CHAPTER XOXO

IN WHICH THE FAMOUS DON QUIXOTE AND HIS SQUIRE SANCHO PANZA TIME-TRAVEL AND DISCOVER THE INTERNET

Now as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were on their way to Saragossa, they chanced upon a certain madman raving on the road, the said madman wearing a robe of tattered condition repeatedly bellowed shouts of “To kill an infidel is not murder; it is the path to heaven!” Sancho, hearing the madman was not a little amused. But Don Quixote was quite perplexed. He said to Sancho, “By God, the saints take me if what this prophet is saying is not the gospel.” which Sancho replied, “The Lord works in mysterious ways. This madman is providing mirth to weary travellers and rebuke to infidels.” Don Quixote was struck by the irreverence of Sancho’s words and the sacrilegious usage of his proverb. He gave a smack to Sancho’s cheek and said “Thou drolleries are of ill will, thy proverbs are of Satan, may God forgive this sinful servant!” For Don Quixote had fancied the madman to be a person of the cloth and beheld him a clergy spreading the Lord’s good work. Sancho was taken aback. “A thousand cudgelings I have taken but non hurt as much as that smack on my cheek. Thou knowest thy servant is not the most well-mannered squire in the world, but my drolleries and proverbs are what I consider my bread and butter as the proverb states tis better to eat bread than pretend to eat cake. And to think I have taken this smack all for a madman!” Don Quixote was not but a little furious. “Confound thee you rascally clown! Thou stringeth proverbs as a noose around thy neck. I shall be thy hangman if thou wilt not shut thy mouth. For a squire to speak ill will against the Almighty’s messenger is to speak against the Almighty himself. And the squire’s punishment from heaven shall be multiplied tenfold and given to thy master likewise. Thou should learn to put a lid on thy pot as tis better to be safe than sorry.” Sancho was enraged by this for he fancied to himself that if he had a taste for proverbs, then his master had an appetite for them. Now as the knight-errant and squire were arguing astride Rocinante and Dapple, the two had been arguing for quite some time that they didn’t notice that they had long passed the madman, they were stirred by a red light that blinded them both and were deafened by a loud noise that sounded much like a million cannons firing off at the same time. Sancho was scared out of his wits and immediately fell off of Dapple and hid behind a large boulder praying to the virgin and to all the saints, rosary in hand. Don Quixote however, being the valiant knight-errant, was delighted by such a spectacle and filled his head with thoughts of an adventure of grand proportions. When the smoke cleared, they chanced upon one of the rarest sights of this adventure. The author Cide Hamete likens the sight to that of the Archangel Gibreel’s fiery chariot, proclaiming not for another thousand years shall a spectacle be ever seen again. For what greeted Don Quixote and cowardly Sancho was a metal contraption that had four wheels, much like a cart, but no mule or oxen in front. Inside a hollow space covered in front by glass was a man in a queer-fashioned attire. The queer man came out of the contraption, approached Don Quixote and said “What year is it?” Don Quixote struck by the lack of respect of the queer man replied “Give me your name cart-master, and I shall give you mine.” The queer man replied “The name’s Marty McFly, how are ya doin sir?” “I am the Knight of Lions formerly the Knight of the Rueful Countenance, no other than the renowned Don Quixote of La Mancha, I am riding my horse and should like to inquire as to the nature of that marvelous contraption.” Said Don Quixote delighted that he had been recognized a knight due to the “sir” addressed to him. “Oh, that? That’s a car but it’s also a time-machine, used to get back to the future and whatnot…” But before the queer man could finish his speech, he was cudgeled in the back of his head by Sancho Panza. “Ahhh the devil, go back to the hell were thou hast come from!!” Don Quixote was surprised by everything that happened that he was immobile and stared at the prostate man for quite some time. After he recovered his senses he declared “By God, Sancho! I think you’ve killed him. He was no devil, you dimwit! Granted, he was no Christian either by his attire, so I should think it not a sin to kill him. But I would have fancied learning more about him and his contraption.” “Aye, said Sancho, as the messenger speechified ‘to kill an infidel is not murder, tis the path to heaven.’ I should fancy that heaven has rejoiced for my actions, and it bears me great relief that that if I fail to become a governor or a bishop in this life, I could become a saint in the everlasting realm for killing a devil or infidel or beast-child.” “Thou hast spoken truly, Sancho” said Don Quixote. But he was so charmed by the weird contraption that he unmounted Rocinante and went inside it. Sancho was moved by fear for his master and entered the contraption with him in order to plead that they burn it and ask forgiveness from the virgin for being so un-catholic. Don Quixote however would do no such thing and was delighted by the panels and colorful buttons on the dashboard. Being a knight-errant has its perks and one of them being fearless curiosity; he pressed the buttons and hit the gas. Before Sancho could say ten hail-marys, they were speeding on the road and the contraption making all sorts of sounds. “Look at it go, Sancho! Tis faster than Rocinante and Dapple combined!” said Don Quixote full of mirth. Then everything seemed to fade and they were blinded and deafened and out of sync. In a moment, they recovered from being disoriented and were given such a surprise as to what they saw. In front of them was glorious medieval battle being fought. Don Quixote’s heart was stirred and he came out of the car and joined the fighting whacking and delivering cudgels to all who came upon his path. He was heard uttering cries of “For the lady Dulcinea del Toboso the peerless!” Sancho, though, was paralyzed by the sight and remained praying hail-marys inside the car. Meanwhile, Don Quixote encountered a valiant opponent. A great man with long hair and blue paint on his face, the man was attired in a weird skirt and shouting “For Scotland! For Scotland!” He slashed everyone who opposed him and they fell. Before long, as great men tend to be drawn and aware of greatness, the two opponents squared together. The Scotland man gave a slash with his broadsword and Don Quixote parried, he gave a slash of his own and cut a shallow wound on the man’s elbow. The man shouted “What the fuck man, are you trying to kill me?!!” “Isn’t that the whole idea of war, villain!” replied Don Quixote. He gave another blow and hit the man in the head and the man fell. Everybody stopped moving. One of the soldiers bent down, checked then said “Dude, you just killed Mel Gibson.” Don Quixote was elated. He didn’t know who the person was. But if everybody stopped fighting then he must have been a knight of great reputation. He shouted, “Let it be known that this day the great Don Quixote of La Mancha, Knight of Lions formerly Knight of the Rueful Countenance, conquered Sir Mel Gibson of Scotland. I command you all to pay your respects to the Lady Dulcinea del Toboso and recount to her this great story of valor and conquest under the oath of knight-errantry. You are all compelled to do this under the pain of evoking heaven’s wrath. That is all.” But instead of admiration, which he was expecting. The faces of the men were filled with anger and they gave him smacks and cudgels and his state was such a sorry one that he would have gone to his Maker, had not Sancho intervened, hauled him into the car and started the contraption to escape the angry mob. It was just then, when they were speeding away that Sancho noticed the weird boxes with lenses that surrounded the scene and the chairs and tables filled with victuals that were spread out. He cursed himself for missing out on the victuals and uttered a cry of despair for forgetting his trusty Dapple when he read a big sign saying “The Set of Brave Heart 1998” He gave a shake of his head for he didn’t know what it meant and pressed the red button. Then it happened again. Everything seemed to fade and they were blinded and deafened and out of sync, then they crashed. Don Quixote and Sancho found themselves in a weird room. It was quite dark, they considered it might be night-time. When they could see more clearly, they were astounded by the things around them. Sancho exclaimed, “Tis might be hell we have stumbled upon, my master. Ohhh, that my wife and children are left bereaved and wanting. God bless them, God forgive me.” “Shut thy trap, Sancho!”, remarked Don Quixote “tis not hell yet, see the person in the corner scared such that his mother might have considered him a braying pig. There are no cowardly clowns in hell, which is a place filled with demons, left-handed sinners, and moors.” “Thou art quite right my master.” Sancho now being quite reassured, ventured towards the beautiful man fairly scared in the corner. “What are thou called, stranger?” The man replied, “Dude, why did you crash your car into my room? This is fucking weird, my room’s on the second floor.” Don Quixote took over and said, “Speak up my good man, for if thy handsome countenance is any indication of thy person, I should assume thee to be intelligent and fair. Do not fret, for I shall ask Sancho here to make reparations for the unwanted destruction of property we have caused you. What art thou called?” The beautiful man responded, “You can call me JR.. JR Bacdayan” “Well, Sir JR Bacdayan of the handsome countenance, what is that gleaming contraption there on your right side?” Don Quixote was pointing at a laptop and was staring at it quite fondly. It was showing a video of a cat playing the piano. Don Quixote and Sancho were both intrigued and delighted. “My good man, is this the container of your talented cat? I have never seen a species of the feline family with such gifted acumen for music.” JR was laughing now, “Oh, that’s just the internet; it’s filled with information and stuff.” JR felt downright ecstatic, having caught a scent as to the two men’s identities. He thought to himself that he must be in a dream or something better. He asked them, “Want to see something neat?” By which Sancho replied, “I like clean things, my good man. Let us see if thou can clean better than I, for it is said that cleanliness is next to godliness.” Don Quixote gave a nod of agreement and JR was not but a little amused. So JR went to the laptop and clicked another browser tab. It displayed an awesome website and there was an unfinished writing in a language neither Don Quixote nor Sancho Panza could understand. Don Quixote inquired, “My friend, can thou relate to us what this texts mean?” JR grinned and said it was a book review of a novel he just read. He cleared his throat and read aloud, “Don Quixote is essentially a satirical novel about knight-errantry but it also encompasses the medieval life and remains a relevant totem of nobility and gracefulness in our times. It’s a lasting testament left by our forefathers on how to properly conduct ourselves in this mad world we live in.” Both Don Quixote and Sancho exchanged astounded looks. They were confused. But suddenly, a smile crept upon their lips, and slowly, steadily, the three of them started laughing. Their loud laughter was heard throughout the night.

