How to Read Don Quixote by Cervantes (10 Tips)
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
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Happy reading!
0:00 why Don Quixote means so much to me
0:30 how to choose the right translation of Cervantes
2:14 do not patronise or pity the knight and squire
2:45 why everyone reads Don Quixote differently
3:15 Don Quixote is the ultimate mirror
4:20 why does Cervantes so brutally batter Don Quixote?
5:00 Shakespeare vs Cervantes
5:20 Cervantes' traumatic life
6:00 the plagiarised second part of Don Quixote
7:50 read the novel over the long term
8:45 why you should read Don Quixote now
9:30 fast vs slow reading (and bookish regrets)
10:00 the length of Don Quixote
11:00 laughing and crying whilst reading
11:30 the novel form is Cervantes' gift to the world
13:00 reading about chivalry
13:00 returning to the good old days
14:04 how to talk to other people (Chekhov, Hegel & Proust)
15:00 the love between knight and squire
15:35 collect your favourite passages
16:30 the importance of rereading
17:20 reading along with a group
Don't make the mistake of reading Don Quixote quickly. The best scenes are those of Don Quixote and Sancho conversing as they amble across the countryside. Try to imagine you are moving alongside this mismatched pair as they discuss life, love and virtue. Take your time, as they did.
Beautiful tip. This is absolutely the best way to experience DQ :)
Quickly? Its over 1100 pages!
@@lovrevia7638 People who read DQ read lots of other books. Because it is so long there is a temptation to plow through the novel in order to get to other books. Readers will miss the changing mood of the novel if they do that. I say be willing to give DQ the time it deserves. Let the TBR pile wait.
Sure, for the first half, then it really gets repetitive other than the core parts of the story
@@lovrevia7638 😂😂😂
One of the great things about Quixote is that the chapters are basically very brief, and story arcs generally are wrapped up in two or three chapters at most. This makes for good episodic, gradual reading.
Finished Don Quixote few days ago, the original version as I am Spanish. Could not agree more with what you say. I sent your video to my father and he said this was the best literature class of his entire life.
Wow :) Nice one, Eduardo! I can't wait to read it in the original myself. And thank you for sharing my video with your father - you're both too kind!
I told my 11 year old daughter about Don Quixote and after hearing, she had tears in her eyes. I asked her why she was sad. She said that it is sad that we think we have the right to judge people on their perceptions regardless of how real their perceptions might be to them
Wow. That is such a beautiful and profound response to Don Quixote. That has to be the best appreciation of the book I've heard. Your daughter is incredibly smart and empathetic at such a young age!
Bullshit
Don Quixote it's an experience that cannot really be expressed in words.
Fortunately you can read the original version with 400 years old spanish and still enjoy it completely
I’m a native Spanish speaker from Mexico and the high school Spanish literature class I took last year spent an entire semester just in the first few chapters of Don Quijote. This book was really difficult for me since the Spanish is so archaic and so unlike the Spanish I use every day. This video has inspired be to reread Don Quijote. It’s a story I love but I’m so excited to experience it again. I feel so lucky to be able to experience it in its original language, so thank you for this video! I’m feeling so inspired to read this novel again :D
Thank you for that. It was very interesting. I have often wondered what it is to read Don Quixote in its original language. Shakespeare is so difficult to read because the English he wrote and spoke in is very difficult for the modern English speaker. On the other hand, Cervantes is not too difficult, but that is because it is translated into modern English. If the translators were to be faithful to the original, they should translate the book into 16th century English, but I doubt they would get many readers, including myself I have to say.
@@penguinegg01 love your reply! I’ve read some parts of Don Quijote in English and honestly felt very tempted to switch to reading it English entirely because of how much easier it was for me! I decided to stick with the Spanish but yeah the modern English translation is a bit simpler. I cant imagine what a 16th century English Don Quijote translation would read like, but I imagine it would be basically impossible to read for us modern speakers jajaja!
I read the several chapters from Quixote in a Comparative Literature class years ago. The professor asked us to raise our hands if we thought Quixote was crazy. I was the only one in the class who didn't raise their hand. I think he's discontented with the reality of his surroundings and of the time in which he lives and wants things to be different. I'm finally starting to read it all the way through for the first time! I'm so excited. The first modern novel. The first work of metafiction. I can't wait!
I felt the same way about this book. Don Quixote and Sancho seem to me real people. I can't think of a more lovable duo in all of fiction. It is also a treasure trove of wisdom, humor, and wit. I could not put it better than Dostoevsky, who wrote, “Of all the beautiful individuals in Christian literature, one stands out as the most perfect, Don Quixote. But he is beautiful only because he is ridiculous.”
Wow! I love that quote. Thank you so much for sharing. You and Dostoyevsky both put it perfectly :)
Cervantes' plays are as underrated as Don Quixote. I think Numancia is a monumental achievement also. And there is theatre even within Don Quixote. The bit with Dorotea as a fictional princess for instance feels like a play.
William Faulkner told an interviewer Don Quixote was his favorite novel. The interviewer said, "Isn't it too long?" Faulkner replied, "I hadn't noticed."
Ha! Perfect reply from Faulkner :)
If you love Don Quixote (which I absolutely do) and want more of his style, I would strongly recommend Steinbeck, namely Tortilla Flat (1935), Cannery Row (1945), and Sweet Thursday (1954). Like Cervantes, his style and musings are humourous, innocent, charming, and irresistibly endearing. If any author after Cervantes has earned the honorific title of being "quixotic," it is most certainly Steinbeck.
What in Cervantes is innocent? Why you say it?
@@emilio2480 innocent as in pure, free from corruption, lighthearted, and fun. It's highly imaginative storytelling is refreshing and enchanting, and as a result the story inspires and invokes childlike innocent wonder.
@@orthobro7956 Prince Myshkin was a pure dude
I read this in January of this year, and I now plan to reread it every January. This book is a towering achievement. It is endlessly deep. I read the Grossman translation and was stunned at how hilarious a 500-year-old novel was. This book impacted me as powerfully as the Gospels.
Hello, Benhamin, from Barcelona, Spain! First time commenting and couldn't resist to tell you THANK YOU in capital letters!! First time watching an English-speaking booktuber talking about this enormous book as Don Quijote is and showing such a great love for it and its writer Don Miguel de Cervantes. Although I haven't read it I have the first paragraph on my mind "En un lugar de La Mancha, de cuyo nombe no quiero acordarme...". When I was a child I used to watch on TV some cartoon series, one episode every weekend and I have loved this book since then. If you re-read it again in a group I would love so much to participate in it. Happy reading!📚🤗🙋♀️
Greetings over to you in Barcelona, my friend :) Beautiful city! And thank you for your kind words. You're right, there aren't too many readers talking about Don Quixote. A shame because it is such a wonderful novel. My personal favourite! We still have some discussion around this novel in the book club as many readers are taking this one nice and slow :) Happy reading!
Picked up the Rutherford translation today, and I'm excited to dig in! Even the prologue is already really good.
I have recently discovered your channel and I love it. I am Spanish and I have repeatedly read Don Quixote. Your comments are the most accurate and enlightening I have ever heard. Your love of literature is truly commendable. Thank you very much. Excuse my English.
I just got Don Quixote today at my local used book store and happened to purchase the Rutherford translation! Im so excited and hearing you speak so eloquently glowing about the book makes me beyond excited to dive in, thanks for the tips!!
That's so amazing to hear!! I adore the Rutherford so much :) Happy reading, James! And thank you very much for your kind words. I would love to know what you make of Don Quixote!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy I will! Just joined your Hardcore Literature Book Club so I can listen to your breakdown lectures. I just started Count of Monte Cristo this morning, a chapter per day and will also be absorbing as much information as you share! I hope to pick up on your schedule with Pride and Prejudice in April :)
Love what you are doing! Thanks for taking the time to share a few tips on reading this novel. Been absolutely absorbed over the last few months falling in love with this classic tale.
Brilliant explanation of this wonderful many-sided book. For me is undoubtedly the best novel in Spanish and probably one of the best in world’s literature. As an Spaniard, reading it in Spanish is an utter delight, though there are many good versions in English and several other languages. As all the great books it is open to many interpretations and your own one will probably will change with time. For me, right now it is the story of a great friendship and of how one person’s idealism, if truly lived, as Don Quijote’s is, can end up by enthuse others. That and many more things. It is a work where Cervantes pours his experience and views of life, that is, in my opinion, what makes is so long lasting and consistent four centuries after having been written.
I have always thought that this should be suggested reading for the American Veterans suffering fom PTSD. Cervantes knew what it was like and this wonderful collection of stories from an old Vet put a real and tender slant on the suffering of those who have seen too much slaughter and suffered too many wounds.
