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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
In a village of La Mancha the name of which I have no desire to recall, there live not so long ago one of those gentlemen who always have a lance in the rack, an ancient buckler, a skinny nag, and a greyhound for the chase. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
the best version of Don Quixote I've come across,
By Steve Fuson "comics geek" (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Penguin Classics Don Quixote (Paperback)
I have a couple versions of Don Quixote, and I've looked at others, and this version, translated by J. M. Cohen, is my personal favorite. From his introduction you find that he has a great love for Spanish literature in general, and this book in particular. His translation of the first sentence alone makes the book; "Idle reader, you can believe without any oath of mine that I would wish this book, as the child of my brain, to be the most beautiful, the liveliest and the cleverest imaginable." Due to the subtlety of languages, every version I've read of this sentence is different, and I don't know much Spanish, nor do I have a Spanish copy to ask a friend to translate it for me, so I couldn't tell you what version is most accurate, but I can tell you that J. M. Cohen's version seems to fit the tone and tempo of the rest of the book. This version also collects both the first and second Don Quixote novels by Cervantes. I haven't seen any other collection which has this, and I can't find the sequel on it's own. The book itself is very funny. Unlike the way Don Quixote is often protrayed, Don Quixote doesn't go mad, he simply chooses to see the world differently, to see himself as a knight, to see windmills as giants, to see inn's as castles. His exploits cause him to have quite a bit of painful accidents, but he continues on. Sancho Panza, often described as a "simple fool" I believe may have been mentally retarded, because he genuinely believed the things his master told him, despite all evidence to the contrary. At times, he would make up stories to get out of errands Don Quixote sent him on, and, like a child, would come to believe his own fictions. In their journeys they meet a variety of characters, some boring which Don Quixote makes interesting, some interesting which Don Quixote ignores, thinking them boring. They find adventures where none are to be had, and sleep while genuine adventurs occur all around them. It's a brilliant story which still holds up over four hundred years after it origionally saw print, and in this translation, including both books, is quite a pleasure to read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where to begin?,
By nto62 (Corona, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Don Quixote de La Mancha (Hardcover)
How do I, a literary amateur, rate a book nearly 400 years old that has been acclaimed by not a few scholarly experts as the greatest novel ever written? I feel a bit like the boy who had the temerity to point out that the emperor was naked, for I have failed to award Don Quixote five stars. Judged by modern-day standards, Cervantes could be accused of sloppiness. He confuses the chronology of his own storyline in several places, though this is as charming as it is perplexing. Seeking to satirically skewer the tales of chivalrous knights-errant popular at the time, Cervantes presents us with Quixote, a loveable madman, and his squire, Sancho Panza, who fluctuates between utter naivete and admirable sagacity throughout. The pair are nothing if not endearing. Sallying forth to right wrongs, assist the down-trodden, and punish the wicked, the two find themselves in a pragmatic and cynical world, astonished and humored by the lunatic idealism of Quixote and the simpleminded fealty of his squire.Over the course of 5 weeks I read Don Quixote and the experience was varied. At times enthralled, at times merely mildly amused, I looked eagerly forward to resuming the book and, on occasion, half-heartedly attempted to avoid it. To be blunt, there is much in the book that borders on childlike innocence, but there is much as well that strikes a deep chord of love, idealism, perserverence, and grace. On the surface, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza could be regarded as fools. Beneath this foolishness, however, lie the hearts of lions and an unconquerable spirit which provide the ultimate reward to the reader. The book ends abruptly and badly. After so many adventures through so many pages it was disappointing to behold the manner in which Cervantes opted to close. However, this should by no means dissuade the potential reader. Indeed, Don Quixote, for everything wonderful contained within it, should be read by all. For those who choose to do so, the Putnam translation is outstanding and footnoted with excellent detail.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
DON'T FOOL YOURSELF,
This review is from: Don Quixote (Paperback)
DON QUIXOTE is a masterpiece and Smollet's translation is also a masterpiece--the best possible, as it reads like an original. Want DQ in modern English? Don't fool yourself--you'll never get the same feeling--DQ is even difficult for Spanish-speakers to read! The raves on the back cover are not misleads.
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