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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After 24 hours of listening to the audio book, with 13 hours to go, I can finally DNF this one. And I feel relieved already.
TL;DR: This book could have been 500 pages, and it would have been so much better!
First of all, this book can be highly entertaining! Although it was written 400 years ago, the irony and wit shines through. The first half was a breeze. I would find myself anticipating the next chapter, curious to know what would happen next.
Ultimately, the book's biggest downfall is its repetitiveness. I realized that I enjoyed the book most when the focus was not on Don Quixote. Cardenio, Anselmo and Fernando, Zoraida - all of these characters were the truest sources of entertainment. The author's writing shone best when he was weaving their stories in and out, one chapter after another, with Don Quixote becoming a secondary character in his own history.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end (unlike this book, which drags on!) and the first part closed on a high.
The second part then became ALL about Quixote and Sancho, none of whom I particularly care about. It was too tedious to read of Quixote's meaningless episodic adventures, and so sadly, with only 13 hours to go, I accepted that this just isn't a book I care to listen to until the end.
(Also, the windmills scene is highly overrated.)
TL;DR: This book could have been 500 pages, and it would have been so much better!
First of all, this book can be highly entertaining! Although it was written 400 years ago, the irony and wit shines through. The first half was a breeze. I would find myself anticipating the next chapter, curious to know what would happen next.
Ultimately, the book's biggest downfall is its repetitiveness. I realized that I enjoyed the book most when the focus was not on Don Quixote. Cardenio, Anselmo and Fernando, Zoraida - all of these characters were the truest sources of entertainment. The author's writing shone best when he was weaving their stories in and out, one chapter after another, with Don Quixote becoming a secondary character in his own history.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end (unlike this book, which drags on!) and the first part closed on a high.
The second part then became ALL about Quixote and Sancho, none of whom I particularly care about. It was too tedious to read of Quixote's meaningless episodic adventures, and so sadly, with only 13 hours to go, I accepted that this just isn't a book I care to listen to until the end.
(Also, the windmills scene is highly overrated.)
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i was reading this for school but dropped it because i felt like if i read another page i was gonna go insane
adventurous
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There’s a reason this book is as well loved now as it was when it first came out! I can’t believe it’s 400 years old. There were parts where I laughed out loud, even when reading it in public. The history alone surrounding the second part is such a funny thing to think about, with another author writing such a bad version it gets referenced multiple times and Cervantes killing off Don Quixote for good so no one can ever do it again. I wish I was fluent in Spanish so I could pick up on the word plays that get mentioned in footnotes. I have such a fondness for this book and am glad I read it in my twenties so I can revisit many times throughout the remaining course of my life.
3.5, mainly because i like my classics with some profundity and this isn't one to find it in. Look, this book is like the origins for so many comedic and novel tropes it's not even funny, so reading this is sort of a discovery of all these things - the Office zoom in on the face, the origins of the term Lothario, the breaking of the 4th wall with the translator being a narrator of a fake writer's account of a fake knight errant. Lol it's like xzibit.
So there's a lot to honor in this book, and what it was the O.G. of. And there were several laugh out loud moments that i delighted in, particularly Sancho being a lovable dumbass. And right alongside the folks playing along with Don Quixote's insanity, you wanted to as well. You wanted to support his crazy ass dream to think that he's being beleaguered by enchanters. You root for him to actually win a sword battle instead of both of them falling under a rain of blows and wearily marching home with a donkey and a bony old horse.
The flaw? This is too goddamn long for what it is. The "crazy-ass dude going out and mistaking commonplace things for villains and everyone playing along with it" schtick gets old in certain spots, and though Cervantes tries to change it up, there's still sections that could easily be culled while still getting the character of the book. Because it IS a fun one, and it IS so culturally significant, and it IS worth a read.
So there's a lot to honor in this book, and what it was the O.G. of. And there were several laugh out loud moments that i delighted in, particularly Sancho being a lovable dumbass. And right alongside the folks playing along with Don Quixote's insanity, you wanted to as well. You wanted to support his crazy ass dream to think that he's being beleaguered by enchanters. You root for him to actually win a sword battle instead of both of them falling under a rain of blows and wearily marching home with a donkey and a bony old horse.
The flaw? This is too goddamn long for what it is. The "crazy-ass dude going out and mistaking commonplace things for villains and everyone playing along with it" schtick gets old in certain spots, and though Cervantes tries to change it up, there's still sections that could easily be culled while still getting the character of the book. Because it IS a fun one, and it IS so culturally significant, and it IS worth a read.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes