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El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha

Started by Twit 2, February 17, 2020, 02:41:44 PM

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Twit 2

Reading this bastard now. 150 pages in. Funny as fuck.

marquis_de_sad

In Spanish? You legend.

Never read it, but I've seen the pictures. I love the Gustave Doré illustrations — and so do the wikipedia editors apparently, as they've stuffed the Don Quixote wiki page full of them.


Twit 2


Lord Mandrake

It's very funny by any standard and invented many of the  comedic tropes we are all now so familiar with. I took it slow, I think I read it over the course of a year.

kngen

I read the first bit years ago. Amazed myself by actually laughing out loud at parts. Held off on the second part as the preface put me off by saying it was more of a satire on Spanish politics of the time (IIRC) rather than the roustabout hilarity of the initial chapters. Worth persevering?


chveik

Quote from: kngen on February 20, 2020, 01:11:41 AM
I read the first bit years ago. Amazed myself by actually laughing out loud at parts. Held off on the second part as the preface put me off by saying it was more of a satire on Spanish politics of the time (IIRC) rather than the roustabout hilarity of the initial chapters. Worth persevering?

the second part is great actually. it's pretty much the precursor of a lot of those 'meta-fictional' devices modern writers use (but it's still very funny). the first part of the book (plus a fraudulent sequel) have been published in Don Quixote's world, so the characters are already aware of his adventures when they meet him. I suppose it is more serious on the whole, but it's worth it.

Twit 2

300 pages in. Overall, still very good but there has been the odd moment in a shepherd's tale of love, or somesuch, where I realise I've zoned out for a whole page and have no idea who is who or saying what to whom. The convoluted style is of course the point of the book, but even so it's worth not reading it when you're too tired. Mostly I just marvel how funny and readable it is to my modern eyes.

gilbertharding

I'm outing myself as a philistine, but

Quote from: Twit 2 on February 20, 2020, 10:17:10 PM
...I realise I've zoned out for a whole page and have no idea who is who or saying what to whom...

...is an all too familiar experience, and made me give up reading Tristram Shandy and the very next book I tried reading, which was Don Quixote (which I amuse myself by pronouncing as if I'm a Chicago gangster from the 1920s).

The convoluted style which is the point of the book (both books) eventually made me think - literally say out loud - 'I think I've got the idea now...'.

Perhaps the problem is, I only read in bed.

Or perhaps I *am* a philistine.

Why am I trying to read Don Quixote, Proust, Joyce etc? Should stick to Dan Brown.

Sin Agog

Cervantes has a great 100-page novella about talking dogs and their no-good ragamuffin owners if Don Quixote proves too much for anyone.  Dialogue of the Dogs I think it was called.

kngen

Quote from: chveik on February 20, 2020, 01:29:10 AM
the second part is great actually. it's pretty much the precursor of a lot of those 'meta-fictional' devices modern writers use (but it's still very funny). the first part of the book (plus a fraudulent sequel) have been published in Don Quixote's world, so the characters are already aware of his adventures when they meet him. I suppose it is more serious on the whole, but it's worth it.

Cool. I like the sound of that. I'll use that as an excuse as a re-read and then carry on to the second part.

Deyv

Read it a few years ago during a stay in a psychiatric hospital. It's great, really made the time fly by, in a way. I find the relationship between DQ and SP better than Holmes and Watson. I'm not ragging on The Doyle there, he was pretty good but didn't beat Cervantes in my personal list of favourite authors.