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A review by kbkittyb
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Okay, I have opinions that many people will probably hate. So, you have been warned...
Firstly, it took me 3 months to finish this brick of a book. I'm afraid that to me says it is not the book for me...or for a lot of people. There was nothing making me WANT to read this book. The plot was...meh.
Secondly, as someone who loves classics (including those such as Ivanhoe) I don't usually struggle with impossibly long rambling narratives, but this was actually painful. The language is funny...until its not. The book is way too long to maintain that level of flounce without sending readers into a coma.
Thirdly, we all know this one - its just too damn long!! If this book was cut down by half i actually would have enjoyed it. I enjoyed the first 150 pages, and the second part. The rest is a moot point in terms of plot or anything else tbh.
Fourthly, if you are going to write such an unnecessarily long novel you have to make the ending worth the effort in getting there. I'm afraid, again, this was not accomplished. It wrapped up within a chapter and fell very flat for me.
Positives - the characters are fun, I would have liked to have seen more of the first parts characters in the second part. But the relationships between them felt a bit distant. Some elements of the story are funny (cervantes constant jibes at the other author made me giggle.) The writing is actually very smart and witty and the story idea itself is brilliant. I just wish the first part of the book wasn't such a slog to read as by the time the better half of the book came around, I was completely uninterested.
NOTE - I do suspect that the translation did not do the original justice.
It's not a bad book, just not for me. I liked the premise more than the execution. I won't read again, but im glad I pushed through to the end.
Firstly, it took me 3 months to finish this brick of a book. I'm afraid that to me says it is not the book for me...or for a lot of people. There was nothing making me WANT to read this book. The plot was...meh.
Secondly, as someone who loves classics (including those such as Ivanhoe) I don't usually struggle with impossibly long rambling narratives, but this was actually painful. The language is funny...until its not. The book is way too long to maintain that level of flounce without sending readers into a coma.
Thirdly, we all know this one - its just too damn long!! If this book was cut down by half i actually would have enjoyed it. I enjoyed the first 150 pages, and the second part. The rest is a moot point in terms of plot or anything else tbh.
Fourthly, if you are going to write such an unnecessarily long novel you have to make the ending worth the effort in getting there. I'm afraid, again, this was not accomplished. It wrapped up within a chapter and fell very flat for me.
Positives - the characters are fun, I would have liked to have seen more of the first parts characters in the second part. But the relationships between them felt a bit distant. Some elements of the story are funny (cervantes constant jibes at the other author made me giggle.) The writing is actually very smart and witty and the story idea itself is brilliant. I just wish the first part of the book wasn't such a slog to read as by the time the better half of the book came around, I was completely uninterested.
NOTE - I do suspect that the translation did not do the original justice.
It's not a bad book, just not for me. I liked the premise more than the execution. I won't read again, but im glad I pushed through to the end.