Don Quixote
Edith Grossman's definitive English translation of the Spanish masterpiece, a landmark work of early modern literature, in an expanded P.S. edition
Widely regarded as one of the funniest and most tragic books ever written, this classic of Spanish literature, Don Quixote, chronicles the adventures of the self-created knight-errant Don Quixote of La Mancha and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through sixteenth-century Spain in this brilliant example of picaresque satire. You haven't experienced Don Quixote in English until you've read this masterful translation.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
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Community Reviews
Besides everything else that everyone’s already said (ex. that it is one of the funniest books ever), Don Quijote feels like the quintessential novel for reasons beyond its place in literature history. It was an amazing discovery for my literary education to see just how much this “first modern novel” manages to capture the very essence of the medium. Literature’s ability to slide between different points of view stands apart from other narrative mediums like film in just how deep we are able to dig into the characters’ thoughts. You could argue that music can do the same, but that medium is too reliant on rhythm and time working in conjunction with the voice (no criticism here, to be clear), whereas literature freezes the voice in time so that the voice becomes the singular driving force of the proceedings. Poetry can and has done this too, but such dynamic yet precise shifting of points of view has mostly been relegated to the novel.
All that said, this is why it actually made sense for me that we so consistently deviate from Quijote and Sancho’s lives and into the inner worlds of so many seemingly trivial characters. I’ve seen people criticize the book for this, maybe understandably so, but there’s something about the way in which it perfectly captures the experience of immersing yourself into another person. As a massive nerd, I have a long record of drowning myself in fiction even if it means sidelining my responsibilities or relationships, and it’s not always easy to justify it. So you can see why I resonated with the story of a man who, after reading much fiction, abandons all his responsibilities and relationships and embarks on a journey for outmoded glory. But when I consider just how much the books, the games, the movies, and the music that I’ve consumed have shaped me into the person that I am, how they’ve expanded my ego boundary and made me cherish the mere existence of the other, you can see why I resonated with Quijote finding in his journey not so much glory as he does empathy, altruism, a meaning in putting everything on the line for a romantically disillusioned country girl. As Quijote gets lost in the other, we do too. The choices are sometimes rash and cause more harm than good, but the conviction leaves us with shards of virtue that we would hardly trade off. Not so long ago, I read a research paper that found a correlation between reading fiction and a sense of empathy, and it didn’t really surprise me because therein will always lie the power of fiction, and few novels capture that as well as Don Quijote.
All that said, this is why it actually made sense for me that we so consistently deviate from Quijote and Sancho’s lives and into the inner worlds of so many seemingly trivial characters. I’ve seen people criticize the book for this, maybe understandably so, but there’s something about the way in which it perfectly captures the experience of immersing yourself into another person. As a massive nerd, I have a long record of drowning myself in fiction even if it means sidelining my responsibilities or relationships, and it’s not always easy to justify it. So you can see why I resonated with the story of a man who, after reading much fiction, abandons all his responsibilities and relationships and embarks on a journey for outmoded glory. But when I consider just how much the books, the games, the movies, and the music that I’ve consumed have shaped me into the person that I am, how they’ve expanded my ego boundary and made me cherish the mere existence of the other, you can see why I resonated with Quijote finding in his journey not so much glory as he does empathy, altruism, a meaning in putting everything on the line for a romantically disillusioned country girl. As Quijote gets lost in the other, we do too. The choices are sometimes rash and cause more harm than good, but the conviction leaves us with shards of virtue that we would hardly trade off. Not so long ago, I read a research paper that found a correlation between reading fiction and a sense of empathy, and it didn’t really surprise me because therein will always lie the power of fiction, and few novels capture that as well as Don Quijote.
I had to read this book in Spanish while in junior high. I had to keep the English version open at the same time, just so I could know what the heck I was reading!
Man, this book took me forever to finish...but it was still fun to read. Lots of crazy stories about this crazy ol' man. Gotta love him, though.
Over the course of a 1000 pages, Don Quixote and his loyal squire, Sancho Panza transformed from two fumbling idiots to entertaining adventurers to genuine friends that became apart of my daily life as much as my co-workers and my family. From their encounters with the infamous windmills to their vulnerability to those ever-present enchanters, Don Quixote is one long narrative of duality that will leave you amused yet sympathetic, balancing your own role as both a reader/spectator and co-adventurer. Is Don Quixote an actual brash, misunderstood genius or a mad man not so much in touch with reality? Is Sancho profusely loyal and shrewd or just a foolish companion along for the ride? And is everyone else horribly judgmental or just simple-minded and unimaginative?
