Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) – This is the longest book in the world! It seemed to take me forever to get through it, but I finally made it. Part of the reason for taking so long was that the second part of the story is not as interesting as the first. Cervantes does a very good job creating an interesting story with many characters that are well intertwined in the first half. There are some characters that come repeatedly in the second half, but it seems like it was put together quickly and not as well thought out. Cervantes includes himself in the story as a translator a history written by an Arabic historian named Cide Hamete. In the first part Cervantes starts out telling the history of Don Quixote, but then fails to continue because he lacks the proper sources. He then “comes across” the histories written by Cide Hamete and uses that to tell the rest of the story. I really like the way he does this. It’s a little hard to describe but it is very creative. In the second part he again is “translating” Cide’s work, but at the same time includes writing against the false history of Don Quixote written a short time before Cervantes wrote his second part. In the story Don Quixote learns that there was a history written about him, by Cide Hamete. Many of the characters in the second part have read this history and were so entertained by it that they set Don Quixote up to do more hilarious adventures. Overall this was a very entertaining read. I laughed several times at the stupidities of Don Quixote and his loyal squire Sancho Panza. Put together they are a humorous pair and had many interesting adventures. I must say this book really is a piece of literature. There are many references to past people and events and also philosophical outlooks and religious influence. It isn’t just a novel filled with the madness of a man pretending to be a knight errant, but is full of historical importance and a great deal of learning comes from it.