Don Quixote

Taught me a lot about ibis's and what they use their long, curved beaks for. I was surprised at how comical it was and how modern it felt reading it 400 years later. Although the fact that I read a modern translation of it could have something to do with that. Made me want to learn Spanish so I could read the original text.

This was, up until discovering Proust, my favorite book of all time. Especially since I fancy my own life's experiences as somewhat Quixotic. For me, the beauty of this book lies in it's insistence that we all must question our own idea of what is and what isn't sane. In the end, I would prefer to live in Don's world rather than that of the cynics he is surrounded by. Alas, we can by means of altering our own perception of every moment.

Took me a while to get through it, but I'm glad I did. I found it interesting how many ways Cervantes could explain how insane Quixote was. In some ways it was the same story repeated again and again, but, nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read. Even if it did take me over a year to complete.

I could NOT make it through the book. It was entertaining enough and easy enough to read, but i felt like the stories just kept winding and winding around themselves and every story inside the story was so similar to every other story.... and i just ran out of patience.

Hard to read and sometimes confusing, but very worth it. Almost in an eerie, psychedelic way...pretty sweet :D

I love this book. It actually made me belly laugh out loud at least 10 times and is as old as shakespeare! I think most men are a mix of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

I haven't read this translation...but the Norton Critical Edition is excellent. Wonderful story, one of the greatest satires in history.

"Don Quixote" is actually two books not just because of his composition and publishing history. The mood between the first and the second (written by Cervantes when nearing death) is vastly different and so is the structure: in the former (which we may call, to paraphrase Blake, the book of innocence) a totally foolish protagonist mistakes his dreams for reality amidst the incredulity of sane people; in the latter (the book of experience), a rather more down-to-earth hidalgo seems to have lost his capability to create his own world and simply plays, somewhat tiredly and without much conviction, a game of sad jokes at his expenses organised by his malicious fellow humans, including his otherwise loyal sidekick.
Overall, this work deserves its fame, even if its author never managed to repeat himself and ended up being overshadowed by his own characters.

I did not know what to expect when I first read this. I just knew that I was supposed to read it. I really enjoyed the story and was actually suprised at the amount of humor threaded throughout the story.

A gentleman in Sixteenth Century Spain loses his mind and becomes convinced that he is a gallant medieval knight errant. He travels throughout Spain with his trusty (if simple) squire Sancho Panza, having so-called adventures with friends and foes, both real and imagined.

Written just as Europe was emerging from medieval romanticisim into the age of englightenment, the book explores the disconnect between old chivalric ideals and the burgeoning modernity that was sweeping Europe. Mostly humourous, but also a little melancholy, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read for people of all ages and is an indispensable part of the canon of European literature.