“Don Quixote” as a manual for living

Post by _blu » Tue, Sep 14, 2021, 6:56 AM UTC

DantesKite wrote: post #57

briga wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So is it the 400 years of readers and literary critics who are wrong, or is it you who are wrong? Whether or not you were entertained by it is a matter of personal taste, but declaring that it’s uninteresting suggests that you only gave it a cursory reading. I would also suggest that no one uses Don Quixote as a way to exaggerate their intelligence, it was deliberately written in a way so as to be accessible to the c…

I think it's popular because it was a remarkable book for its time, but like Uncle Tom's Cabin or The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, I wouldn't say it's a fun literary read. Strong cultural impact? Yes. Riveting novel? No. You know how academics rack up citation circles to "boost the impact of their publications"? Literature is a bit like that where you have a small group of people dictating the tastes of others, until it…

Post by agent327 » Tue, Sep 14, 2021, 7:19 AM UTC

Spinnaker_ wrote: post #16

DantesKite wrote: post #3

The only people who praise this book are literature majors. It was a disappointment from beginning to end. I couldn't understand why people thought it was so great. It didn't feel like an epic. Maybe for its time it was fun to read, but you really have to be deprived of all stimuli to enjoy it (unless you're a literature professor who has to read it). Like maybe stay in a prison cell for a few months. Then yea, it's…

> It felt like one literal crazy dude going on disappointing adventures and then (spoilers) it just ends with him dying, having regretting everything he did, which in my mind, sums up the book pretty well. Ah yes, and Moby Dick is just about a man who really hates a whale and wants to kill it. I never know how to respond to reviews like these. If you actually think that sums up the book pretty well then the problem i…

Post by smackeyacky » Tue, Sep 14, 2021, 9:43 AM UTC

jaek wrote: post #27

antiterra wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Don Quixote we are delivered is usually two books, and I think the first is far superior to the second. Either way, they are two different kinds of books published years apart that we are given as one. Much of the genius of Don Quixote is the satirical take on Chivalric Romances that were popular at the time. He uses tropes from those stories, mocks them, and expands the scope of the narrative. Of course, this an…

I own a smartphone, but I also really enjoy messing around with old hardware because its fascinating and illuminating to see what has changed and what hasn't. Maybe some present day readers of Don quixote find the same enjoyment?

Post by ginko » Tue, Sep 14, 2021, 10:59 AM UTC

DantesKite wrote: post #3

The only people who praise this book are literature majors. It was a disappointment from beginning to end. I couldn't understand why people thought it was so great. It didn't feel like an epic. Maybe for its time it was fun to read, but you really have to be deprived of all stimuli to enjoy it (unless you're a literature professor who has to read it). Like maybe stay in a prison cell for a few months. Then yea, it's…

Post by pwdisswordfish0 » Tue, Sep 14, 2021, 12:06 PM UTC

elpatoisthebest wrote: post #36

khazhoux wrote: post #24

Don Quixote in Spanish households is like Gödel, Escher, Bach for techies. You bought it when you were young, it sits proudly on your bookshelf, you talk about how meaningful it was... but you've only read a chapter or two. (c'mon, you gonna pretend you really read the entire GEB on the bookshelf behind you right now?)

There was a "Don Quixote" class at my university in the Spanish department. I really regret not taking it because there's no way I'm going to read it in my lifetime.