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![Don Quijote de la Mancha I [With MP3] by Miguel de Cervantes](https://cdn.thestorygraph.com/kvhw6thtu7bpnhvxd1ocgvxncu5w)
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I read this in Spanish and even thought that is my first language, this book drove me up the wall. Sorry, Miguel
To have been the book that started modern fiction would have been enough. To have been a great book would have been enough too. To have been the book that started modern fiction and to be a book so great it’s difficult to think of anything that can surpass it even 400 years later is a bit special. I consider myself blown away. It’s very funny too.
Oh my god, this was a slog. I suppose so much of the 'genre changing' elements of this book have been assimilated into later books so it doesn't stick out as being as awesome as literary experts would have you believe. Rather, this book was an adventure in tediousness and 14th century slut-shaming. I had to cut off the audiobook for like a week after the stupid two chapters of book-within-a-book that amounted to basically 'Women are awful and slutty because their men don't trust them.' The adventures were not adventurous, and Don Quixote is basically constantly tortured by other people on account of his literal insanity and at the end of the book he renounces his knighthood and declares that the whole book was pointless. And that's exactly what I felt this book amounted to - nothing but pointlessness.
Ugh, just a punishing, punishing read.
Ugh, just a punishing, punishing read.
Oh it's incredibly funny. I laughed out loud at so many parts. I recommend it to absolutely everyone and would read it to my kids if I ever have any. I skipped quite a few of the footnotes and on a future read will go back and dig into more of the satire contemporary to its period, which can only add to its novelty.
Read the John Rutherford translation. I've heard any other is bollocks.
Read the John Rutherford translation. I've heard any other is bollocks.
This was definitely not my cup of tea and if I'm being perfectly honest, I don't really get how people call this one of the best novels ever written. I didn't find it as funny as it was supposed to be; in fact, I just thought it was kind of stupid. Occasionally, it got a chuckle out of me. I just didn't really like reading about someone as actually mad/insane as Don Quixote was.
Well, what a blooming amazing book. If no one had told me it I was written 500 years ago I would have guessed it was written yesterday. You can see the book summary above so I won’t go on about that…i read the Edith Grossman translation
I thought this was utterly perfect. It had the sort of stories you want to hear told to you by a fireside, it had wonderful humour, the best account of friendship I have ever read, violence, adventure and winding through all that, Knight Errantry.
Although Don Quixote is said to be mad, I don’t think he is. I think Don Quixote just wants the world to be of an order of magnitude better than it is and rather than doing the 17th century equivalent of pontificating on social media, he gets up off his bottom and goes out to be the man he thinks he should be.
The two sections of the book are very different. The first has lots of stories within the main story and the adventures are a little more wacky. The second part is more controlled ..I liked both and had favourite sections in each. Chapter 20 being the one that I enjoyed the most. The humour was my cup of tea and I spent a lot of time smiling and giggling while reading or thinking about this.
The characters are just so lovable, they have become friends through my reading and I am so sad to put them back on the bookshelf for another meeting in the future.
I read this as part of the Hardcore Literature book club on YouTube and Patreon. This book club has got me reading books like this that I would never have picked up otherwise. I am indebted to it.
I thought this was utterly perfect. It had the sort of stories you want to hear told to you by a fireside, it had wonderful humour, the best account of friendship I have ever read, violence, adventure and winding through all that, Knight Errantry.
Although Don Quixote is said to be mad, I don’t think he is. I think Don Quixote just wants the world to be of an order of magnitude better than it is and rather than doing the 17th century equivalent of pontificating on social media, he gets up off his bottom and goes out to be the man he thinks he should be.
The two sections of the book are very different. The first has lots of stories within the main story and the adventures are a little more wacky. The second part is more controlled ..I liked both and had favourite sections in each. Chapter 20 being the one that I enjoyed the most. The humour was my cup of tea and I spent a lot of time smiling and giggling while reading or thinking about this.
The characters are just so lovable, they have become friends through my reading and I am so sad to put them back on the bookshelf for another meeting in the future.
I read this as part of the Hardcore Literature book club on YouTube and Patreon. This book club has got me reading books like this that I would never have picked up otherwise. I am indebted to it.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was... good! I think there's probably a good 200 pages that could have been trimmed from the thousand page book, but still good!!
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes