Don Quixote

This is my third reread, at the moment it looks like I read it one year, have one year break then pick it u back again. Although I really enjoyed the story again it's not one of my favorite classics anymore. It was interesting reading about Don Quixote and Sancha. It took a long time to read and I wasn't always in the right mind place for it but overall it didn't feel dragging even if it took almost the whole month of February to read.

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I read it the first time back in 2019 and I've always had in my mind since then that this is one of my favorite classic and I was slightly worried when I decided to reread it that my thoughts would have changed. But there was definitely no need to worry. Loved it even more this time around. Such a fun and engaging story and while it has the cozy, slightly dusty feel and charm of a classic it's hard to imagine it's so old. It's a big book but definitely a classic that shouldn't be unread!

The book was not an easy read for me but when I put in the work I always enjoyed it. The fact a satirical book from so long ago still is engaging says a lot. Surprising narrative choices as well.

i enjoyed this one even though at the time i read it i struggled through some of the more archaic spanish language. the first half is good fun while the second half becomes a satire of the time's society

There are many people who consider this book to be one of the best they have read. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. There are fragments that I liked, but there are also whole chapters that went on forever and through which I barely got through.

In my opinion, the book is written very unevenly. And this does not surprise me at all. If I remember correctly, it was made in the form of short excerpts published regularly in episodes in the newspaper. I guess each chapter was once published separately. It would be good if it ended with something that encourages the reader to reach for the next part. But at the same time, it did not require the author to invent the whole story right away. In my opinion it definitely shows.

My version of this book consists of eight books. The first three are pretty good. Problems begin with the fourth one. In my opinion, the author who was required to write another part of Don Quixote's adventures had no idea what to do. Let's be honest, Don Quixote hardly appears in the fourth book. It consists mainly of some other stories and anecdotes. The situation improves a bit in the next tomes, but in my opinion only the last two books (seventh and eighth) make sense again. I'm starting to understand why there are so many shortened versions of the story of Don Quixote. There are plenty of fragments here that can be removed completely without harming the description of Don Quixote's adventures.

Therefore, it took me a long time to read this book. I started it over a year ago and I'm completely stuck - and how else - in the fourth book. In my opinion, this is the weakest part of the story. But if it wasn't for my determination and if it wasn't for the audiobook, I would probably never finish this book.

It can also be my fault. I generally don't like funny books. They rarely entertain me and more often I find them simply stupid. Here humor is largely based on stupidity. So definitely this is not something I like by definition. Were there times when I laughed? Probably so. But above all, I was bored and tired of the number of characters and side stories that seemed endless.

I am glad that I read this book because, after all, it is a masterpiece of world literature. And I can understand why. In those days it had to be a great entertainment and stimulate the imagination of readers. For those who would like to read it, I advise to read it slowly and bit by bit. Chapter by chapter, just like when it was published for the first time.