Chapters 1-4
First edition
What do you guys think so far? Personally, the prose is top-tier comfy and the humor is perfectly subtle and witty.
So far:
Don Quixote has named himself and his maiden, was knighted by an innkeeper, "rescued" a servant from being whipped, and was beaten to a pulp by a passing caravan.
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How come no one has told him that he isn't a knight? The ladies laughed at him first, but began to play into it.
>chuunibyou in the 17th century
what is this
>They say he went by Quijada or Quesada, which is a point of contention between the different writers who treat this matter; notwithstanding Quejana is generally agreed upon to be his last name by plausible conjectures. But this is of little importance to our story; it suffices the story better if not a glimmer of truth is allowed to escape.
Reminds me of Gogol.
There's a very long and informative footnote in my copy which details the history of the hidalgo class in the Middle Ages, from their distinguished military legacy to their poverty-stricken shambles with their (great-grandparents') rusted and rotted equipment in the late 16th C.
While this isn't incredibly important to the enjoyment of the book, it does paint a quick but narrow portrait of the protagonist, one with which would soon become very familiar to Cervantes' audience, if not already.
>But, notwithstanding, he praised the author's continued promise to prolong his never-ending adventure, and often the desire to take up a pen and put an end to it, as is promised; and without a doubt he would, and would have, if other more pressing matters didn't impede him.
>disappointed in all extant versions, I ventured my notion of the perfect translator of [Rabelais]: that he or she "should combine the imagination, daring, and gusto of the brilliant creator with the humility and solid learning of the true scholar." (I now fear that any such paragon would be too busy with his or her own creative work...)
I think I've been sitting on this idea for a while, but I recently reread a good chunk of Rabelais and Frame's Note immediately came to mind.
Speaking of Prologues: are we gonna ignore the Author's Prologue. I know the Dedicatory poems are kinda throwaway in this kind of reading project, but the Prologue is, if not essential, at least funny.
What translation are you reading OP?
>The women, unaccustomed to hearing such high-flown rhetoric, did not say a word in response; they only asked if he wanted something to eat.
>“I would consume any fare,” replied Don Quixote, “because, as I understand it, that would be most beneficial now.”
Fucking kek.
What translations did you all decide on?
That's a bad translation you have.
Try Samuel Putnam or that lady who did a translation in the early 2000's.
Are you talking about that radical feminist that literally changed her name to "Gross Man"?
First of all, it isn't "feminism" to believe in equal rights for men and women.
Cuck cuck cuck! You have to go back!
It's Edith Grossman's translation from the download link in the OP.
Started yesterday and finished part 1. I went in without knowing anything about the novel except for it's about a knight and it's really good.
It's really funny so far, no idea how this will continue for such a long book though
I'm pretty sure Part 2 changes tone a fair bit
I didn't knew anything about the book besides the name, and i don't really know if i should laugh at his craziness or if i pity him.
So far is interesting, don't know how the story is gonna go from here...
Did he actually lose his mind or is he just an autistic LARPer?
Is it mandatory to read the Greeks before starting with Don Quixote?
I'd say he is truly mad, he really believes in what he's saying and doesn't realize how people around him react
Should I read the introduction by Harold Bloom? (first time reading this book)
Yes
A bit of both.
No. Fuck Bloom.
>it's a "le leg stretching man jerks off about Hamlet every time he writes something" episode
It's good but just shut up you fat fuck
These first chapters were very entertaining to read, Don Quixote is pure autism, it is probably even better in Spanish, because from what I understood from the footnotes, there is a lot of wordplay, especially in naming the characters.
Some amazon review that seemed like it knew what it was talking about compared all of the major translations and named Tom Lathrop's as the best.
OP, will you be making a new thread every day or will we use this one until it reaches bump limit ?
>"Pay him now without another word; if you do not, by the God who rules us I shall exterminate and annihilate you here and now.”
What the fuck did you just fucking say about me you little bitch?
Is Don Quixote a /b/tard?
I am not really sure what to expect at this point, expecting a monty python skit. Although I am not sure if I am supposed to laugh at Don Quixote or feel somewhat bad for him.
starting thread listed grossman
>No. Fuck Bloom.
Thanks for your input! I ended up reading it.
you guys should have read lazarillo de tormes instead.
You're supposed to do both, that's what's so beautiful about it imo.
The same reason ladies laughed at your social retardation, but began to play into it.
Both
Pity him because he'll never truly be able to be a knight for real, laugh with him because you know that it doesn't matter and he's happy either way
Poor Don Quixote. He is just an autistic LARP'r who held vigil for far too long.
