I'm afraid that this "masterpiece" - acclaimed by Cervantes, Mario Vargas Llosa and other writers whom I greatly admire - was more than a bit of a slog for me. The problem, in a nutshell, is with the overbearing rhetoric in its 487 chapters, most of which are replies or responses to what another character has said. In other words, a great deal of the book, especially those regarding the bawdy, amorous dalliances in Constantinople, are responses to responses to responses.
Nevertheless, the book is worth reading for its historical value alone. It expresses, in a style that has become foreign to us, universal human situations and immerses the reader in a very exotic world. Also, its influence on Cervantes in his creation of Don Quixote, the character and the book, is clearly apparent and often striking.
And, whilst there is knightly romance, love, sex, gore and more gore in battle upon battle, and much to keep the reader occupied, if s/he fancies such things; There is also, as Mario Vargas Llosa has noted, a distinctly modern note to it all, best enunciated by Muslim wise man Abdullah Solomon:
"There is no harsher war than with one's own customs and spirit, for since it s fought within the walls - that is, within the man himself - there can be no truce."
This rather modern insight is borne out well as we follow the eponymous knight throughout his life even unto death; if only one were not assaulted by such a host of chapters!
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