Dostoiesky wrote that Don Quixote is the greatest novel ever written. Don Quixote represents for me the tragedy of a man that refuses to surrender to the boredom of a common life and voluntarily choose to follow the imagination and the madness. This is clear also in some discussion he has with Sancho Panza where he admits his choice..
Fun fact: Marco Polo wrote much of his “Travels” while in prison, too. Of course, he claimed his book was entirely factual. DQ is presented as fiction, but it is chock full of truths! I did read it in Spanish. Bear in mind that you will not learn Cervantes’ Spanish in any 21st century conversational Spanish class.
Your summary beats TED talks!!! I have enjoyed the history behind a book and adding the Battle of Lepanto helps so much! Would you please remind readers of Philip II and Queen Elizabeth I? These monarchs would have power to support or supress a playwright. Philip II forged the Spanish Inquisition while Queen Elizabeth I was known to be in the audience of Shakespeare's plays. I, too, am a fan of re-reading great works of literature. Thank you for your encouragement to read Don Quixote.
Thanks, Ben. I'm now really inspired to read Don Quixote. I've just ordered a copy of the Grossman translation. Thanks for your inspiring and passionate videos. As a new subscriber, I'm really enjoying going through your fascinating and informative vids. This year has seen me re-kindle my love of reading. I think it was Frank Zappa who said, "So many books and so little time".
I’m not a fast reader either. I also used to read my favorite books more than once. As I am 59 now I no longer read a book more than once: there are too many great books and life is too short. I have never read Don Quixote so I appreciate this video as a great motivator.
I’m so glad I came across this. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I ordered the audible download of the Edith Grossman edition. This video has convinced me that I need to purchase a hardcopy that I can read and reread. I’m loving the audiobook, however, I find myself desiring more from the actual reading. It’s obvious how much you love what you do keep up the great work and thank you so much.
Just started on it today in Spanish. I recommend, for native speakers, the Andrés Trapiello modern Spanish version which is highly rated. I'm on Chapter 8 and enjoying many smiles and laughs! I'm really enjoying it. Back in the late 70s there was a cartoon produced by Spanish TV we all enjoyed as kids so the stories all familiar of course....I particularly remember the cartoons of the giants/windmills. I also own the more recent anniversary publication by the RAE which has loads of annotations and explanations of the old Spanish in which it was originally written but I have it on the shelf as a treasure so to speak....
I've really enjoyed the additional layers of context your video has brought to my Don Quixote reading experience. What an amazing piece of work it is, given as you say nothing like it had ever been written before. I'm also taken aback by how relevant this book remains, it's an astonishing piece of work and I've loved every page. It sits right up in my top three works of fiction.
what are the other 2 most favorite?
Thank you so much Benjamin for making this video. The Edith Grossman version of Don Quixote available on kindle and audible rocks! I’d also recommend JR Elliots “History of Spain”, I read it during the intermission between part one and two. I’d also recommend the Open Yale University course on Don Quixote taught by Roberto González Echevarría, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Hispanic and Comparative Literature at Yale. He was a friend of Harold Blooms and his commentary on The Quixote, Spanish History, language, art and culture are invaluable. The more you understand the background behind The Quixote, the more you can appreciate it…..there is SO MUCH to love in this book…..
Wow, I just read the first page and a half of Don Quixote, and what struck me was the passage that Quixote likes from Feliciano de Silva: " The reason for your unreasonable treatment of my reason so enfeebles my reason that I have reason to complain of your beauty" so reminded me of Tolkien's passage from the beginning of the Lord of the Rings :"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve" that it can not be an accident. Both passages are of similar length and rhythm, both are confusing, and both are at the beginning of novels of a journey. Both journeys are about a gentleman (Don Quixote and Frodo Baggins [four syllables in each name]) accompanied by their man-servant (Sancho Panza and Samwise Gamgee [four syllables in each name]). I expect that Tolkien inserted this on purpose as an allusion to Cervantes novel. Your thoughts?
I have read Don Quixote on several occasions as well as The Lord of the Rings, and your observation seems very correct to me. Both works are great.
Thank you for a great video. I' m rereading Don Quixote after 25 years since the first time. Reading one chapter daily and enjoying it immensely. I'm reading the Tom Lathrop translation from 2011. Lathrop was a Cervantes scholar and has hundreds of very helpful footnotes.
You are so wise! I’m glad to have stumbled upon your channel. I had this novel on my list. I don’t own the book yet. Appreciate the suggestion of what translation is the best. I wish to attempt to read it in the next year or so. Thank you!
