
From the Introduction by Harold Bloom
Miguel de Cervantes was born on September 29, 1547, in Alcala de Henares, Spain. At twenty-three he enlisted in the Spanish militia and in 1571 fought against the Turks in the battle of Lepanto, where a gunshot wound permanently crippled his left hand. He spent four more years at sea and then another five as a slave after being captured by Barbary pirates. Ransomed by his family, he returned to Madrid but his disability hampered him; it was in debtor's prison that he began to write Don Quixote. Cervantes wrote many other works, including poems and plays, but he remains best known as the author of Don Quixote. He died on April 23, 1616.
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 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.
Average customer rating:
- A well done translation faithful to Cervantes' original style
- the best modern translation
- Classics Never Die
- Falls Flat
- A review of the book and of this particular translation.
|
Don Quijote (Norton Critical Editions)
Miguel De Cervantes
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Criticism & Theory
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish & Portuguese
| European
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish & Portuguese
| Classics
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 039397281X |
Book Description
Part parody and part cautionary tale, Don Quijote is a literary masterpiece. This Norton Critical Edition of Don Quijote is based on Burton Raffel's masterful translation. The Raffel translation comes as close as possible to recreating Cervantes's inimitable prose style-the translation is consistent, fluid, and modeled closely on the original Spanish. Diana de Armas Wilson provides a thought-provoking introduction and explanatory textual annotations. Carefully selected contextual materials bring readers into the creative process that culminated in Don Quijote. Jncluded are other writings by Cervantes published during the period from 1585 to 1616 as well as contemporary works by Ariosto, Avellaneda, Sannazaro, and Montalvo. Patricia Finch and John J. Allen provide a modern account of the novel's influence throughout the ages. Fifteen critical pieces present major interpretations of both the novel and selected episodes. Included are contributions by Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, Michel Foucault, Javier Herrero, Ruth El Saffar, Carroll B. Johnson, Robert ter Horst, Nicolas Wey-G6mez, Maria Antonia Carces, and Anne J. Cruz, among others. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.
Customer Reviews:
A well done translation faithful to Cervantes' original style.......2007-08-19
I disagree with some of the criticism of this translation, particularly that of Mr. Moreno who mistakenly acuses the translator of a "catastrophic error" ...'introducing the name "Don Quixote" in the narrative before Cervantes himself mentions it.' If Mr. Moreno reads Cervantes Prologue to the book or even the chapter title of the first chapter, which mentions don Quijote by name several paragraphs before the section he sites, he will see his own error. In addition, Cervantes spells the name Quijote, not Quixote as Mr. Moreno does. Mr. Moreno also mistranslates the text in question "en resolución, él se enfrascó tanto en su lectura..." by replacing the "él" referring to don Quijote with "the old gentleman" introduced by Mr. Moreno and not by Cervantes. Translation is difficult as the translator's notes document. I was deeply impressed by the translator's use of a 1611 textbook of the Spanish language to clarify the means of words whose meanings have changed in the past four centuries. In addition, this translator comes closer to Cervantes' actual colloquial style than many of the stodgy Englsih translations that are now in existence. This translation is highly readable and almost as enjoyable as the orginal work in Spanish that so delighted readers when it was first released to the public at the beginning of the seventeenth century.
the best modern translation.......2007-07-12
I often return to this granddaddy of novels, and consider this particular translation the best. Grossman's translation is stellar, but it lacks the brio, the spirited tone and zeal of BR's rendering. Certainly this translation is sometimes free-and-easy and best serves an American reader, but its rhythm and gusto more than compensate for the flaws an academic might stub her toe on, and that rush of vivid life, in my opinion, is the heart of Cervantes' work. Authentic phrase or authentic feel? I'll vote for the feel. De gustibus.
Classics Never Die.......2007-05-15
Great Translation. Great extra essay material. And of course a story that will never die. Ten Thumbs Up!
Falls Flat.......2006-04-04
The colloquialisms in Raffel's translation sound like they come from using a dictionary of American slang rather than from listening to how people really talk. I have tried writing a review quoting the Grossman and Raffel translations side by side, but apparently the language was too risque because my review never got posted.
Since Raffel's translation is printed in the Norton Critical Edition, it comes with some interesting commentary and background material. DON QUIJOTE is a parody, so it is helpful to be able to read some of the texts that Cervantes was poking fun at. The translation itself is a flop, written in a stilted imitation of American slang. For Cervantes in contemporary English, there is no beating Edith Grossman.