"Don Quijote loco y nosotros cuerdos: él va sano riendo, vuesa merced queda molido y triste.
Sepamos, pues, ahora, cuál es más loco: ¿el que lo es por no poder menos, o el que lo es por su voluntad?

Antes de comenzar a escribir mi reseña de este libro maravilloso, debo pedirle mis sentidas disculpas a don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, puesto que considero una falta de respeto el no haber leído su Don Quijote de la Mancha mucho tiempo antes de todos los que leí y revisioné mucho después, especialmente y teniendo en cuenta de que me considero un lector de clásicos.
Entonces, ¿por qué no empezar por el clásico más importante de todos? No diré que es algo imperdonable, pero si lo considero una falta grave. Además, aclaro que una novela de semejante calibre merecería una reseña acorde a su relevancia y aunque no puedo aventurar que sea tan extensa como la obra, trataré de hacerlo de la manera más sentida posible.
Don Quijote de la Mancha es considerada la primera novela moderna en la historia de la literatura, de eso no hay discusión ni vueltas. Podríamos considerar que hay antecedentes que nos remontan a la época de las epopeyas griegas, pero estas están escritas en hexámetros y no poseen el cuerpo de una novela propiamente dicha.
Otro antecedente se le atribuiría a Los cuentos de Canterbury el Decamerón pero estos están orientados más al cuento aunque posean un hilo conductor entre los distintos personajes que narran sus historias en ambos libros.
A mi entender, podría decirse que Gargantúa y Pantagruel, escrito por Rabelais en 1534 es la obra que más se aproxima al contexto novelesco del Quijote dado que ese caso sí nos encontramos con una historia cuya coherencia conceptual y argumental se equipara con la de Cervantes.
Algunos teóricos e historiadores literarios pretenden atribuírselo a una novelita llamada "La Princesa de Clèves" escrita por Madame de La Fayette en 1678, pero eso es algo de lo que prefiero no opinar puesto que me ofende de sobremanera.
No existe novela alguna que pueda considerarse como iniciadora del género como lo es Don Quijote de la Mancha, que fue la más traducida, la que más se ha editado y que en muchas ocasiones ha sido pobremente imitada, recreada o reversionada.
Miguel de Cervantes fue un escritor total, puesto que incursionó en la novela, la poesía y especialmente el teatro, pero fundamentalmente y a partir del Quijote es considerado un auténtico innovador en la literatura considerando que la primera parte de esta novela fue escrita en 1605 y la segunda diez años más tarde a partir del enojo de Cervantes ante la publicación de una segunda parte apócrifa, escrita por un tal Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda en 1614, tergiversando la historia de Cervantes con saña y mala intención, algo que el mismo Cervantes se encargará de ajusticiar tanto en el prólogo como en pasajes de la segunda parte a cargo de su propio Quijote tomando a modo de burla al escritorzuelo de Tordesillas.
En realidad, Cervantes no tenía intención de escribir una segunda parte pero esto lo obligó a sacar al ruedo a su hidalgo y escudero y a sellar su muerte hacia el final de la historia echando por tierra cualquier intento trasnochado de resucitar a su personaje.
Retomo el concepto de innovador de Cervantes puesto que en Don Quijote podemos encontrar verdaderas características de intertextualidad, o sea, “la relación que un texto (oral o escrito) mantiene con otros textos (orales o escritos), ya sean contemporáneos o anteriores; el conjunto de textos con los que se vincula explícita o implícitamente un texto constituye un tipo especial de contexto, que influye tanto en la producción como en la comprensión del discurso (tomado esto de conceptos de teoría literaria).
A qué me refiero con esto, a que constantemente en esta novela encontraremos conexión con otras obras como "Las Metamorfosis" de Ovidio, "La Eneida" de Virgilio, "La llíada" y "La Odisea", ambas de Homero, el "Orlando Furioso" de Ariosto, "El Lazarillo de Tormes", "El Vellocino de Oro" de Apuleyo, infinidad de referencias a los textos bíblicos del Viejo y Nuevo Testamento, el género picaresco, la sátira, el romancero, el barroquismo, obras del Renacimiento, la poesía y por supuesto, lo más importante de todo: las novelas de caballería.