I read the Grossman translation when it came out and loved it. Now , about 17 or so years later, have started the Lathrop one. Benjamin, your point about slow reading reminded me of a Woody Allen joke of over fifty years ago when Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics was all the rage in the USA (I'm 70 and remember that fad). Allen says, ... "I read War and Peace in an hour (pause) ... It was about Russia ... I sneezed and missed fifty pages "... ok, maybe you need to hear him do it ...
This is my favorite book of all time ❤. This video does a great service for readers and this masterpiece!
Second comment: possibly the best book I’ve ever read. DQ has everything. What really struck me was the delusional character self appointed to be the righter of wrongs, etc. I can’t help but to notice these types of people all around me. As I contemplated this thought, smugly of course, I realized that it is often I who pose as this character. I am Don Quixote. We all are Don Quixote at times.
And we are Sancho at times
In some sense I think Don Quijote and Sancho Panza are every person, the idealistic and the pragmatic. At the end, when Don Quijote was dying, he became lucid and Sancho, on the other hand, tried to cheer Don Quijote telling him to get well and go out for adventure, giants, feats... So, they exchanged personalities for a moment, that's why I think they represent every person; we always have both traits.
Great timing! Just ordered grossman edition earlier today, will start reading soon, super excited. Great video, as always.
Amazing :) Thank you, Faizan! I hope you enjoy it!
I'm FINALLY starting this this weekend!! So excited!!
Just bought a Clothbound Classics edition of Don Quixote with the John Rudford translation. I've never read it before and you've motivated me to try it.
I’m reading the Grossman version (although I know you love the Rutherford version too) at the moment. 700 pages in. At first glance Part II is quite a bit different than Part I, which takes some getting used to, but I’m getting more and more into the book.
By the way, I’m a nerd and don’t want your own reading coloring mine, so I won’t watch this vid till I finish. I also got the Cohen translation, which I found at the thrift shop, because I hope to one day collect and read all the Penguin Classics books (and Everyman and Oxford World’s Classics…and Norton Critical Editions ) and this was a Penguin. I like comparing the writing between the two translations. They’re actually not too dissimilar given the 50 years’ difference between translations. Love your vids and podcast! Hope you keep going for a long time to come. :)
even novelist who think they have created something new or a new genre will find it in Don Quixote.
he was a modernist centuries before the advent of modernism.
I just want to say that I am so glad I happened upon this wonderful video of yours as I embark upon my first reading of this epic (and intimidating) Book. Thank you! (Also I’m a new subscriber, for sure).
I just finished reading this about a month ago and I'm ready to reread it again!! I miss the characters so much!! Thank you!!
I love this channel, love this video in particular
Thank you, Stephen! :)
This is my favourite video among a plethora of excellent videos by Benjamin - mainly because it's about my favourite novel, nay, bible! The ultimate text of liberation, it releases you from your obsessions ( for me, it was philosophy ). Many thanks for an excellent presentation!
Thank you, Richard! I appreciate that :) DQ is my favourite novel too - a bible and a textbook for life. I love that idea of it releasing you from your obsessions - what a beautiful way of reading it :)
Thank you. You inspire me. I will get to Don Quixote right away.
Your post has really motivated me to start reading this book, for so long I thought that this is book was not for me. Now I am reading it our little book club
Glad I could motivate you :) I would love to know what you think of it! Happy reading!
A year ago or so, I wrote this...
"I used to think Don Quixote was about idealism being its own reward, regardless of whether it's insane, or foolish. And about who is crazier, the one that hopelessly revels against what's wrong in the world, or the one that accepts it unquestioningly. But now I think it might be about the fact if you go on in life "desfaciendo entuertos" (righting wrongs), the usual result is that you'll will end beaten up and shaming yourself".
It's funny that you mention that El Quixote is a mirror, that what you get from it is a reflection of yourself more than anything else. There had be profound changes in my life and in myself when I wrote it, and maybe it's just that, that it is a mirror: if you change, what you see in the book changes.
Fun fact: even though Shakespeare and Cervantes wrote at the same time, people mostly read Shakespeare today in adapted versions, cause the language of the original it too different from modern language and too difficult to understand, whereas Cervantes is always read by Spanish speakers in the original version, and the language is easy to understand (except for some words that are no longer in use, because they refer to objects, customs, institutions, etc. that no longer exist) and even colloquial by today standards. My dad was born in the area where the novel happens and he used many phrases and proverbs from the book, actually (and I'm not even sure if he did so knowingly or not)
Humor as a way to deliver wisdom. That's what (i think) Cervantes gift was to literature ..