The fucking maidens tho kek
And do you agree with me?
Grossman, Harold Bloom likes it and they used it in the Easton Press edition. So far, it reads pretty well.
I think I might just start a new thread every day. Although, it might be easier for the janitors if we kept it to one thread.
If there are any mods looking at this thread (or participating in the read through) let us know what would be best.
It's easier to keep bumped if you just keep it all in one thread. Less clogging up the board too.
Grossman translation is nice. Comfy read so far
The characters (including Rocinante) start growing bigger than you after the initial pastoral adventures.
Prepare to feel small.
I guess we're just gonna keep it in this thread til bump limit?
I'm gonna start the day 2 chapters in a few hours.
>it's a "dirty skank prositutes laugh at my boy Don" episode
FUCKING ROASTIES REEEEEEEEEEE
WE ARE NOW APPROACHING DAY 2
Chapters 5-9
Windmill Giants Edition
What do you guys think about the dialogue between Sancho and Quixote, especially regarding the windmills?
Lmfao
It really makes me think about the duality of man.
Explain
I'm amazed at how humble the author is. And annoyed by Bloom's repeated allusions to Shakespeare. Couldn't he have talked about the significance and magnitude of DQ without comparing it to other works? I skipped over the whole thing.
Well, it was so-so. I don't regret reading it because I get triggered by skipping parts of a book. I even read the genealogies in the Bible. Every time.
I love how much of a smartass the narrator is. He's basically calling Don a raving retard whenever he gets the chance.
Comparing everything to Shakespeare is kind of Bloom's thing.
I just finished this book in December and I'm so excited for everyone about to get into it. It was one of the best reading experiences of my life.
Fuck it, I'm in. I own the Grossman translation. Anything wrong with that one?
are you me?
>tfw fin aussi decembraire
no
I'm genuinely sad most of you can't enjoy the beautiful version in Spanish. It really is something. I hope you like it enough to one day learn the language and become proficient enough to be able to read it.
Have fun.
Is it day 2 today?
Pretty bored today and might catch up of so
Quixote thinks he knows it all and Sancho is too gullible..
Also is Quixote the name he calls himself actually metal greaves
I have to imagine don quixote as an angry 4channer all the time because we're reading this together
>let me attack these giants!
>uh no these are windmills
>REEEEEEEEEEE
I missed the read-along for War and Peace, definitely not going to miss this one.
Wait for me anons, I'm going to catch up as fast as I can.
Or maybe Sancho is the mastermind, the most accomplished genius in the history of literature.
You had not thought about that, had you?
The possibility will start getting opened as the book progresses...
>Sancho replied that these clothes were legitimately his, the spoils of the battle of his master, Don Quixote, had won.
BATTLE OF THE WINDMILLS WAS HYPE GODDAM
Finished 'day two' chapters, things starting to get pretty crazy.
The basco fight was great, our hidalgo has some skills.
PS: Cervantes dropping the redpills on the Arabs was really something, the set of mind of a (almost) middle age man...
PS2: We will stay in this thread til the limit?
I thought I knew enough Spanish to get through it but I really don't, I'm fairly rusty on mi espanol so I'll just have to settle for the English version with footnotes explaining the little puns of Spanish
Anyone else wish they could be like Don? He's a man truly unhampered by self doubt, he just does whatever he can and is happy doing it
Also Sancho Panza is /ourguy/
I guess so, in a similar way to how I feel about retards sometimes.
>Who is this scoundrel that that has the gall to claim you as his woman?
>Watch, m'lady, as I dispatch this fool with my mace (plunger)
>What is this? A love letter (restraining order), my fair maiden? Oh you flatter me so!
kek
Does it get better?
I read a few pages of it a while ago, but put it down again because I wasn't feeling it. This time around it actually seems enjoyable to read, although I did pick up the grossman translation, the one I briefly read before was rutherford.
Kind of yes, i had the same feeling with the idiot. There is something impressive about this pureness. I really need to re read that one, it's been some time and there were some references to don quixote i think.
No, I meant does it get more interesting or is it going to stay in this episodic format for the rest of the book? It's funny and satirical and all, but I don't think I can take 1000 pages of that.
Dostoevsky based myshkin on Don Quixote. At least according to the introduction to my edition.
The Don is unbearably autistic
well your guess is as good as mine but I think it probably continues on like this
Which Don Quixote do you guys prefer? Cervantes' or Menard's?
Maybe a good split page edition exists? I really don't know how viable that can be as the original Spanish edition needs quite a lot of notes to be understood.