Tan innovador es Cervantes que incluso por primera vez incluye pequeñas novelas dentro de la novela principal, como lo son las de "El Curioso impertinente" y "El Cautivo", las historia de Dorotea, el Caballero de la Sierra, el cuento de la pastora Marcela, la curiosa historia de la infanta Micomicona, la dueña Dolorida, la Altisidora y la de doña Rodríguez. Este concepto de novela dentro de otras será explotado por gigantes literarios de la talla de Fiódor Dostoievski o Herman Melville, como podemos comprobar dentro de obras como "Los Hermanos Karamázov", "Los Demonios" o "Moby Dick", por nombrar sólo algunos títulos, lo que prueba la influencia del gran escritor español para las letras que le sucedieron.
¡Y todo esto dicho a partir de los diálogos de Don Quijote, Sancho Panza y un puñado de personajes que no llega a la veintena! ¿Quién puede negar la grandeza innovadora y pionera de Cervantes en la literatura? ¿Quién puede negarlo como uno de los padres de las letras universales?
Don Quijote está narrado a partir de las crónicas de un musulmán, llamado el Cide Hamete Benengeli. Cervantes lo utiliza como alter ego para llevar adelante la historia del hidalgo en las dos partes. Luego de terminar la novela reconozco encontré un poco más difícil de leer la primera parte que la segunda. Tal vez, el español antiguo conspira contra el lector que no está acostumbrado a este tipo de narrativas.
Leí la edición de Penguin Clásicos revisada por el catedrático de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid y especialista en el Siglo de Oro español, Florencio Sevilla Arroyo, quien contribuyó con 1710 notas a pie de página para la primera parte y 1887 para la segunda, lo que demuestra cuánto cuesta adaptar una obra del siglo XVII a nuestros días. Confieso que en algunos casos me fue realmente útiles y en otros simplemente no me ayudaron a comprender la naturaleza del vocablo o frase, pero es preferible contar con 3597 notas al pie que con ninguna.
Pero vayamos brevemente a nuestros personajes principales. Alonso Quijano (Quejana en la primera parte), devenido en Don Quijote es el símbolo del idealismo y el heroísmo que todos los seres humanos poseemos en cuerpo y alma y que expresamos en mayor o menor media. Su devoción total a las novelas de caballerías y a enarbolar las banderas de la causa del caballero andante, su idolatría a personajes como Amadís de Gaula y el mismo Orlando Furioso lo llevan a calzarse las armas, vestir su armadura y montar a Rocinante para buscar aventuras inventadas por su propia locura y sus visiones desmedidas.
Y todo esto porque como bien lo aclara el Cide Hamete: "En resolución, él se enfrascó tanto en su lectura, que se le pasaban las noches leyendo de claro en claro, y los días de turbio en turbio, y así, del poco dormir y del mucho leer, se le secó el cerebro, de manera que vino a perder el juicio. Llenósele la fantasía de todo aquello que leía en los libros, así de encantamientos, como de pendencias, batallas, desafíos, heridas, requiebros, amores, tormentas y disparates imposibles, y asentósele de tal modo en la imaginación que era verdad toda aquella máquina de aquellas soñadas invenciones que leía, que para él no había otra historia más cierta en el mundo."
Nombra a Sancho Panza su fiel escudero y sale al galope para luchar contra todos los encantadores que le persiguen y a la vez, jurando el amor eterna a su amor, doña Dulcinea del Toboso, una doncella que sólo vive en su imaginación y que nunca vio y la que ni siquiera su rostro conoce. Esta Dulcinea si es de carne y hueso en la novela: se llama Aldonza Lorenzo pero nunca se entera del amor que el Caballero de la Triste Figura le profesa eternamente.
Se enredará en un sinfín de misiones peligrosas en las que algunas que casi le cuestan la vida. Algunas de ellas son arremeter contra molinos de viento confundiéndolos con gigantes de muchos brazos, sus cruces con el Cortés de la Muerte, el Caballero del Bosque, el Caballero de los Espejos (que es una chanza llevada a cabo por su amigo Sansón Carrasco para probar el estado de su locura), el Caballero del Verde Gabán, su lucha por apoderarse del yelmo de Mambrino que al fin de cuentas es una bacía de barbero, su incursión a la cueva de Montesinos, el rebaño de carneros que confunde con un enorme ejército y por sobre todo con una pesada broma que le juegan el Duque y la Duquesa durante su estadía en el castillo de estos.