I'm 100% with you there!
I read Don Quixote in old Spanish , the first part in the USA . The book was from the library but I couldn’t find the second one in Spanish so I bought the two parts in English plus I read the first one in English from the Shelton original translation .
If you want to read Don Quixote to the maximum you have to read it in a old Spanish or at least in Spanish . There’s so many jokes and puns that are not translated into English that is incredible . For example caraculiambro , the name of a giant is translated into English as caraculiambro . The joke is lost in translation literally caraculiambro is a made up word consisting of 3 words cara /culi( culo) hambre - face ass hungry
So his name would be something like
Hungryassface in English . In other words Cervantes did not care of a great name for a character of a parody and gave us a humorous one instead 😂 . Don Quixote is an impossible dream and to me Don Quixote is Cervantes himself at the end of his life how he was convinced to be a soldier with dreams of impossible feats maybe and found out reality was brutal . Reality is not the romantic dreams of chivalry and glory . He lost his arms , lost his freedom .
Glad I came across your channel ☺️
You may not even see this but I just felt compelled to give an update to my earlier message when I started Don Quixote. Since then I found a William Starkie translation from 1957. I had gotten about 300 pages in and put it aside to read The Once and Future King. I loved that book in High School and I wasn't disappointed with the reread. It's also about knights. But, what I came to say was that I just finished Book One of DQ and it's kind of rocking my world. This book has totally taken me by surprise. At the same time, I picked up Great Expectations at a Little Free Library, and having never read it, am also loving it. I am taking them both slowly doing about 10-20 minimum pages a day as well as reading'/watching some supplemental information that's been very helpful. Your videos kicked started my new interest in the classics and I've set out a loose plan for other works for the year. Just wanted to say thank you for the inspiration to read this amazing book!
Wow! This is so amazing to hear, Sherrie. Thank you so much for sharing your experience of DQ with me! I'm so happy it's rocking your world. I'm actually on a reread myself at the moment because I missed hanging out with the knight and squire - they feel like old friends. Returning to the work again, I'm laughing at their antics, feeling a sense of warmth from their love, and also seeing things I never noticed before. It sounds like your reading is going tremendously well. And you're enjoying Great Expectations too! I'm over the moon :) Thank you so much for your kind words, and keep up the great work with your reading!
Don Quixote and Sancho become your companions for life when you really get to know them. Without being religious myself, I couldn't stress enough how much of a religious experience reading this novel can be. Having read the original in Spanish and both Grossman and Rutherford's I'd say that, at times I like one better, then, the other. Grossman nails it here. Rutherford's smashes it there. At any rate, I couldn't help but think, though, that Grossman's (being the most recent of the two) draws heavily from Rutherford's. As surely Rutherford's draws a lot from some of the previous translations. I lean towards Rutherford's slightly. great channel. thank you very much.
Wonderful to hear someone who loves Don Q. as much as I do. I'm reading it in the original now, read it twice before. Think about it on a daily basis.
Powerful video and message, thank you. You have inspired me to begin Don Quixote.
Thank you, Charlie. I'm so happy to hear that :) I'd love to know what you think of one of my favourite novels! Happy reading :)
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Thanks I will do. But I have been sidetracked by Jules Verne. Will get to Don Quixote. Many thanks and look forward to more wonderful output!
Brilliant as always .... Thank you so much :) love and respect
Thank you, Shabir :) Love and respect to you as always too, my friend!
Benjamin , have you read English translations of iconic classic Asian novels ? China has 4 and Japan has one - they are long epic novels like War And Peace especially China
China
1- Romance Of Three Kingdoms (120 chapters)
2- Dream of Red Chambers (120 chapters)
3- The Water Margin
a) Sidney Shapiro translation 100 chapters
b) Dent Young translation 120 chapters
4) Journey To The West (100 chapters)
Japan - The Tale Of Genji
I personally read all 4 epic novels from China after getting married (my wife is Chinese and her dad was very impressed I read those 4 epic novels ). Dream Of Red Chambers is the most artistic of the 4 to read because it’s very symbolic and semi autobiographical of the author’s own life
I have been listening to an audio book- which is brilliantly read. I came to it with little preconception and have not been reading novels for some years. This is a captivating story and I was surprized to hear myself laughing out loud!
I’ve just picked up a copy today, I’ve never attempted such a large book before, so I put marks at every 100th page to encourage me, but after reading about 50 pages I’m already really enjoying it! Though the book I read before it was notes from the underground! Quite a change haha!
Your passionate praise sways me. I did once read a lot if part one in the Smollett translation, but began to feel I was missing the sort of things Harold Bloom loved so much, including the poignant relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. So I dropped it, grumbling about translations. But I may pick it up again in Rutherford. When you say it took you six months, were you also reading other stuff at the same time? I assume so. I want to start doing that, and with less sense of hurrying.
Thank you. I’ll take your advice in this video - I own the English translation of this novel but only read the first 3 pages of chapter one
You’re a wonderful scout through world‘s literature and the art of reading. More so, I’d see you as a bibliotherapist. To follow you on Patreon as a subscriber serves me as a precious and most effective Jungian psychotherapy. All in my time and pace. The best decision I’ve made this year indeed. Thank you, Benjamin, you are a blessing to me.
I can’t wait to join your group. My mind is on fire with seeing reading in a new light and having a group of new serious reading ‘friends”. Thank you.
I have already enjoyed six of your presentations just in my first day.
Thank you, Florian. I see myself as a literary tour guide through fictional locales, the great lands of imaginative literature :) I appreciate you endlessly!
@@joanestrada2544 Thank you, Joan :) You will be warmly welcomed and you have friends in waiting :)
You certainly have friends in waiting, you’ll see. I first was sceptical, didn’t know if I would find the time, but I do, with ease, as it is such a pleasure and utterly rewarding. Friendly people, open and nonjudgmental
I’m in. I certainly am. Thank you for telling me which translation you’ll reading from.
Perfect :)
1:13
About the "original spanish"
From everybody spanish native speaker is very difficult read and understand completely a book like Don Quixote. Btw, is my favourite book.
Excelente video, saludos desde México.
Reading for the first time. I’ve made it past the encounter with the Benedictine monks when I thought I would see if you made a video, and you did! The hints are most helpful. Love the idea of learning more about Cervantes. From the get go I am intrigued by the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho. I am going to slow down my reading to journal my thoughts on that as well as track the emotions I feel as they venture on. I have mixed feelings about Quixote from pity to amusement to annoyance. And speaking of emotions, I was horrified and saddened when his library was closed off from him and books burned! Anyway, thank you for your videos. You’re enhancing my reading experience!
Thanks, amazing. Will start with this soon
Awesome :) I'm thrilled to hear that!
Thank you so much for the information about the translations. I started with the Jervas translation and found it tiresome to read. Then I tried an audiobook which was the Smollett translation and got a little further but not much. Now I have the audiobook that is the Grossman translation and what a difference it makes. It's very enjoyable. I think I might make it this time!
Your reading of the insanity part is right. They are sane. The best Spanish literature doctors agree on this. And it is fiction and Literature, essentially. A confrontation of Man with himself, and not even, an exercise in the use of reason, to make sense of the world. Good video mate.
Thank you, my friend :)
Hurray for plugging Don Quixote. I always wish the book was longer.
I'm rereading it again now and wishing it was longer too!
Great video! I read Don Quixote almost 10 years ago in the original Spanish, but it was more of a language exercise for me. I don't think I understood it deeply at all so it's definitely ripe for a reread. There is a Yale Open Courses series of lectures on it which is available on CZcams that I found quite interesting first time round. It goes into some of the nuances that you might miss in translation
Thank you, Emma :) I would love to read it in the original. Thank you for the recommendation, I'll check those out :) I recently started listening to the lectures on the novel by Ilan Stavans and he spoiled the ending within the first few mins. I felt bad for anyone who didn't know the end, but always good to get some linguistic insight!
Ooh I'll check out those lectures. The ones I listened to were by Roberto Echevarría. As far as I remember, he references pieces of Spanish art that influenced Cervantes. I think he also talks about the area of La Mancha and what significance that region would have had for a Spanish reader of that time. I need to rewatch!
This is the greatest novel of all time. I read the Grossman translation and just bought the Rutherford translation for my first reread.
Reading the Grossman translation opened my mind to Cervantes in the mot wonderful way!
I'm so happy to hear that!
You're so adorable! I want to read this book now.