I think the book is already a lot better with Sancho finally appearing. Can't wait to read more.
Going to start reading before bed but I should be fine with the 1993 Wordsworth translation, yes?
Sancho is one of the best things in the book. The dialogic structure is so nice, Don Quixote traveling alone wouldn't have the dynamism it actually has with Sancho's shenanigans
kek'd when I magined Sancho as this guy
>dude that ain't no giant
>that's a windmill, man
>what the fuck
Is Don Quixote the original Ken-sama?
That's actually the point of the novel dummy. You can't separate Quijote and Sancho so there's no point in thinking about Quijote alone. This is way more evident in the second part.
Hold up, is everyone still on Chapter 4, or have you all moved past that?
Is this Day 2 yet?
Were on day two now Señor
>it's a "Cervantes takes a whole chapter to shit talk literature he doesn't like and praise literature he does like" episode
fug, I need to catch up.
Is the Mohammed that Cervantes mentions in the book THE Mohammed, or some other one?
Yes, THE Mohammed
He takes potshots at him all the time because obviously he's Spanish
DAY 3 READING HAS BEGUN
Chapters 9-12
An interesting ending to the sword fight, a tale of unrequited love, and poseur shepherds getting BTFO by a beautiful shepherdess.
What is the Shepherdess a symbol of? Is it still relevant today?
Also, my interpretation of the relationship of Don and Sancho is that Don represents human ideals and Sancho represents human realities.
This is the Dark Souls of literature.
>referencing yourself by name in your own book
kek
Loving this so far, especially the first 4 chapters, which are there to mock people who read too much fiction instead of living in the real world, like all the insufferable enlightened teenage "patricians" that this board is full of. Perfect book to read along with Veeky Forums.
Actually it's mocking people who read formulaic genre fiction you projecting dumbo
>"“moreover, I think, and therefore it is true..."
It's the little things that make me giggle
nope it's the best translation, it's been awhile since I read any of the intros but if I recall her philosophy for translating was just to recreate the experience of Don Quixote in contemporary english to the best of her ability rather than try to perfectly translate every line, which would destroy most of the magic probably
>it's a "Miguel 'If You're Basque I'll Kick Your Ass' Cervantes is racist to basques" episode
Why does he hate basques so much? He laughs at and makes them the butts of jokes constantly, why is this?
I'm glad to see that you guys are reading the Edith Grossman translation (or at least that's the one provided in the OP). Don Quixote is my favorite book, and after reading and comparing sections from every English translation I believe hers to be the best.
It's hard to say, and while reading you will probably change your mind about it many times. I lean towards the fact that he's not crazy, but I can't explain why without major spoilers. I think it's most likely a bit of both.
That's part of the wonderful complexity of the work. The narrator is biased but it seems that Cervantes in general wanted you to feel a strange mixture of pity and respect for Quixote. Especially during part 2 the narrator starts playing up the discrepancy between Quixote's apparent intelligence and his actions.
There are some historical notes that I wanted to mention.
-Cervantes was a marine in his youth and fought in the Battle of Lepanto. Despite being sick with a fever at the time he refused to stay below deck and was shot three times during the battle. One of the shots crippled his left hand. He was later taken prison by the Ottomans for five years. He had quite a few other adventures/misadventures but my point is Cervantes saw some shit before he ever put pen to paper. Much of Don Quixote's richness comes from Cervantes personal experiences.
-During the time the book takes place (around the turn of the 17th century), armor, swords, and spears were still in wide use in the battlefield. I get the feeling that people mistakenly believe Don Quixote took place much later than it actually did. "Suits of armor" would still be worn in war for about another 50 years, the last major war characterized by such armament being the English Civil War. Don Quixote's appearance is strange because the armor he's wearing is anachronistic. It's the armor from a couple generations ago, not the contemporary armor of his period which looked significantly different. Furthermore, people generally didn't go wandering the countryside by themselves in full armor regardless of the style. I generally don't like drawing comparisons between time periods, but it might be helpful to think of it as seeing someone LARPing as a WWII-era soldier walking down the street.
-If you want some examples of the kinds of works Quixote was reading, look into "Amadis of Gaul" and "Orlando Furioso". I don't actually like Orlando Furioso that much, and I have to agree with most of Cervantes' criticisms of the genre, but nevertheless it's an interesting read from a historical perspective and it has some fun moments.
Anyways, enjoy guys. If you finish this and want something a bit similar in tone I recommend Boccaccio's "The Decameron"