Customer Reviews

Don Quixote de la Mancha (Oxford World's Classics)

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I took the time to read both volumes of Don Quixote, starting at the end of this past summer, and just finishing up in mid-November, and even better, in the New Century Library version, lovely old leather bound books with gold ribbons for markers. I didn't read it straight; it was interspersed with many other books on my stack.

Oh my. What a satisfying read. Of course you are familiar with the basic premise of this book, the mad Don Quixote tilting after windmills, his faithful squire Sancho Panza at his side and always on the lookout for a good meal. What I was not prepared for, and was totally delighted by, were the many and varied side stories, the topsy turvy relationship between madness and sanity (and who is which, anyway?), the wisdom of Sancho Panza as Governor (at long last!) of his very own island, and the surreal relationship between the narrator, the author, and the narrated.

This is a complex work, and could be discussed with many different themes in mind--idealism vs. pragmatism, honesty vs. duplicity, madness vs. sanity, the follies of the rich vs. the follies of the poor. Chivalry. Romantic love. Storytelling. Renunciation. The Quest. Devotion. Class structure. Religious persecution.

The only thing that bothered me about this book was that everybody was endlessly enchanted and ready to give the benefit of the doubt to beautiful young men and women, that beauty in this book equaled virtue and a kind heart, a small complaint indeed regarding this masterpiece.

If you've already read this book, this is just preaching to the choir. But if you're trying to decide whether or not to take the time, the answer is yes, yes and yes! You won't regret it, and your heart and soul will thank you.

Possibly the greatest novel of all time.

Every human soul should be required to read this at least once in his/her lifetime.

What blew me away is how 'modern' it is. Written in the early 1600's, Cervantes (via Don and Sancho) pontificates without end on how "today's" society has lost its will, its moral fiber, its work ethic, its lack of respect for things like....chivalry.

The Ingenious Man of LaMancha, the Knight of the Sorrowful Figure, is a man for all times. His 'madness' is, quite truly, a 'madness' of which we could all benefit.

Long? Yes. Lots of divergent/side stories? Yes. What great work doesn't answer 'yes' to both.

And, yeah, it's funny too.

I adored this book. Very long, at times very slow, Don Quixote basically tells us that the noble delusions of a madman can create a far more satisfying example of life than the bleak, grounded and urgently seriously expectations of scholars, the religious and politically minded as well as the everyday drone who keeps a tight reign on what they will allow themselves to believe.

Don Quixote himself (as so many other reviewers either trumpet and proclaim or allow themselves to admit) is a flat out wonderful creation; a man so clearly out of his mind and yet one we cannot help but root for and hope to be never disuaded from his insanity, that he becomes something of an aspiration for all of us dreamers and imaginative souls. Here is a man who believes on in good, in what is noble and decent (let us ignore the occasional lapses into seeming intolerance, taking the early 17th century into account and contrast that with both Don Quixote's treatment of the so-called scourge as well as the identity of the fictitious author of this work within the work) and in an essential love for all of humanity. None of us--and that includes no one--can ever hope to even reflect the nobility of this grand character. His truth, filled with wizards and monsters and dreams coming true, is more like a place we all wish we could be than the sad and head-wagging tragedy it might be in our own realities. This book is a thing of beauty, a hope screaming in a bottomless well of scorned dreams that make up all of our lives and to condemn such flights of fancy and such obvious ranting lunacy makes one resemble the sad, defeated figure at the end of this book. The lesson to be learned is that once we give up on our dreams, all that is left is death.

Recommended very highly. The length should not intimidate or put one off as it is a quick-paced narrative filled with adventures and excitement and all told with a cool-headed satirical view. Give it a chance and do not take anything like logistical errors and clear and obvious mistakes to heart as Cervantes was wise enough to catch himself later on and comment on all the misunderstandings that any academic and humorless mind might see fit to whine about and then tell that person they are a fool because they cannot relate to the Don's point of view.

Don Quixote is a comedy, which could only have been written by the hitherto obscure genius later in life after he had suffered injury on the battlefield and was subject to periods of harsh confinement in prison. The comedy is bittersweet about this everyman who lives strictly by a code of ancient ethical ideals that inspire him to fits of lunacy, folly and madness. Lucid, indeed inspired, when the subject is anything but knight errantry, Quixote's commitment to his ideals brings him insult, injury, poverty and ridicule. This knight is duped by his convictions into waging war on windmills, galley slaves, funeral processions, pilgrims, shepherds, herds of bulls and countless chimeras invoked in the name of love for his Dona el Toboso. This most chaste of knights cannot see the realities of human nature and worse cannot accept them. His endless brutal punishments for his idealistic blindspots plague him and his squire, Pancho Panza, wherever they aspire in the personal quest to right an injury, assist a noble cause, protect the weak and innocent, and slay evil demons of every imaginable stripe. When I first read this novel, I thought Quixote a fool who was duly punished for being so out of touch with reality. By the end of the novel I saw that Don Quixote was no less than an everyman whose noblest instincts were doomed to bring suffering upon him as he was driven to confront the baser powers of existence. What Crusader fails to risk madness in the wake of the futility of human action in a vast, overpowering and hostile universe? In Quixote and Sancho I caught a glimpse of Vladimir and Estragon in "Waiting for Godot." One man's truth is another's falsehood. One man's reality is another's illusion. One man's ideal is another's folly. Yet Quixote rides out in his quests across Spain, nevertheless, without fear for the chaos he engenders nor the futility of his cause nor the danger to himself or his best friend. For his nobility Don Quixote becomes not only famous and truly beloved but also earns immortality. Read this "father of the modern novel" for its wit and genius and classical construction to understand the Quixotic ideals that stir within you and the possibilities for real victory of the human spirit.

Very happy with this purchase. The book arrived quickly and in excellent shape. Would definitely order from this vender again.

I don't believe that I have ever read a greater novel. My opinion is that Miguel de Cervantes is nothing short of a genius.
After 400+ years, this book still stands as one of the literary classics of all time, and for good reason.
Yes, it is long, but be assured that I will read it again. I only regret that it took me so long to read it.
The 1742 translation may be a bit difficult to read at first, but it will flow freely in short order.

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is all of us, and perhaps none of us. What is madness? Who of us are truly mad? Read this masterpiece and you decide.

Don Quixote de la Mancha is humorous, serious, sad, happy and the many messages apply today as it did at the original writing.

Don Quixote is a novel that reflects the 'excesses' of man in this world. That is the two characters (DQ and Sancho) punish evils. And evils represent the dark or greedy side of human beings.