Don Quixote

By Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Cervantes' tale of the deranged gentleman who turns knight-errant, tilts at windmills and battles with sheep in the service of the lady of his dreams, Dulcinea del Toboso, has fascinated generations of readers, and inspired other creative artists such as Flaubert, Picasso and Richard Strauss. The tall, thin knight and his short, fat squire, Sancho Panza, have found their way into films, cartoons and even computer games.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0196382246
• ISBN13: 9780196382241
• Release Date: April 1975
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Putnam's translation has never been beat

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

The Don

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

The greatest book after the Bible

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