Don Quixote (Modern Library Classics)

cervantes wrote don quixote as a farce, not as a literary masterpiece and that is how it should be read. i would not go so far as to say this was the best book ever written. if this is your opinion i'm lead to believe you haven't actually read the book. and if all you can say is 'the windmills'...i spit on you. i was expecting an epic battle...and all i got was a half paragraph...more

cervantes wrote don quixote as a farce, not as a literary masterpiece and that is how it should be read. i would not go so far as to say this was the best book ever written. if this is your opinion i'm lead to believe you haven't actually read the book. and if all you can say is 'the windmills'...i spit on you. i was expecting an epic battle...and all i got was a half paragraph knockdown... it would have been far more enjoyable had cervantes kept his story strait, perhaps had he given it a once over before throwing it at the publishers feet and praying for at least a few riels in return. the characters, sancho's inpeticular, are very inconsistant throughout the book. to call him honest sancho when half the time he's guessing how he can take more than give out kind of ticks me off... and cervantes..oh my..cervantes...how can sancho have his dapple stolen only to ride away on dapple in the next sentence??? how can sancho's wallet have been stolen only to have used it three chapters later??? how can quixote have stayed locked away with his plastered face in the duke and duchesses castle for 8 days, 5 days and 4 days??? yes, it's irritating to read when the story does not follow itself, though written as a farce, you must take it as a farce. i really loved his books within the book in the first half. i enjoyed those stories almost more than the story of quixote himself. the second half was clearly only written because someone else tried to steal his title... the best part of all was his claim to be only the 'godfather' and not the father of the story...if the story doesn't agree with you...blame cid hamet! hah!   hide

Quixotic is my favorite adjective.

Too detailed and long winded. It was a drag to read. After reading for three weeks each day on the commute to and from work I barely put a dent in it.

Exploits of a dreamy knight, the story is very much a satire to mankind and the way the things are. Some may find it way too boring from the middle and I can't say I was not.

Terry Giliam recommended this translation.

I just love dreamers!