Todas estas visiones ilusorias o ideales inalterables de don Quijote serán tomadas por otros autores. Podría citar a Lewis Carroll para su "Alicia en el país de las Maravillas" y "Alicia a través del espejo", puesto que tanto molinos de vientos como un rebaño de carneros devenidos en ejército pueden compararse con los ejércitos de naipes y animales fantásticos que crea Carroll en sus libros.
Los ideales quijotescos pueden apreciarse incluso en personajes como el Príncipe Mishkin en la novela "El Idiota" de Fiódor Dostoievski con su lema "La belleza salvará al mundo", o en el de Ignatius Reilly de "La conjura de los necios" de John Kennedy Toole. Nikólai Gógol escribe "Almas Muertas", considerado "el Quijote ruso" dado que su afinidad con el hidalgo español es sorprendente si tenemos en cuenta el viaje que realiza y las personas con las que se encuentra su personaje principal, Chichikov junto a su lacayo Petrushka y que tiene innumerables puntos en común entre ambas novelas, algo de destacar en Gógol del que se nota también poseer una verdadera admiración por la obra de Cervantes.
Y comento esto por tomar sólo dos casos de la influencia que Cervantes ejerció en tantos escritores y que es vasta puesto que no hay autor que no le admire: como dijera previamente, Fiódor Dostoievski, Herman Melville, pero también Goethe, Gustave Flaubert y su "Quijote con faldas", como llamaron a "Madame Bovary", Jorge Luis Borges, Benito Pérez Galdós, Miguel de Unamuno. En fin, la lista es larga...
Pero don Quijote es fiel a sus ideales, nunca ceja ni se detiene, se compromete a defender al débil, como a ese muchacho que está siendo azotado por su amo o aquella doncella que fue ofendida por su enamorado. Siempre tomará su lanza y nunca defraudará a todo aquel que necesite de su ayuda.
Qué decir de Sancho Panza, ese escudero fiel, aunque temeroso enamorado del buen comer quien también persigue un ideal que al final consigue, el de ser gobernador de la ínsula Barataria que don Quijote le promete y a través del duque se le concede. Tan sólo diez días durará su gobierno, pero estará poblado de jugosas anécdotas. El significado de la amistad está fielmente demostrado en la figura de este personaje que nunca abandona, que acompaña y que se sacrifica por su amo más allá de su notoria cobardía.
Queda también claramente establecido el contraste entre el idealismo de don Quijote y el realismo de Sancho Panza, y esto funciona a modo de perfecto equilibrio entre las partes. Ambos son dos polos opuestos que a la vez se suplementan y complementan hasta en un grado tal que uno no puede funcionar muy bien sin el otro. Se necesitan, se apoyan y se sostienen. Se transforman en uno sólo.
Un rasgo único y maravilloso de Sancho Panza es su fuente infinita de refranes y frases. Todo lo que expresa se transforma en una maraña de dichos que a veces confunde y que hacen reír al lector. Y es que Sancho es uno de los personajes más divertidos y más queribles de la literatura. ¿Quién puede no sentir cariño por un personaje como él? Sancho es un personaje justo y necesario y otra hubiera sido la novela él no hubiera estado en ella.
Leer todos esos refranes y proverbios de Sancho me hizo recordar instantáneamente a mi abuela, doña Palmira Alende González de Bueno, españolísima de origen, casada con don Inocencio Bueno, ambos originarios de Castilla la Vieja y, oh casualidad, que en la página final del Quijote encuentro que el Cide Hamete nomba su ciudad natal...
Mi abuela, famosa por tener frases y refranes que nunca olvidé, que le decía a mi madre y que luego me trasmitía a mí fue una comparación perfecta para las frases de Sancho. Si me habré reído con sus dichos como "Al que juega con la miel se le pega" y "Eso es la lotería más segura", cuando se enteraba de que una de sus hijas estaba embarazada u otras como "Allá Marta con sus pollos" y la que más me gusta: "Mucho te quiero culo, pero no te alcanzo a besar"; todas estas frases son sanchezcas, cervantinas y españolas.
Leer a Sancho fue recordar a Palmira.
En resumidas cuentas, Don Quijote de la Mancha es la madre de todas las novelas, guste o no.
Cervantes supo crear en Don Quijote un personaje único, inolvidable y por que no, alguien del cual todos tenemos algo, ya que de cuerdos y locos todos tenemos un poco.
¡Dios tenga en la gloria a don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, al Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha y a don Sancho Panza!
Este viaje maravilloso de 1215 páginas valió bien la pena.
n  n

