Buy new:
$25.93
FREE delivery: Thursday, April 25
Ships from: SHAHIKA
Sold by: SHAHIKA
FREE delivery Thursday, April 25. Details
Or fastest delivery April 19 - 23. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$25.93 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$25.93
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
SHAHIKA
Ships from
SHAHIKA
Sold by
Sold by
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Wednesday, April 24 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Friday, April 19. Order within 16 hrs 34 mins
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: 👌 Great reading copy and overall good condition. Pages are legible but may include writing, underlining/highlighting, some wear & creases on the cover. *Cover jacket can be missing or suffer minor tears. Book may show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges, Light stains etc. Item may be missing bundled Media/Items. An can previously have been library or school. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24/7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Other Sellers on Amazon
Added
$21.83
+ $3.99 shipping
Sold by: 365giftshop
Sold by: 365giftshop
(337 ratings)
98% positive over last 12 months
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Shipping rates and Return policy
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Don Quijote (Norton Critical Editions) First Edition

4.5 out of 5 stars 76

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$25.93","priceAmount":25.93,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"25","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"93","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"tco%2BU3%2BI1s2STfdQiKETnIR%2F5zGpEAcZuD4mnxKH7FRwC%2FbiKn5hoSnMJrXWqZsG%2BLo2udvBFWRQqBRXFQKv5nthsB%2BO4whU6ZfFHaoaFKcmematA3ag3di6efXyzlnL5lzznI9ctIchyjG3YxfZN7agQcxpgorEN8hQNZKwIxu9ULTmVg3tmKXP5OwJV34Q","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$10.99","priceAmount":10.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"tco%2BU3%2BI1s2STfdQiKETnIR%2F5zGpEAcZJUzJthfzMp6sM9ckVR9Bycx8Pt3I6SAVqh%2Fqan%2Fs9%2FMLB3Otcardtfxkok1K6ZYfRFkGn8EShaYB8gOWX3jqldZJUctA0sPvqJLxaY9cTt8ErIhXIcZRT%2BMzxMKdIFkl5AO%2FH1TivXnoAAZT%2BIb7%2Fg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The text reprinted here is based on award-winning translator Burton Raffel’s masterful translation of Don Quijote, which is consistent, fluid, and modeled closely on the original Spanish.

"Backgrounds and Context" invites readers to explore the creative process that culminated in the publication of Don Quijote.  Included are selections from works parodied by Cervantes (Amadis of Gaul and Orlando Furioso) and a portion of the spurious sequel to Part 1 written by Fernándes de Avellaneda.

"Criticisms" presents fifteen major interpretations of both the novel and selected episodes, describing Cervantes’ intellectual milieu, revealing how he infused new life into the literary modes and motifs he had inherited, and illustrating the fundamental importance of
Don Quijote in the history of modern fiction.

Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Frequently bought together

$25.93
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by SHAHIKA.
+
$22.54
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Apr 23
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Raffel has managed, by extremely careful research, to keep the flavor of the late-seventeenth-century Spanish, at the same time that the English is very smooth. . . . Indeed, Raffel seems to have created a Cervantine English. -- Javier Herrero, University of Virginia

About the Author

Diana de Armas Wilson is Professor Emerita of English and Renaissnace Studies at the University of Denver. She is the author of Allegories of Love: Cervantes’s Persiles and Sigismunda; co-editor of Quixotic Desire: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Cervantes; and author of Cervantes, the Novel, and the New World.

Burton Raffel is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Emeritus. He is the translator of many works, including Gargantua and Pantagruel (awarded the French-American Foundation Translation Prize), Pere Goriot, Beowulf, and the five romances of Chrétien de Troyes.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition (January 17, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 880 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 039397281X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393972818
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.46 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.7 x 1 x 9.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 76

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
76 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2015
(This review is for the 1999 Norton Critical Edition of Don Quijote, translated by Burton Raffel.)

Cervantes did not write Don Quijote to please literary critics or scholars. He makes that clear in the prologue, where he skewers them. He was writing for Everyman. The Underdog. Joe Blow. The common guy… blue collar workers.

Well, guess what. That’s me.

I’m not a scholar specializing in 17th century Spanish literature. I’m just some middle class guy in the U.S. pushing 50 who has never read the famous Don Quijote. And even though there was a time when I was translating between English and Spanish on a daily basis, and actually dreaming in Spanish, it’s not my first language. So not only am I Joe Blow, but I’m Joe Blow once removed, digging into an English translation of a Spanish masterpiece.

Given that, Burton Raffel is the translator for me. His language is clear and his footnotes are opening doors of understanding that would have remained closed to me anywhere else.

On page 20, for example, Raffel’s footnote is, “Don Quijote recites the first two lines of a poem from a popular sixteenth-century romance; the innkeeper responds with the next two lines.” When I read this same passage from another edition without the footnote, I had no idea that the innkeeper was playing a game with Quijote… an old-school version of ‘quoting song lyrics from the same song.’ Suddenly I understand more about the innkeeper, more about the relationship between the two, and more about Quijote and the power of his delusions.

Raffel’s insights help me to see the inside joke again on page 26, where Don Quijote bestows upon the prostitutes the honorable title of “Doña,” and the footnotes explain: “Don Quijote tries to ennoble these prostitutes, whose lineage does not entitle them to the honorific title of ‘Doña.’ His aristocratic address, however, ironically coincides with the practice of ‘real life’ Spanish Renaissance prostitutes.”