Raffel's insistence on always using the most colloquial expression he can think of not only results in artificial sounding English, but it also ruins the humor Cervantes brings to the novel by contrasting the pompous, archaic Spanish of Don Quijote with the rural slang of peasants like Sancho Panza. In Raffel's translation, everyone speaks slang almost all the time, so the effect is lost.
I won't stoop to the absurdity of reviewing Cervantes' masterpiece itself on Amazon.com, but you owe it to yourself to read it. In case you are wondering, it really is as good as everyone says.
A review of the book and of this particular translation........2005-12-29
Reading Don Quijote was one of my goals for 2005. I did a lot of research in order to decide which translation to read. I was less interested in the faithfulness of the translation as I was in its readability while generally adhering to the overall faithfulness of the story and the message of the original book. This translation did not disappoint me. It was very readable and I am confident that my reading experience was as good as possible. The language is quite modern, which only bothered me very slightly. For example, we all know of Don Quijote as "the Knight of the Woeful Countenance", but in this book he is merely "the Knight of the Sad Face". Of course they both mean the same thing, but no one today would refer to someone as having a "woeful countenance".
As for the book itself, I very much enjoyed it - especially Volume II which was published 16 years after Volume I. Readers should be aware that this novel is very different from the musical play "Man of La Mancha" - a great play with a great message, but only very loosely based on this novel.
Book Description
The Female Quixote (1752), a vivacious and ironical novel parodying the style of Cervantes, portrays the beautiful and aristocratic Arabella, whose passion for reading romances leads her into all manner of misunderstandings. Praised by Fielding, Richardson and Samuel Johnson, the book quickly established Charlotte Lennox as a foremost writer of the Novel of Sentiment. With an excellent introduction and full explanatory notes, this edition will be of particular interest to students of women's literature, and of the eighteenth-century novel.
Download Description
From her earliest Youth she had discovered a Fondness for Reading, which extremely delighted the Marquis; he permitted her therefore the Use of his Library, in which, unfortunately for her, were great Store of Romances, and, what was still more unfortunate, not in the original French, but very bad Translations.
Customer Reviews:
Lennox Did It All Way Before Radcliffe and Austen ..........2005-09-28
I loved reading this book. The heroine needed a butt whupping, really, that's what it boils down to. She had everything and was letting it go for her 2000 year old romance book collection. Finally, a Countess (who then had to bow out) and also a Reverend Doctor gave her a talking to and told her no more jumping into the river just because a man a mile away was riding a horse toward her! After that incident she had to finally see sense and apparently her eyes were also opened to the noble young man who was in love with her the whole time and took a whole lot of abuse from her. The ending was a bit abrupt but the flow and the feel of the story were way ahead of Jane Austen and Ann Radcliffe. And Lennox had subtle and imaginative incidents of bitchery and cunning worked into the story too. And a sword fight. Hooray for Charlotte Lennox, so sorry that she died without a penny, but her Arabella will live in infamy (the Female Coyote).
good story.......2004-04-02
Alright, let's get it straight, this is an 18th century novel, not 17th, and while it is tedious at times, for the most part it's very charming and often made me laugh.
I understand that the ending is the "triumph of rationalism over idealism and romanticism," but frankly, I was a little disappointed at the abruptness of it. But who am I to criticize? This is an early novel, and the form hadn't quite been perfected yet, so there are a few loose ends and a large digression in book 6, which was the style of the time.
I recommend reading this with Rasselas, in which Johnson claims the realistic novel is as dangerous to youth as Lennox says of the romance in The Female Quixote.
Missing the point............2004-01-01
Okay, so this story is'nt really very easy to read. Its from the 17th Century, but I did enjoy it. And part of the reason I'm writing this review, is because the reviewers on Amazon(for the most part), are missing the point of The Female Quixote. Its kind of ironic that Charlotte Lennox was crowned the first American Novelist, when she only lived in America for about 6yrs... Talk about depserate I guess. But not only are the Amazon reviewers missing the novels point, but also the person whom introduces the book in this edition.