It was the first time I've read all Don Quixote. I can definitely appreciate the place it takes in the world literature. It gave the world its main character,a type of naive but courageous human being who believes into his fictional world to the point of embedding it into the reality. And since then Don Quixote travels from the country to the country, from the culture into the culture, from a book into a book. The book has been studied, interpreted, included into the numerous canons.

I would just focus on my few personal impressions. First, the writing is modern and fresh. Especially in the first part, I was laughing out loud in public places so many times as it was embarrassing. My reading was probably a bit superficial as I did not care too much whether Don Quixote, and Cervantes are pro-Christian or on the contrary, quiet rebels. For me it was more comparable to a Tarantino's movie or any other action comedy. For example this sentence (the scene of Claudia kills Don Vicente just to realise he was faithful to her after all):

"Claudia pressed his hand, and her own heart felt pressed, causing her to faint onto the bloody bosom of Don Vicente, who was shaken by a mortal paroxysm."

In the second part, it feels that Cervantes becomes a celebrity, as well as his characters. In the stories of the part, he made them aware of their existence and their status. This metafictional element is fascinating. I am sure, it was very innovative 400 years ago as well. However, to me, it felt Cervantes carried a burden of his glory. I felt he has tired a bit of his characters. Or more likely, I am tired of their adventures which became a little too predictable. As a result, apart from a few vivid incidences, I did not enjoy the second part as much as the first. And I found the growing eloquence of Sancho with his verbosity a little trying.

I am very glad I've read the whole book though. It also gave me the opportunity to read a few essays devoted to the book starting from intro by Harold Bloom and finishing Lectures on Don Quixote. I flipped though it reading bits and pieces. He included the short summary by the chapter which I found useful. In general he was his usual snobbish and a tiny bit spiteful self, but informative as well. The translation by Edith Grossman is the masterpiece.

Look, I am not going to try to convince you to read this novel. Like Ulysses, it's historical importance creates its own polarity that will either repel or attract; so if you come to this masterwork with the proper field alignment the attraction will be undeniable and you will be subsumed by the codex for the western novel, entertained by the original buddy story and frustrated by the abject cruelty of a world that takes advantage of Quixote's mad sanity for some laughs.

Introduction
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Chronology
A Note on the Text

--The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha

Notes

This was not the longest book I've ever read (close, though). However, it certainly felt like the longest book I've ever read. The problem is not the length - the problem is that until the last 150-some pages, there is no continuous plot to keep you invested in the story. Everybody knows that this is the story of a crazy guy who decides to be a knight one day, and he and his squire go on crazy adventures together and hilarity and tilting at windmills ensues. What people might not know, however, is that there's no overarching quest, no ultimate goal. This book is over 1,000 pages of, "Don Quixote did this. And then he did this. And then he went here and this happened. And then this person told a story. And then they did this." On and on and on, it's just dumb adventure after dumb adventure, and they're literally interchangeable - the timeline of the story doesn't matter at all.

Not that the stories are bad, necessarily. Sure, some of them are stupid and pointless (and involving humor based on someone barfing or pooping), and they tend to repeat themselves (oh hey look, another hot Middle Eastern chick who we only like because she converted to Christianity), but they're usually funny, at least. But without an overall plot linking the stories together or giving them some significance, nothing really matters. (speaking of which, did anybody see Sucker Punch? Holy mother of God.)

Throughout the whole book, nobody ever learns anything or changes or even bothers to sit Don Quixote down and have a serious conversation about why he wants so badly to disappear into this fantasy life he's created for himself. Ultimately, this is nothing more than a collection of funny anecdotes, with some scatological humor and attempted swashbuckling thrown in.

I said that nobody learns anything in the book, but that's not technically true. When Don Quixote finally comes home after all his adventures, he gets sick and is dying. It's at this point that he has a revelation - that he was deluding himself with his dream of being a knight-errant, and that it was all pointless and stupid. Fine, but then he takes it a step further. He decides that all the adventure books he read are the only thing to blame for this obsession, and that they should be wiped from the face of the earth so no one else can be decieved by them. He even writes his will to include the rule that if his niece wants to get married after his death, the guy had better not have read even a single knight-errantry book, or she doesn't get her inheritence.

I don't know what we're supposed to take away from that. An adventure book that ends with the hero deciding that adventure books are evil and ruin people's lives? What the hell, Cervantes?

A book of parallels, Don Quixote by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, through two of the most emblematic characters ever conceived, discusses what's imagined and what's seen, the ideal vs. the real, the conflicts between illusion and actuality and how these solid lines start to blur by the influences Don Quixote and Sancho Panza inflict on each other through the course of this comic (yet sad sometimes...) tale.

A second-hand account translated from Arab historian Cide Hamete Benengeli - that's how our narrator describes it -, the book tells the story of Alonso Quixano, a country gentleman around fifty years of age, retired, who lives with his niece and a housekeeper in a village of La Mancha. A big chivalry tales enthusiast, he spends most of his time reading books (Amadís de Gaula, Orlando Furioso and Tirant lo Blanch, among others) about knights and their unending courage and dangerous quests. His excessive reading (is reading ever too much? :)) takes a toll on his mind - or "his brains got so dry that he lost his wits."

