Classic in Translation - Don Quixote

I made it! Back in October I only had one book to go with my classics challenge list which should have made it really easy to finish up. Until I picked Don Quixote as my last book! Nothing like 940 pages of translated 16th century Spanish lit to push you to the brink of your deadline. That said, I am really glad I read it.

I choose the Edith Grossman Translation. I don't have anything to compare it to but I did find this translation to be quite readable and her footnotes to be quite helpful. It's actually two books. Most of what you probably know about Don Quixote from cultural references (the windmills!) is from the first part and I was very tempted to stop there. But the second is really where it shines. The relationship between Quixote and his sidekick Sancho deepens and you get past the "crazy guy doing some crazy thing and calamity ensures" repetition. Well, kinda. I mean, crazy things keep happening but its a little more involved.

This is so hard to review. It's so many things. It's lighthearted and funny, sometimes weird, sometimes confusing, often sad. There are stories within the story and sometimes another story mixed in. It's ridiculous and then, there will be this great deep quote or idea. I did get bogged down in parts and finished this mostly because I choose to read two chapters a day no matter what, rarely more. If I was in a hard spot, I knew that even I could manage two chapters. If I was in a good spot, I couldn't read more because after two chapters my brain was full and I had to stop and think. I guess my summary would be - It's worth reading. But really, you didn't need me to tell you that.

Don Quixote is my Classic in Translation for the Back the Classics Challenge.