As in life, there are no clear answers which means that as readers we do not have to align ourselves to any one side but instead, can take the good with the bad and the insane with the sane. This is a good thing because there is no logic that can be applied to the man who mistakes a barber’s sink basin as a prized, golden helmet who then thereafter is able to deliver a speech as poetic and eloquent as it is coherent:
“…for I know well what valor is, namely, a virtue that is situated between the two vicious extremes, which are cowardice and rashness. But it is far better for the brave man to mount to the height of rashness than to sink into the depths of cowardice, for just as it is easier for the generous than for the miser to be prodigal, so it is easier for the daring than for the cowardly to become truly valiant. And in the matter of encountering adventures, let your worship, Don Diego, believe me that it is better to lose the game by a card too much than by one too little, for ‘this knight is rash and foolhardy’ sounds better in the hearer’s ears than ‘such a knight is timid and cowardly.’”
Looking at this bulky masterpiece, unabridged and complete, it looks just as daunting as the enchanters, demons, and scoundrels Don Quixote conjures up in his mind as a practicing knight-errant, but after what seems to be my umpteenth attempt at triumphing this literary conquest, I finally was able to complete it in it entirety and feel better for it. You can’t help but to feel all the wiser after reading this book with the ever-preaching Sancho Panza and his string of proverbs that are dispelled like verbal vomit to all of the tangential story-lines, plots, and tales accompanied with their own twist on morality and justice.
It truly is a feat that Don Quixote hasn’t exalted his iconic cultural status, not losing popular momentum from Spanish Golden Age to present day, and most likely for years and years to come. Cervantes, through Don Quixote, defines and communicates what so many bibliophiles feel, that all good literature leaves an indelible mark upon all deserving readers, and its reach is both limitless in direction and power on our lives. You just have to let it in. Holding back does not simply make one ignorant; it makes one blind, deaf, and numb to the potential world that lies beyond the turn of every page. It is no lie to believe that Don Quixote lives and forges on through each and every invested reader.
As in life, there are no clear answers which means that as readers we do not have to align ourselves to any one side but instead, can take the good with the bad and the insane with the sane. This is a good thing because there is no logic that can be applied to the man who mistakes a barber’s sink basin as a prized, golden helmet who then thereafter is able to deliver a speech as poetic and eloquent as it is coherent:
“…for I know well what valor is, namely, a virtue that is situated between the two vicious extremes, which are cowardice and rashness. But it is far better for the brave man to mount to the height of rashness than to sink into the depths of cowardice, for just as it is easier for the generous than for the miser to be prodigal, so it is easier for the daring than for the cowardly to become truly valiant. And in the matter of encountering adventures, let your worship, Don Diego, believe me that it is better to lose the game by a card too much than by one too little, for ‘this knight is rash and foolhardy’ sounds better in the hearer’s ears than ‘such a knight is timid and cowardly.’”
Looking at this bulky masterpiece, unabridged and complete, it looks just as daunting as the enchanters, demons, and scoundrels Don Quixote conjures up in his mind as a practicing knight-errant, but after what seems to be my umpteenth attempt at triumphing this literary conquest, I finally was able to complete it in it entirety and feel better for it. You can’t help but to feel all the wiser after reading this book with the ever-preaching Sancho Panza and his string of proverbs that are dispelled like verbal vomit to all of the tangential story-lines, plots, and tales accompanied with their own twist on morality and justice.
It truly is a feat that Don Quixote hasn’t exalted his iconic cultural status, not losing popular momentum from Spanish Golden Age to present day, and most likely for years and years to come. Cervantes, through Don Quixote, defines and communicates what so many bibliophiles feel, that all good literature leaves an indelible mark upon all deserving readers, and its reach is both limitless in direction and power on our lives. You just have to let it in. Holding back does not simply make one ignorant; it makes one blind, deaf, and numb to the potential world that lies beyond the turn of every page. It is no lie to believe that Don Quixote lives and forges on through each and every invested reader.
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