Product Description

Since 1917 The Modern Library prides itself as The modern Library of the world s Best Books . Featuring introductions by leading writers, stunning translations, scholarly endnotes and reading group guides. Production values emphasize superior quality and readability. Competitive prices, coupled with exciting cover design make these an ideal gift to be cherished by the avid reader. Don Quixote is practically unthinkable as a living being," said novelist Milan Kundera. "And yet, in our memory, what character is more alive?" ----Widely regarded as the world's first modern novel, Don Quixote chronicles the famous picaresque adventures of the noble knight-errant Don Quixote de La Mancha and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through sixteenth-century Spain. This Modern Library edition presents the acclaimed Samuel Putnam translation of the epic tale, complete with notes, variant readings, and an Introduction by the translator. ----The debt owed to Cervantes by literature is immense. From Milan Kundera: "Cervan- tes is the founder of the Modern Era. . . . The novelist need answer to no one but Cervantes." Lionel Trilling observed: "It can be said that all prose fiction is a variation on the theme of Don Quixote." Vladmir Nabo-kov wrote: "Don Quixote is greater today than he was in Cervantes's womb. [He] looms so wonderfully above the skyline of literature, a gaunt giant on a lean nag, that the book lives and will live through [his] sheer vitality. . . . He stands for everything that is gentle, forlorn, pure, unselfish, and gallant. The parody has become a paragon." And V. S. Pritchett observed: "Don Quixote begins as a province, turns into Spain, and ends as a universe. . . . The true spell of Cervantes is that he is a natural magician in pure story-telling."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #271797 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-01
• Original language: Spanish
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1280 pages

Review
"Cervantes's masterpiece is lucky to have found so perfect a translator as the flamboyant Smollett. The rambunctious personalities of author and translator are ideally matched."

"From the Trade Paperback edition." --Trade Paperback

About the Author
Translated by Charles Jarvis, and edited with an Introduction by E. C. Riley, Professor Emeritus of Hispanic Studies, University of Edinburgh

Customer Reviews

Ultimately satisfying
I came to this book knowing very little, and at first found it quite hard going. But once I got into it, I became determined to make it to the end, and I was glad I did. It's split into two volumes, and the second is quite different in style and content to the first. Whereas in the first part we follow Quixote & Sancho on their misadventures through Spain, with LONG diversions into the lives of minor characters (almost like mini-novels within the full text and filled with outrageous coincidences), the second part deals mainly with characters who have actually read the first volume and decide to play along with the duo's delusions and have some fun at their expense. Both Quixote & Sancho change a lot through this second volume, going to some truly unexpected places (especially Sancho on his "island").

By the time the final chapter came to a close, my opinion was one hundred percent positive, and I shall definitely re-read it one day (when I have a lot of free time!)

The original comedy double act
'DQ' is the story of an old man (Don Quixote) who, having read one too many books about knights of old, goes a little potty and starts believing that he is a knight. He ropes a hapless neighbour (Sancho Panza) into service as his squire and together they go off seeking adventure and fortune. Quixote's madness turns windmills into giants and flocks of sheep into armies, and a peasant woman into the princess for whom he performs his deeds. Along the way they meet a series of people, most of whom exploit Quixote's madness by playing practical jokes and sending him on fool's errands. All the while his friends and family try to entice him back to his home and away from his madness.
Quixote and Panza are the original comedy double act (stupid but thinks he is clever, and stupid but knows it, respectively), and the pair's exploits are genuinely funny. Much of the comedy is slapstick (them getting beaten black and blue) with a good dose of toilet humour thrown in. In addition there is some great dialogue, largely centring on Sancho's attempts at wisdom. This is not merely funny for a four hundred year old book, it is just plain funny. Sancho in particular is a brilliant creation, and the book becomes more about him than Quixote by the end. The first book describes their initial sorties, the second describes their travels after they had become famous (due to the publication of the first book). I like this blurring of fiction and reality, and 'DQ' is the earliest example that I have come across.
However, there are flaws in this book. Cervantes frequently uses the introduction of new characters to get side-tracked into unrelated narratives, which starts to get annoying because they add little or nothing to the book. Cervantes, to his credit, seems to have realised this because in the second book he chastises the fictional author if Quixote's history (called Cid Benengali Hamed) for these mistakes. In addition, the book is very long and it is sometimes hard to see what some of the episodes add to it. Cervantes style improves immeasurably in the second book, probably due to the criticisms of the first book that he himself outlines, so it is definitely worth persevering if you are struggling. By the end he even introduces a tragic element, which is beautifully told; well enough to leave a lump in the throat. Although it is largely comic, the novel definitely has some depth, largely due to the utter believability of its two main characters, who feel very familiar by the end. (In addition I would recommend the translation by Tobias Smollett, which is very accessible but retains the Olde Worlde feel of the setting very nicely). It is an excellent read, funny and vivid, and not at all intimidating despite its size and age. Go on, try it.

Worthy of its reputation
A pleasurable book to read,this translation of DON QUIXOTE made the story easy to understand, and for every reason it stands up to its reputaion as the best-loved novel. Confronting the conventions of Spanish society at his time some four hundred years ago, the author wittily and funnily exposes the folies of the time through the adventures , stories and misfortunes of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

In a broader sense it is the forerunner off other situations where individuals, communities or systems live a complete lie.This is truely an amazing book, one that you won't want to put down once you have started.DON QUIXOTE is a must read which you should include with other must reads like UNION MOUJIK, WAR AND PEACE, GULLIVER'S TRAVEL,CANTERBURY TALES. One thing for sure is that this new translation of DON QUIXOTE will make it a popular story even with the young.