I don't mean to give away the ending, but I studied this in my American Lit. Class at college for like 2weeks. It seems that by this ending we get a few things pointed out:
When Arabella is being talked to by the Doctor, he is giving her reasonable reasons as to why she is wrong. The others just told herit was silly, and in a way reinforcing her beliefs. But this Doctor is showing her why what she believes can't be true. And not only that, but by this ending we see that the females in these times had two options: 1. Be what we see as a Coquette, in Miss Glanville, excepting, unhappy marriage for money, and what society hands them, also is the case with Miss Groves, she has been impregnated twice, and in no inconvience to the man she hopes to marry, which will probrably be an unhappy one as well. She has chosen to rebel against society, and she is forced to live life in hiding. Why? Because doing anything besides doing what you are told to do, and marrying well, is considered abnormal.
Then on the other hand in Arabella's case, by the end of the book she has to options. 1. Admit one is wrong and go into Holy Matrimony with Mr. Glanville or 2. Continue on with her dillusions and most likely end up in a looney bin. Not much of a choice eh? So in a way, the ending and the book as a whole is showing us the choices that these woman had back then. We should be infinitely thankful. Because most woman back then, could not do much.
Someone said that this book was horrible because of the ending, and that it was nothing compared to the novels written a century later by Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. But believe that Charlotte Lennox probably inspired women to think of what their choices our and maybe try to change the way life was for them. Maybe she even inspired Bronte and Austen. Who knows? I love both Austen and Bronte, but I think that definitely Lennox was an important author as well. Credit should be given to where and whom it is do.
So I *hope* that unlike these other readers, you can gain some insight into the world the 17th century women through this book.
My hats off to Mrs. Lennox :D
God Bless & *Enjoy* ~Amy
Ultimately disappointing.......2002-10-29
Written just over a 100 years after the publication of Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE, Charlotte Lennox's THE FEMALE QUIXOTE is interesting for several reasons, not the least of which being that it's a strong, intelligent narrative written BY an 18th century woman ABOUT an 18th century woman. Writing in a wry, humorous tone, Lennox penned a definitive anti-romance, deftly skewering most, if not all, of the pillars of that genre, and seemingly with great delight, never once leaving a doubt as to where she stood on such matters. Lennox intended to pen a delightful little didactic tale centering around the foolishness inherent in lettings one's imagination get the better of oneself, and in this she succeeded admirably. And yet, like the proverbial house, a narrative divided cannot stand, and to be sure, Lennox is working at cross-purposes in her novel. To the more cursory reader, she seems only to be writing a sort of `Dame Quixote;' skewing the mores of Cervantes' earlier novel towards a more female audience, but still drawing the same conclusions as he did about the absurdities inherent in their characters. A deeper reading, however, fleshes out instances within the narrative where Lennox seems to be actually SUPPORTIVE of her main character's quixotry. While on one hand, Lennox seems to be supporting the male patriarchal status quo by bending her Arabella (the female quixote of the title) to the dictates of society and behavior, on the other hand she seems quietly supportive of the power held by the fictitious princesses of Arabella's fancy, and thus Arabella herself. While Lennox's adherence to the former is obvious, and is the tack that she ultimately chooses to emphasize, her support of the latter is more difficult to root out, yet utterly unavoidable in any serious discussion of the work.
THE FEMALE QUIXOTE is not a story in celebration of some new dawn of the strong, intelligent woman. It is not a piece of nascent feminism in the style of a Jane Austen or a Charlotte Bronte, both of whom would pen their own takes on the female condition in the century following Lennox's. No, ultimately Lennox conforms THE FEMALE QUIXOTE to expected 18th century sociological mores, just as she conforms her character to those same mores when, at the hasty conclusion, she has Arabella drop her vision of reality and exchange it for the more socially acceptable value system shared by most characters in the novel. This conclusion is a particularly disappointing development because after pages upon pages of pitch-perfect, minute excoriation of popular romances, Lennox deflates her heroine in one chapter, and then hastily, and almost wholly without the wit which made the preceding chapters so interesting, gives her main characters an artless `happily-ever-after' and simply ends the novel. In her eleventh hour capitulation, Lennox turns her narrative upon itself, weakening its integrity to the point that when she finally gets to Arabella's moment of truth at the conclusion of the novel, she can do nothing but end it straight away before it collapses on itself, writing without any of the flair that characterized the rest of the story. Though Lennox' didactic debt is repaid in full by such an ending, it leaves her narrative in want and the more observant reader skeptical. It is sad to note that in a novel that started off so promisingly, Lennox ends up cheating not only her character and audience, but also any greater purpose the work could have had.
