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Collected here are Nabokov's Harvard lectures on Don Quixote, as well as a lengthy chapter summary and commentary. I was surprised to learn that Nabokov wasn't very impressed with Cervantes's epic farce at first and only began to appreciate the book after a careful re-reading while preparing his lesson plans. Die-hard Don Quixote fans might take issue with Nabokov's constant literary criticism but I enjoyed his honesty and agreed with 99 percent of his takes.

The biggest revelation of the book is Nabokov's alternate ending to the story, which is far superior to Cervantes's version. I wrote at greater length about that here.

I enjoyed the book but can only recommend it in good faith to fans of both Don Quixote and Nabokov. If hate one or the other, skip this one.
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Somewhat restrained. Less entertaining than the Lectures on Russian and English literature. Many of the best bits so far are in the notes, omitted material, and interlined comments. His summaries, especially when he feels Cervantes is being tedious, are wry, as here for Part 2, Chapter 60: "The bandits capture two captains of Spanish infantry and some pilgrims on their way to Rome. Also some women. Usual stuff."(203)

Really through it I'm sort of laying the table for the book to come. Ready now to meet the gentle Don, the half-mad curate, that brutal ducal pair, and Sancho Panza, who "is the grandpa of all tycoons,"(140) with the appropriate cutlery.



antes de leer:
Widely available through ILL. To read before, alongside, or after Cervantes?

The ferocity of the negative reviews of this book lead me to suspect that Nabokov just might have been on to something.

Nabokov doesn't much care for Don Quixote. He says it's not one of the great novels, let alone the great novel. He's also got beef with how funny people think the novel is. It's not funny. It's cruel. Lest you be unconvinced, Nabokov takes you through scene after scene of outright torture. The common rebuttal to Nabokov is that Cervantes is doing gallows' humor. Agreed, Nabokov would say, but look at what you're supposed to laugh at: an old man (Quixote) is several times beaten to an inch of his life, his horse Rocinante is beaten until he can't stand up, a young boy (a farm hand) is whipped nearly to death. Is Nabokov taking all this too seriously? You be the judge. Another couple of nice bits about this book is that in one lecture, Nabokov goes through the book giving an account of all of Quixote's invented victories and defeats, and in the very final portion, Nabokov summarizes each chapter of Cervantes' novel, complete with hefty-sized summary quotes from the actual work. Even if you disagree with Nabokov's interpretations and elucidations, it's hard to beat at the series of victories and defeats and the chapter summaries.

Оказалось, не так интересно и информативно, но написано красиво.

it's sort of just the same idea over and over again. whole thing could be boiled down to a few (negative) key points rather than droning on and on

前半部分是纳博科夫几篇专题的讲稿，质量上乘；后半部分纳博科夫化作说书人把堂吉诃德再复述一遍，暂且不读。纳博科夫本人是一个颇注意细节的学院派读者

A work of breathtaking arrogance and misunderstanding, made even less tolerable by Guy Davenport’s mindless and sycophantic forward. Nabokov is less interested in carefully examining Cervantes’s novel than in using his text as a means of generating charming (cough, cough, awkwardly belletristic) critiques of Don Quixote. I found myself cringing at every turn, as I watched Nabokov gleefully failing to understand Cervantes chapter after chapter, belittling the Spaniard with a smugness so extravagant and persistent I felt physically sick. Nabokov laboriously copied out lengthy chapter-by-chapter summaries, summaries which the editor included in this volume’s appendix. This only makes Nabokov’s blindness of the book’s merits all the more embarrassing. At the end of the day, I forgive Nabokov for these lecture notes, as he did not intend to have them published. They were posthumously published by somebody else. It’s not, also, as if Nabokov’s notes are wholly deprived of critical insight, but the tone is so insufferable and the insights so minimal (he appears interested only in showing off his capacity to devise “dazzling” phrases) that I think these notes are among the most embarrassing things he ever wrote. Nabokov thought he was writing some Harvard lecture notes that would demolish Don Quixote’s allegedly ill-earned reputation for students and colleagues alike; instead, he only succeeded in demonstrating how blinded a man could be by his immense literary vanity.

Some days ago, I asked a professor of mine what he thought of Nabokov’s book. He said Nabokov was just jealous. As he would’ve had to have understood Cervantes to be jealous of him, I disagree. Nabokov’s notes show few signs of genuine comprehension. It’s surprising, as his other lecture series are quite strong.

Excellent at this point!

Un libro muy interesante, que da la visión que tiene del Quijote otro gran escritor. Aunque disiento de algunas de sus conclusiones, no he de decir que no sea bueno. Son los apuntes de una serie de clases magistrales que Nabokov dio sobre la novela de Cervantes. Muy recomendable.

A bit of a grab bag that does not reflect well on Nabokov. In his defense, though, these are his written lectures and not intended for publication. Nabokov makes one excellent point - the humor in DQ is violent and cruel (I suspect VN did not like the Three Stooges). He also points out flaws in the novel, especially Cervantes' unwillingess to edit his work (DQ contains numerous continuity and other errors). There is also a weird chapter where he counts Quixote's quests or battles and whether he won or lost. His conclusion: wins and losses are tied.

This short book also includes an appendix where he summarizes every chapter of DQ. Good as cliff notes, of no use otherwise.

I suspect this book is in the category of "let's publish everything we can find by a great author" and see if it sells. Fortunately, I am only out $1.99 + sales tax, and lost time.

Nobokov almost totally hates Don Quixote, which comes through here, which is what makes this rambling collection almost totally worthwhile.