Wishing to seek for adventures and enforce peace and justice, he renames himself Don Quixote, designates Dulcinea del Toboso as the lady of his heart - "for a knight-errant without love was like a tree without leaves or fruit, or a body without a soul" -, puts on an old armor that had belonged to his great-grandfather, gets on his horse (now called Rocinante) and, early in the morning, starts his enterprise as knight-errant. After some muddles, Don Quixote ends up being severely beaten and is returned to his home by a peasant who recognizes him. That is the end of his first sally.

At this point, you can't help but ask yourself: what really goes on inside of Don Quixote's head? Could he simply be deemed as crazy? In every aspect but his love for chivalry, it's noticeable how he's witty and sharp - and this becomes clearer as the story goes on. Putting aside the crazy card for a minute, it's impossible not to wonder if and why he's possibly trying to escape reality. Has he been unhappy or unsatisfied with his life? He often talks about how one day a book will be written about him, telling all of his great deeds. Does he feel he's lacking accomplishments in life and therefore embarks on his imbroglio? These are just a few of the superficial questions this apparently simple book raises.

After a short period of unconsciousness - during which his friends burn most of his books of chivalry in a funny yet unsettling scene where the parish curate judge one by one if they're appropriate or not -, our clumsy hero decides that he needs an esquire and convinces his neighbor Sancho of joining him on his quests, by promising him governorship of an ínsula. Here, we witness the birth of literary's best relationship between a protagonist and his sidekick.

Sancho Panza, described as a farm laborer, honest man but with very little wit in his pate, leaves his wife and children to serve as Quixote's esquire. Big-bellied, a mouthful of proverbs and the ever-faithful companion, Sancho follows his master and obeys his wishes, but not without speaking his mind - until he is forbidden to, since Quixote can't take his blabbering anymore; much to our amusement though, the knight lifts his ban. Matching Don Quixote's supposed insanity is Sancho's so-called stupidity. Sure, he's uneducated and illiterate, but could he be called stupid or dumb? He realizes very early that his master is delusional as far as his chivalry ways go and is often baffled by his actions - but still, never leaves his side; is that because of friendship and his unwavering loyalty?

One of the most striking aspects of the novel is its language: written in a playful and light tone, almost evoking innocence, Cervantes was able to make his readers go through moments containing some evil doings and violence without feeling any disgust; some punches and kicks were rather funny and amusing. And how was one supposed to witness Sancho's unfortunate encounter with the blanketers without any giggles? Even being an one thousand pages book, it never feels tiring to read it: its episodic format, constituted mainly of short chapters, keeps you going on just for one more. Before you realize it, you're three hundred pages deep already.

Contrary to popular belief that sequels are never as good as the original, a second volume of Don Quixote appeared in 1615 - first volume came out in 1605; nowadays it's mostly published as single work - and is just as good (and has often been regarded by critics as better) than the first installment for its greater character development and philosophical insights. Written by Cervantes partially as a response to an unauthorized continuation of the novel, this infamous part 2 is actually one of the matters discussed by Cervantes on his own sequel, as Don Quixote and Sancho find out through someone who recognizes their names that there's a book written about them. After hearing some of the book's contents, they dismiss it as being full of lies and injuries. This was one of Cervantes innovations where characters were aware that they were being written about.

Don Quixote ranks really high on "best books ever written" lists - most of the time, it stands proudly at number one. Based on the number of adaptations alone - dozens of films, operas and ballets -, books that were influenced by it - Madame Bovary by Flaubert; The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Sterne and The Idiot by Dostoyevsky, to name just a few -, comics, cartoons and even a painting by Picasso and a sculpture by Dalí, it becomes quite clear that it isn't without reason that Don Quixote had an enormous artistic impact in the world and is considered to be one of the best works of fiction ever written.

Rating: simply put, Don Quixote is an undeniable masterpiece that's both amusing and thought-provoking that never let me down: 5 stars.