I tried to read it quickly and lost interest very quickly. My father told me it was his favorite book. Listening to you I will try again. My father was not an avid reader but upon seeing how I read he let me know his favorite. My father has passed recently. Thank you for this video. I feel like I will learn more about him when I read this correctly. Thank You.
I received Don Quixote as a Christmas present, and can't wait to start reading it. And I will try my hardest to read it slowly and not skim or rush. Also, great video!
Wonderful Christmas present! Happy reading :) Let me know what you think of my favourite novel!
Love the Grossman translation! I agree…don’t assume madness.
I just finished reading the Walter Starkie translation. Took me 7 months. My favorite parts were "Marcela's speech" (part I, at end of ch. 14), & part II, chapter 43 (regarding Sancho's use of proverbs - hilarious!). (I also read the J. M. Cohen translation way back in 1986. Took me 3 months.)
The book I had in my possession was the very first translation. A couple big weeks ago I found the Starkie translation at a used book store! Much better!
Incredible I love it!!!
I've always loved 'quixotic' as a notion, but my introduction to the story was actually through the opera by Massenet. I remember being bored by the first 3 or 4 acts (that can be music, singing, staging, any number of things), but ended up almost in tears - I remember thinking that he lived *and died* well, as in purely and honestly. What more can one ask for? That was a couple of years ago. I've just ordered the Grossman and am looking forward to it being my big Summer read (in Australia)!
Wow! That is such a cool introduction to the story. I know what I'll be watching this weekend. Coming to the end of reading Don Quixote left me in tears. I never cry. And yet, having spent time with this man who became my friend, feeling his death as though I myself were in the room with him, made me choke up more than any other time I can remember. Even typing this response to you now, I get chills thinking about it. He may have "renounced" his knight errantry, I believe he died every bit a valiant knight. Great choice on the Grossman! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. And warm welcomes to the club, Rob :)
I'm blow away. I started reading Don Quixote yesterday and less than 10 pages in and I instantly knew this was a life changing experience. Took your advice and started again as I wanted to go slower than normal and really soak it up. Just unbelievable. Thank you.
Nice one, Heath :) I'd love to hear what you think of it when you get to the end - it's definitely one of those books that surprises people. I couldn't believe it made me laugh when I first picked it up!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy I definitely will.. I rarely burst out laughing but I was just a few pages in..
@@heathmotley9675 have u finished it?
@@ThinkLuckyThink I have less than a hundred pages left. I have many iron's in the fire.
OK, I was introduced to Don Quixote back in 1988 when working in Ravenscraig Steelworks as an apprentice electrician. I read out the words Don Kwixote as an answer to a quiz at break time and I got an actual slap behind the ear from my chargehand (boss) who shouted 'Quixote you uncouth moron'. Fast forward to 2022 I have read the first book but have taken a break from it as I thought it just a bit too Spike Milligan for my tastes. I am sure I am missing something 'possibly still an uncouth ...'. Almost finished Anna Karenina (loving it) and I will go back to The Don for another go. Really useful video for me. Thank you. Just started reading the classics at 52 , better late......
I just finished DQ for the first time. I want to thank you for this video, I think it will help me decide to reread this book after I find a copy translated by Edith Grossman. I was quite frustrated at first. Now with a new perspective, I will be on the lookout for the gems of wisdom that pop up from time to time. I do have a favorite part, early on, the beautiful woman who just wants to be a shepherd. Just because she is beautiful she must marry? Any way thanks.
I read it 5 years ago and will read it a second time now that I have these ten tips! I am a firm believer in reading great books that make you think multiple times.
Nice one, Stephen :) I'd love to hear what you make of it this time around! You certainly do see different things with each reread!
You got me at the friendship part. Always love literature with inspiring friendships. Sigh. Now I'll have to buy myself a copy.
Me too :) Don Quixote + Moby Dick are the two that, for me, have the warmest depictions of great friends.
@@BenjaminMcEvoy nice! thanks for the recommendations! :)
Thank you. I thought I would skip this one. After watching this video - I changed my mind. I’m sold😄.
I am so elated to hear that :)
Thanks!