An Eighteenth-Century Women's Novel.......2001-06-27
Charlotte Lennox's heroine, raised in complete seclusion from the world by her misanthropic father, grows up believing that romances (of the chivalric kind already satirized by Cervantes more than a century before in the original Don Quixote)are true histories and that the extravagant behavior of the knights and heroes in such texts is the model for modern (18th century)men. Poor Arabella is doomed to be ridiculous! Her world of romance never was and never will be. But although she makes the most absurd mistakes, she is intelligent and strangely wise much of the time: she ignores fashion, she believes in complete honesty and fidelity, she rejects all accomodations to practical, but base, worldly wisdom. She constructs a world of her own in which women, who in the real world were quite helpless and treated as chattel, hold real power.
It is perhaps unfortunate that Lennox was a bit too much under the influence of Samuel Richardson and Samuel Johnson, both great writers but quite conservative in their views about women and their place in society (firmly under the power of men). The ending of the novel seems rushed and sad. Poor Arabella, so delightfully original throughout most of the novel, is "reformed"--as one of my friends said after reading it, and so "she becomes completely ordinary." If it weren't for the ending, the book would get five stars.
Average customer rating:
- Don Quixote's significance
- What a treat!
- ¡Estupendo!
- I loved it!
- Fighting Windmills - the ultimate gift for the thought-prone
|
Fighting Windmills: Encounters with Don Quixote
Manuel Duran , and
Fay R Rogg
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Reference
| Books & Reading
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Criticism & Theory
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Movements & Periods
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Arthurian Romance
| Beat Generation
| General
| Gothic Revival
| Medieval
| Modernism
| Postmodernism
| Renaissance
| Romanticism
| Surrealism
| Victorian
General
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Reference Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Deals
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
Reference
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Reference
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Shakespeare the Thinker
ASIN: 0300110227 |
Book Description
Cervantes’ Don Quixote is the most widely read masterpiece in world literature, as appealing to readers today as four hundred years ago. In Fighting Windmills Manuel Durán and Fay R. Rogg offer a beautifully written excursion into Cervantes’ great novel and trace its impact on writers and thinkers across centuries and continents.
How did Cervantes write such a rich tale? Durán and Rogg explore the details of Cervantes’ life, the techniques with which he constructed the novel, and the central themes of the adventures of Don Quixote and his earthy squire Sancho Panza. The authors then provide an insightful, panoramic view of Cervantes’ powerful influence on generations of writers as diverse as Descartes, Voltaire, Dickens, Dostoyevsky, Twain, and Borges.
Customer Reviews:
Don Quixote's significance.......2007-09-10
This is a wonderful commentary on Don Quixote. The authors provide a historical context in relation to other contemporary works (e.g. Montaigne's Essays, Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel), the literary genres that were popular (pastoral and picaresque works) and Cervantes' life. The authors discuss the many layers of complexity of DQ and how/why it was ahead of its time. Fighting Windmills (I love the title) touches on major aspects of DQ, for example the interactions between DQ and Sancho, the complexity of Dulcinea's character, the contrast between Dulcinea and Teresa Panza, the fact that the characters change over time, etc., The later chapters mention how DQ has influenced other works of literature over time. Fighting Windmills deals with plenty of material in a clear, concise way at a fast pace. This the way literary criticism should be: interesting, informative, accessible and profound. The authors clearly made an effort to enlighten the reader, to make him/her go and read DQ. No boring or obscure prose here. What an example to other literay critics!! Last, but not least, it has a beautiful jacket illustration that is a joy to look at. Great work! Fighting Windmills should be made into a nicer edition with better quality paper.
What a treat!.......2007-04-10
Not only is Fighting Windmills a great story about a great story, but it is a pleasant and enlightening journey down literature lane with Don Quixote and his faithful sidekick.
¡Estupendo!.......2007-03-17
When writing about Cervantes most writers fall into one of these categories: either too scholarly or too populist. I found "Fighting Windmills" to balance these tendencies to perfection, making a thoroughly researched book easily accessible to the lay reader. One of the most interesting points is that the authors cover not only Cervantes and Don Quixote in their epoch, but their influence in the Western Civilization through the ages. Most pleasant reading, even for a Spaniard.
I loved it!.......2006-12-25
Just finished reading Fighting Windmills and enjoyed so much learning about the life and times of Cervantes and his influence on the modern novel. It is an easy read for the literary novice, while at the same time, it provides many thought provoking ideas for literature buffs.