يا عشاق القراءة..ها هي نهاية كل منا..فارس بلا قضية..بطل بلا بطولة؛ عاشق بلا حبيبة
بصراحة بدأت في قراءتها مرغمة..من يود قراءة كلاسيكيات القرن 17..؟

و لكن سرعان ما جذبني كيخانا الطيب الشغوف بقراءة قصص الفرسان..فيحول نفسه لفارس احمق
ويسافر خلف هدف وهمي..
من اجمل ما تم كتابته عن الحماقة عندما تتملك من الإنسان..قد تكون راكضا خلف مثاليات...أهدافك نبيلة
و لكن ماذا عن وسائلك؟

لم يترك سرفانتس طب��ة او طائفة في اسبانيا الا وانتقدها ..لاقى فارسنا مهانة متكررة في خروجه. .او رحلته لاصلاح المايل !!ا
ليعود منكسرا لكتبه
تماما كما انكسر سرفانتس طوال حياته وتجاهله الجماهير..
و بعد وفاته تم طبع دون ك��خوته مئات المرات

و صارت قراءتها من سمات المثقفين لانها بالفعل تعبر ببساطة و صدق عن مصير القراء ..ممن تتمكن منهم المثاليات. .فلابد لهم من صدمة تؤكد لهم كم كانوا ساذجين

ترجمة: عبد الرحمن بدوى اكثر من رائعة

The famous epic Don Quixote by Cervantes, known as the first modern novel, is considered by many to be a must-read classic. So, I considered it's about the time that I read it. It was with some trepidation that I get into the book because of its length. But I shouldn't have worried. The short episodic chapters were easy and quick to read.

Don Quixote is the story about the adventures of a man who calls himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, a self-proclaimed knight errant. He is accompanied by his squire Sancho Panza. The book contains two parts, the second part is sort of a sequel to the first, having been written after a period of ten years. Both books are written in the episodic style and describe the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The adventures in the first part were so ridiculous that I found them humourous and highly entertaining. The second part, however, takes a more serious tone although the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were still touched with absurdity. The first part I found to be more interesting and entertaining than the second. Although the themes of this book were fully expounded in the second part, I enjoyed the light-hearted entertainment of the first part more. The continuous monotony of the ludicrous conduct of Don Quixote kind of lost its charm towards the middle of part two. And thereafter, it was a mere drudgery. I even lost focus on the final adventures.

The themes presented here can be summed up in one quotation. “When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!” From this, we can see that Cervantes working on the themes of reality and fantasy, mad and sane, and truth and lies. And he is questioning where to draw the line between these opposing ends. What is reality? What is fantasy? How to draw the line between these two ends? What is madness? Is believing in the old ways, madness? Or is denying the inevitable progress, madness? And what is truth and what are lies? Isn't the line between them blurred? And isn't the drawing line our own perception, how we see the difference? These themes provide food for thought. And there is also a good discussion on literary idealism and realism, and Cervantes seems to be advocating the latter.

Keeping my personal reading experiences aside, I agree that this book is an important one, especially in its day to influence a different style of literature. So, it is all but right to say that this pioneering modern novel is a must-read for those interested in classical literature.

More of my reviews can be found in http://piyangiejay.com/

This book wore my @ss out! It's funny and good and I love tomes but I don't think I was totally ready this time. Whew ......



The narrator was great on audio but I couldn't keep up in my book for reasons so I just listened.



Happy Reading!

Mel ❤️

It was fun for a while and then I got bored. I probably did not start this novel with the right mindset either. Until I started to read the Literature Book and commit to reading more classics I haven't even thought of reading Don Quixote. However, after I read that it was the first modern novel and other interesting trivia about it, I decided to give it a go. If I like it great, if not, I can always abandon it and read something else. My ancient copy of the novel (1969) has 4 volumes and I finished the 1st one.

While reading, I recognized the book's merit, that some of its structure was before its time, that so many authors were influenced by it etc. I mostly enjoyed it, some parts were funny, some less, I felt pity ans awe for the main character. However, it did not appeal to me that much so I decided not too invest more hours in it. Next classic on my list is Les Liaisons dangereuses.

I've finally read Don Quixote. I got to tell you Don Quixote is one of my favorite characters ever! Don Quixote was a noble fool, but he was surrounded by complete jerks who take advantage of his inclinations. I will say he was the most noble in all of Spain despite his flights of fancy. I for one have no problem with his knightly adventures. But I'm probably missing something because I'm just a simple squire (i mean butcher) from Georgia!

There is so many character interactions and romantic subplots i can't accurately describe them here. The famous windmill scene which happened really early in the story. Don Quixote wins some and loses many more. Does good and a little bad. Don Quixote dispenses with great wisdom as Sancho Panza spouts parables like a fish spits water. i will say the one thing i notice about books on the Greatest books list is they all talk a little about other books and literary arts in general that seems to be the link to teach it in schools. There is even a little story of plagiarism which seemed kinda modern. In the End Don Quixote is defeated and returns home dejected and depressed. where his friend's who were so against his knight errantry. Conspires to become shepherds group that seems no different than his knightly pursuits to me. He end up dead sad and repentantant of his crazyness. A very sad end for our valiant knight!

As far as greatest Books of all time i think it's a must read and a great read but not really a favorite of mine. Don Quixote is very entertaining for a classic!