I only found your channel the last couple of days and have immensely enjoyed watching several of the episodes. I just recently read The Count of Monte Cristo and have decided to take on Don Quixote per your recommendations. Through a coincidence, I came into possession a few years ago of the Harvard Classics - Collectors Edition. The translation of Don Quixote is by Thomas Shelton. It does have a brief authors preface and "certain sonnets." My guess is that this is an abridged version as it is just over 500 pages. I started today and have read three chapters. Would you recommend I continue or get one of the other translations? I'm ok with it so far but notice that the sentences are a full paragraph long, haha. Is that indicative of this translation or the same with others? I am certainly okay with that just wondering what your recommendation would be. I'm going to subscribe to your podcast! I tried Anna Karenina a few years ago and gave up at the half point. I have no idea what translation I had but, I will get through this one first and decide if I want to give Anna another go. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm for literature!
Nice detail with the location being listed as “El Toboso”
Ha, thank you ;)
Currently making my way through this classic (Rutherford translation) I am at part one chapter XV1 so still in the early stages. I am really enjoying it though.
Nice one, Matt! I'm so happy you're enjoying it :)
I would recommend reading the Maxims of Francois De La Rouchefoucauld
no book has given me so much knowledge, and different emotions from laughter, anger, it has made me want to cry and it has made me ask a lot of questions, and it has raised my understanding of the human condition
I'm connecting so much with Sancho and Don Quixote. I can only remember feeling like this with Jean Valjean from Les Miserables and Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo. Legends
I'm thrilled to hear that. I feel the same way - DQ & Sancho became my friends in much the same way that Jean Valjean, and Ishmael from Moby Dick, became my friends. Beautiful books :)
As a Spaniard, I would add an eleventh tip: get some historical understanding of Habsburg Spain, especially events like the Expulsion of the Moriscos. (Reading the wikipedia entries will suffice).
Benjamin, great your video. You bring to my mind comentaries about DQ in the way of Borges or Nabokov. You are so in feeling with DQ as Dostoievski or Freud, Who learnt spanish to read all the Cervantes writtens. By the way, there is another quote on el Quijote by Dostoievski that you can find online, and Will enjoy It.
Thank you, Luis :) I've enjoyed Borges and Nabokov myself - although I must say I'm in slight disagreement with Nabokov who said that DQ wasn't a masterpiece in his lectures. It's a book that's worth learning Spanish to read - in fact, I aim to do so too :) Thanks for the great comment, my friend!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Nabokov really hated to Cervantes. He thought that the writer was very cruel with D. Quixote. That's so funny that he is so mad as D. Quixote in the chapter of the retablo of Maese Pedro.
may i ask what you consider the best translation? apologies if it's in the video, i haven't watched it yet, but am a big fan of your channel & it's given so much to me
The embedded stories within DQ are incredible in their own right. I come back to them as one revisits scripture passages.
Fantastic novel. And hilarious. I love everything about this book and recommend it all the time.
It never fails to have me in stitches :)
I just started reading Don Quixote and they are apparently going to stumble upon some goat herders. However I must give you some props on the re-reading tip. No one wants to hear “re-read Remembrance of Things past.” But I have all the book on audio as well. It is just out of this world, and one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever been gifted in my life time( im48). It’s a note that should be taken with heart. Thank you for this video and I’m more pumped to see what happens with the goat herders. ❤️
Thank you, Grace :) I love your description of Proust's masterpiece. Listening to it on audio is a magical experience. It's one of my go-to listens, along with Ulysses, when I go on long hikes. And I'm so thrilled to hear that you're enjoying Don Quixote! You're at a great part of the novel!!
Carlos Fuentes, in TV interview, praised the Tobias Smollett translation.
I feel the Spanish contribution to literature is The Comic. As such, it would be best to read Don Quixote as a comic, imagining each of the 126 chapters of DQ appearing daily (or weekly) in the comic section of your newspaper, like Prince Valiant, never consuming the story, never reading more than one chapter at a time, on a daily or weekly basis.
This was very helpful
Thank you for posting this :)
On your fist few tips, I reguard rutherfords translation to be the best of all the available copies on the market. Also, I was guilty of laughing at Don Quixote in the first few chapters, but over time I found him to be a good mirror for anyone who is reading. I do however still get a giggle at reading into the sub text of certain situations, like in the part where the house people are buying dons books but rationalizing which ones to keep, as well as the conversation Don and Sancho had after getting beat up by the horse people. It's really down right funny when you can read a full paragraph of dialog and find that what a character has said is just them being a coward but in a wave of overly descriptive terms 😂
Excellent review
Thank you! :)
I think 2022 will be the year I finally read Don Quijote ( I have it in Spanish). Great tips. Thanks!!
Yay :) Let me know what you think of it. I'm envious you get to enjoy it in the original!