Aventuras del Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha [Abridged] [Paperback]

Marcel C. Andrade (Adapter, Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1995 | ISBN-10: 0844273619 | ISBN-13: 978-0844273617 | Edition: abridged edition

This edition of "Don Quixote" has been specially adapted and abridged for intermediate and early advanced Spanish-language students. Numerous vocabulary and cultural notes clarify and illuminate the text. In addition, archaic language has been modernized and difficult constructions simplified.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: Spanish, English

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company; abridged edition edition (December 1995)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0844273619
• ISBN-13: 978-0844273617
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #851,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Untranslated > Spanish

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Spanish language edition for intermediate students, June 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Aventuras del Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Paperback)

Marcel C. Andrade does a wonderful job presenting a Spanish language edition of Part I of Don Quijote for intermediate level students of the Spanish language. Unusual vocabulary is listed next to the text in the margin; and the explanatory notes give historical and literary background that bring the text to life. This is the best place to start for English-speaking students of the Spanish language who are approaching the original Spanish text of Don Quijote for the first time.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Acceptable, May 12, 2006

By 

bukhtan (Chicago, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aventuras del Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Paperback)

This brief series of selections from the first part of Quijote is probably an adequate text for those who have only recently started reading Spanish and are bent on reading Cervantes in something approaching the original as quickly as possible.

However, the author never makes clear what principles he has followed in modifying the language in order to make it more accessible to "intermediate" students. Sometimes, a word is changed; sometimes, an entire passage has been paraphrased; sometimes, large parts have been left out altogether.

Cervantes orginal language is surprisingly comprehensible to the modern student; clarity is one the many signs of his genius. This very accessibility is a bit of a drawback; "intermediate" students are still presumably trying to get their Spanish in working order, and Cervantes may taint their language in the way Quijote's own "feridas" and other archaic lingo tainted his.

I'd recommend that readers hold out a bit longer, then use a well-annotated Quijote intended for native speakers, such as Riquer's or Rico's.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A tragic gutting of a great story., February 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Aventuras del Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Paperback)

This is a servicable abridgement, easy to read and an okay place to start for non-native speakers of Spanish, in their second or third year of study. However, the editor sees fit to interrupt the narrative every page and a half with notes in English. The most galling aspect is the study questions in Spanish after each chapter, which ask about information introduced in the English language notes. Keep looking for a good edition, this isn't it.