Fighting Windmills - the ultimate gift for the thought-prone.......2006-12-06
For those with literary inclinations though unfamiliar with Cervantes and his "Don Quixote", reading "Fighting Windmills," by Fay Rogg and Manuel Duran, is a most worthwhile endeavor. Even those who have read or studied "Don Quixote" will benefit from this unique piece of literary criticism. What the Rogg/Duran work wroughts in an engaging fashion are an encapuled view of the journey taken, a penetrating analysis of the two main travelers - the glorious Knight errant and his faithful companion,
Sancho - and their interaction.
At the onset we learn about Cervantes himself, his life experiences and their effect on the novel he creates. Then the body of his creation is delineated in detail and dissected by skillful surgeons, stressing its unprecedented departure from the prior art.
Finally, the stage is set for the climax - the pervasive impact of "Don Quixote" on the development of western literature. Like a heavenly body that zooms through earth's upper atmosphere once every 500 years, Cervantes' book, as the first truly modern novel, becomes the guiding light for many famous authors who follow in his orbit. From Voltaire to Melville, from Flaubert to Twain and beyond, novelists, playwrites and even filmmakers have been consciously and subconsciously influenced by the great Spanard for the better.
If there is a flaw in "Fighting Windmills", it attempts to do too much in too short a space. While well-written and organized, its message fragments at times in its long reach through literary history. Easy assimilation of numerous digested novels and their parallelism to Cervantes' classic could prove daunting to those having a scant background in literature.
Yet, all and all, "Fighting Windmills" delivers to the public where most academic books fail. First of all, it is written in language that flows gracefully and is understandable to a lay audience. Secondly, it is highly informative - we learn much at the feet of these masters. Afterwards, one almost feels he or she has been admitted to the ranks of the erudite without having to negotiate the shoals of graduate school. And for budding authors, this book gives a glimpse at the creative-writing techniques of a superior craftsman. Buy it and enjoy the read.
Ken Cascone
Manhattan corporate attorney and author of two novels:
"River of Triumph" and "Island Paradise"
Product Description
Have you ever become lost in a fantasy? In this new series (based on the classic novel) an old man named Don Quixote does just that! Pretty soon he has convinced himself that his decrepit old nag is a noble steed, that his old shaving bowl is a helmet, and that windmills are actually giants! Poor old Don Quixote has read so many books about the days of chivalry and castles that he now has started to LIVE THEM! He rides off one day on his old nag of a horse believing himself to be a noble Knight of old. This book is the first of a long series featuring his many misadventures as he tries to live a dream in the middle of reality. Join Don Quixote for this comical trip into the power of the human imagination!
Book Description
This casebook gathers a collection of ambitious essays about both parts of the novel (1605 and 1615) and also provides a general introduction and a bibliography. The essays range from Ramon Menendez Pidal's seminal study of how Cervantes dealt with chivalric literature to Erich Auerbachs polemical study of Don Quixote as essentially a comic book by studying its mixture of styles, and include Leo Spitzer's masterful probe into the essential ambiguity of the novel through minute linguistic analysis of Cervantes' prose. The book includes pieces by other major Cervantes scholars, such as Manuel Duran and Edward C. Riley, as well as younger scholars like Georgina Dopico Black. All these essays ultimately seek to discover that which is peculiarly Cervantean in Don Quixote and why it is considered to be the first modern novel.
Books:
- Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (Dragonlance: The Lost Chronicles, Vol. 1)
- Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software
- Earthcore
- Essential Avengers, Vol. 4 (Marvel Essentials)
- Fishing for Dummies
- Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book)
- Forge of the Mind Slayers: The Blade of the Flame, Book 2 (The Blade of the Flame)
- Franny K. Stein's Crate of Danger (Boxed Set): Lunch Walks Among Us; Attack of the 50-Ft. Cupid; The Invisible Fran; The Fran That Time Forgot (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)
- Freaks!: How to Draw Fantastic Fantasy Creatures (Fantastic Fantasy Comics)
- From Hard Knocks to Hot Stocks: How I Made a Fortune Through Smart Investing and How You Can Too
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels
- Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
- The Lemon Jelly Cake
- The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare
- The Genius of Flexibility: The Smart Way to Stretch and Strengthen Your Body
- Understanding Thermodynamics
- What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause
- Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist
- The Impact of Immigration on African Americans
- Israel Business & Investment Opportunities Yearbook
The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had
The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, To That Which Is to Come (Penguin Classics)
Gulliver's Travels (Oxford World's Classics)
Crime and Punishment (Enriched Classics)
Oliver Twist (Penguin Classics)