A scholar focusing on the period would know that. A native Spanish speaker familiar with the times would probably know that. I did not know that, but Raffel draws back the curtain so I, too, can take a peek behind the scenes… Even a guy like ME is invited to the party.

Cervantes was not writing to be elitist; rather, he was poking fun at elitism, and in doing so, he was reaching out to the masses. My judgment is that Raffel’s approach carries on this spirit of reaching out to Everyman by shining light on what might remain obscured or lost in translation. Knowing as little as I do about the chivalric romances of the 1600’s and of Spanish literature in general, I get the feeling as I read Cervantes for the first time that he, the author, is sitting to my left, Raffel to my right, and I’m in the middle, turning the pages with a grin on my face. And every now and again, as Cervantes is laughing his head off and I’m trying to figure out why, Raffel reaches over, points to a phrase, and explains it to me in words I can understand.

Raffel helps Cervantes bring me to a deeper understanding of myself.

So if Spanish literature happens to be your passion, your specialty, your career, you may not appreciate Raffel's translation the way I do. You may find other editions more satisfying. But whether or not others throw stones at Raffel's work, I can tell you it's precisely the right version for me.
64 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2015
I checked out a few positively reviewed translations of Cervantes' masterpiece, including Edith Grossman's highly praised recent version and Tobias Smollett's contemporaneous (with Cervantes) version before settling on this one, done by Burton Raffel in the late 1990's. My primary concern was pure readability, and on that score Raffel is the clear winner for me. The other versions have their fans for good reasons, and at times I was happy to have them to refer to during particular passages, either for clarification or just another take on Cervantes intention. Grossman seems very diligent in doing everything she can to preserve the writer's cadence and tone, but at times twists the English language awkwardly in doing so. You can see her problem in the first paragraph of Chapter 1, which loses its way by being overly literal. Smollett, a noted English writer of the 17th Century, brings a charmingly quirky spirit to the book that fits its subject and characters perfectly, but is somewhat difficult going for a modern reader (or at least for this modern reader). With Raffel's translation, I was able to submerge myself in the story and in the world it brings to life while thoroughly enjoying Cervantes' timeless wit and surprisingly contemporary sense of irony. In any case, the book itself is a great enough delight to make up for any number of minor shortcomings in translation. Do yourself a favor and read one version or another.
23 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2013
I bought this for my son before his tour of Spain's sea coasts and big cities, but of course had to read it first, as a "bucket list" must. Both of us loved the clarity of the absurd characters and the irony of the adventures and dialog.
We both knew we should have read this classic in our school days, but I expect it is more enjoyable now in the experience of our middle and senior ages. This edition of the text offers direct assistance to a first reader and fewer academic trappings to annoy us, long from the classroom or even those rushing to a teacher's deadline. The translator's usage and introduction remind us why this is a great book and help us enjoy it.
4 people found this helpful
Report

Top reviews from other countries

Vaibhav
1.0 out of 5 stars A landmark Novel, poor quality of book condition
Reviewed in India on August 30, 2020
This is a review for the Norton Critical Edition of Don Quijote. The edition in itself is good one. The quality of pages are decent, the fonts are small so can be tidious reading, and this is a long read. Readers will benefit from the 'Background and contexts' and 'Criticism' sections, this makes understanding the context of Cervantes writting for a general reader trying to navigate the translated narratives from a bygone era. However, as you can see in the pictures, the condition of the book is not so good. The cover page (front and back) are bended, the pages outer linning are dirty in dust. This looks either a very old or a used copy. There are writings on the last page by someone in pencil, which is disappointing for a 1000 rupees book you expect quality. Apart from that, this is a good edition for anyone to grasp this landmark of a book.
Customer image
Vaibhav
1.0 out of 5 stars A landmark Novel, poor quality of book condition
Reviewed in India on August 30, 2020
This is a review for the Norton Critical Edition of Don Quijote. The edition in itself is good one. The quality of pages are decent, the fonts are small so can be tidious reading, and this is a long read. Readers will benefit from the 'Background and contexts' and 'Criticism' sections, this makes understanding the context of Cervantes writting for a general reader trying to navigate the translated narratives from a bygone era. However, as you can see in the pictures, the condition of the book is not so good. The cover page (front and back) are bended, the pages outer linning are dirty in dust. This looks either a very old or a used copy. There are writings on the last page by someone in pencil, which is disappointing for a 1000 rupees book you expect quality. Apart from that, this is a good edition for anyone to grasp this landmark of a book.
Images in this review
Customer image Customer image Customer image
Customer imageCustomer imageCustomer image
One person found this helpful
Report
Peter Green
5.0 out of 5 stars Very readable translation of a great book. The additional articles are interesting as well
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2015
Very readable translation of a great book. The additional articles are interesting as well.
Herman Fox
5.0 out of 5 stars Well sold, well preserved book
Reviewed in Canada on July 19, 2012
Thank's for your trustworthy service, the document was in a good shape, even though it arrived a day or two late - but it was not a trouble at all for me. Most of all, the price was very low, it encourages me to read classics and improve my english. All this to say that I'm satisfied, thank you sir for this book.
One person found this helpful
Report
Krishnamurthy R S
1.0 out of 5 stars Book looks old. Be careful about this seller.
Reviewed in India on September 26, 2021
Book looks old. Be careful about this seller.