Reviews

Don Quixote Vol II by Miguel de Cervantes

dyno8426's review against another edition

5.0

This thoroughly entertaining book deserves to be called one of the foremost modern classics. I loved reading it and it was not just to see how the adventures of our delusional Don Quixote fare him, or how his simple-minded squire, the memorable Sancho Panza keeps on stringing proverbs after proverbs whenever his master puts him in one shenanigan after another. The authors uses this satirical approach to challenge the ideal notions of chivalry, romance and adventure. Undoubtedly, the dreaminess and imaginative departure that the genre of such literature promises is exactly the butt of the joke that Don Quixote's life stands for. Through the high-mindedness of Quixote's delusion and extremes ranging to madness, the author unravels and showcases the vulnerability of human condition to the pursuit of lofty ideals and impractical dreams. One can see how behind Don Quixote's failures is his innocent, almost child-like imagination which makes him thick-skinned to the gawking reality that always challenges and eventually crushes him. Looking closely, the joke's not on Don Quixote; he's just a poster-child - instead it is on those characters and archetypal virtues that promise glory and are baited for pursuit in our humble lives. The rigidity of the path towards chasing ideals is sometimes represented as an asymptote of expectations, which becomes humorous and idiotic soon enough. We have frequently experienced in real life when we see anybody trying really hard to maintain a chastity of spirit in any field through blind belief. Blindness of this sort is usually pity-evoking and sometimes even frightening. In Don Quixote's case, we see the author ridiculing such proponents or champions of make-believe causes, trying to escape the mundaneness and insignificance of life through self-proclaimed titles and incredible audacity of character. Even more generically, it displays a pathetic, egotistical desire associated with human condition to feel important. Like our protagonist, this belief sometimes envisions itself as a knighthood of a noble causes which is entitled to us by some higher power and uplifting damsels from low living, considering the rest of the humanity as unworthy or ignorant in bearing the arms for such causes. Through the use of literature as a symbol, he brings the attention and judgement of readers in evaluating myths in general by the same standards of sanity. Humour is always accompanied by a painful realisation of something which hurts, and laughter is a release of the tension that this realisation causes us. Don Quixote is an embodiment of this desire to challenge reality with lofty ideals, and with such stubbornness and arrogance that despite repetitive limitations, sometimes we will never converge with the omnipresent reality. And if Don Quixote stands for castles in the air with all fluff and no substance, then Sancho Panza is the hard, uncompromising reality that is ever ready to welcome us when dreams come crashing to the ground. While Don Quixote is the epitome of self-delusion and hollow ambition, Sancho Panza is a contrast through grounded desires and a rebellion of ideals. His occasional cunning while sometimes impresses and sprinkles sanity to Don Quixote's perceptions, he himself is a slave to his own vices which further abandons of hope of any escape from our condition. Sancho Panza is unable to prevent himself from being dragged by his master's imagination and often fools his own judgement by becoming a victim of unrealistic hopes. At times, it becomes hard to distinguish the foolhardiness of the two. Even the author makes sure to strip away all the filters of chivalric honour and dignity from Quixote's continuous streak of misfortune and even from his indefatigable romantic spirit. His life becomes an icon in this world by having lived in a world of his own - an example of righteousness sanity. I somewhere read that Miguel De Cervantes thought of and worked on his book while being in a mental asylum himself. While he was grappling with his own notions of sanity, it makes one think of how greyish and diversely applicable the idea of sanity is. The degree of departure from reality and the loss of control over one's consciousness is a spectrum, and how lightly we go on using the terms of "being mad", when it actually reflects a relativity of our experience with respect to others. Whether it's an affliction or it's a choice, the author makes us question by putting the image of the ingenious hidalgo - Don Quixote de la Mancha, and makes us wonder how wrong is it to be happy in our own worlds?

elysehdez19's review against another edition

5.0

Sólo tengo una cosa que decir: woooooow

kayleigh214's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

davisroberts's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring medium-paced

5.0

dfarrar14's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

notter's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

chocorb's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

when i tell you this book had everything i was looking for and so much more… it’s perfect. i love adventurous and comedic books like this, it was so exciting to read through and i felt as if i were don quixote or sancho at times.

i think the concept of those different tales within this book, such as those of the various characters, made this experience so much more enjoyable. i personally love books where we go on adventures and meet new people, so the abundance of characters, each complex in their own right, made me so giddy while reading this. the humor in every situation added to my joy too!! i laughed so much while reading this, it was like listening (i was on an audiobook) to a sitcom.
i want to comment on the fact that the duke and duchess went though so much effort just to make fools of don quixote and sancho? as much as i loved some of the mishaps during that time, i thought it was very excessive for the sake of a little fun. it contributed a little, if not all, to their poor condition in my opinion. i think i enjoyed the first volume more entirely due to the fact because half the adventure in volume two were staged, and though just as amusing to read through, they didn’t feel as…authentic, i suppose.
now the ending, it’s almost 3 am and i was not prepared for the tragedy. this made me SOB. don quixote, we have thought you were mad but that didn’t make me respect you any less; you are a hero brave enough to do what others only dream of and for that i applaud the life you lived serving others. the world will remember you. sancho begging his master to live on was what broke me, he with his proverbs (which are so funny) and a mouth that yaps on a bit too much, when he started breaking down it was too much for my heart to handle.

like all adventures, this one too had to come to an end. far too soon, in my opinion. i will always remember this book and suddenly start laughing out of nowhere like a madman

nettecjl's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed the exploration of idealism vs realism theme and the humour the characters brought to the story. The adventures can feel repetitive after a while though. Would recommend watching Michael Sugrue’s commentary on the book as well, it definitely makes a good closure.

awest505's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

sammywubbs's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0