One of the wickedly funniest books of all time, finally in a modern (1995) English translation that does the comedy justice. A masterpiece that will have you crying with laughter.

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Product Description

Part parody and part cautionary tale, Don Quijote is a literary masterpiece. This Norton Critical Edition of Don Quijote is based on Burton Raffel's masterful translation. The Raffel translation comes as close as possible to recreating Cervantes's inimitable prose style-the translation is consistent, fluid, and modeled closely on the original Spanish. Diana de Armas Wilson provides a thought-provoking introduction and explanatory textual annotations. Carefully selected contextual materials bring readers into the creative process that culminated in Don Quijote. Jncluded are other writings by Cervantes published during the period from 1585 to 1616 as well as contemporary works by Ariosto, Avellaneda, Sannazaro, and Montalvo. Patricia Finch and John J. Allen provide a modern account of the novel's influence throughout the ages. Fifteen critical pieces present major interpretations of both the novel and selected episodes. Included are contributions by Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, Michel Foucault, Javier Herrero, Ruth El Saffar, Carroll B. Johnson, Robert ter Horst, Nicolas Wey-G6mez, Maria Antonia Carces, and Anne J. Cruz, among others. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #177752 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 880 pages

From Library Journal
A translator of Horace, Balzac, Rabelais, and Salvador Espriu, as well as a theorist (The Art of Translating Prose, Pennsylvania State Univ. Pr., 1994), Raffel (Univ. of Southwest Louisiana) undertook the formidable task of translating Cervantes's masterpiece because he was uncomfortable recommending any of the existing translations. There are some real differences here. Raffel has junked the traditional transcription of Cide Hamete, the pseudoauthor, in favor of the less "colonialist" and more authentic Arabic, Sidi Hamid. Proper names that contain puns are explained within square brackets, and footnotes are kept to a minimum. A more vernacular style reigns: The blow on the neck and the stroke on the shoulder that dub Don Quijote a knight are, respectively, a "whack" and a "tap." The women at the inn, usually called "wenches," are "party-girls" or "whores." Sancho dreams that his "old lady" will someday be a queen and that his "kids" will be princes. In the proofs, "Castile" has been misspelled as "Castille," an oversight one would hope to see corrected in the final book. This is a lively alternative to the wide assortment of truly old-fashioned translations. Recommended.?Jack Shreve, Allegany Community Coll., Cumberland, Md.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Raffel has managed, by extremely careful research, to keep the flavor of the late-seventeenth-century Spanish, at the same time that the English is very smooth. . . . Indeed, Raffel seems to have created a Cervantine English. -- Javier Herrero, University of Virginia

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

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Customer Reviews

Without discretion there can be no humor
'Don Quixote' is largely considered to be a satire on the popular chivalric ballads of Cervantes' day, but don't be fooled. This novel is no satire on chivalry, itself. Indeed, through the trials of Quixote and Sancho Panza, Cervantes is perhaps the greatest promoter of chivalric ideas that the West has ever known. No other protagonist so thoroughly embodies the ideals of heroism, romantic love, friendship, honor, discretion, trust, virtue, and adventure than does Don Quixote. It just so happens that he is insane, but the author is able to look beyond that. So too should the reader.

The knight's sallies are absolutely delightful and, it must be credited, alone prove Cervantes' genius in writing. The dialogue between Quixote and Sancho is excellent comedy, creating a duo that has gone unsurpassed in originality and endearment for five centuries. "Is it possible that Your Worship can be so thick skulled and brainless as to not perceive the truth of what I allege?" Classic.

But these adventures, hilarious as they may be, give us frame for a storehouse chivalric truisms, the like of which can be found in no other work of fiction. A sampling would include: "An author had better be applauded by the few that are wise than laughed at by the many that are foolish;" "Anyone who has been a good squire will never be a bad governor;" "There is a wide difference between flying and retreating; valor which is not founded on the base of discretion is termed temerity or rashness;" and "Whenever virtue shines in an emanant degree, she always meets with persecution."

The reader cannot help but to love such regal assuredness, such profound idealism. Ironically, Quixote's insanity never really contradicts his optimism and in fact vindicates it. It is commentary on the human condition that only the insane person can actually accomplish something virtuous. And after all the delusions are expired and all the fallacies uncovered, Don Quixote actually has accomplished everything he set out to achieve if only because he was noble enough to strive for it.

A note must be made on the translations. While much of the verbiage is straightforward, there are several repeated phrases that are different between the major translations, Quixote's moniker being one of the most important. In every translation I have seen, the name has been different--"The Knight of the Rueful Countenance," "The Knight of the Mournful Countenance," and "The Knight of the Sorrowful Face" are all used for the same phrase. I enjoyed the "Rueful Countenance" and found it to be well-suited for the style of the novel though I have not read other translations.

In the end, though, you cannot go wrong. 'Don Quixote' is a pure joy to read and we are fortunate to have the ability to do so.

Disappointed
I got this hoping it would be easier for my kids to digest, but am sending it back in favor of the Putnam translation. In an attempt to use language that would be more familiar to today's reader, the rhythm and flow has been lost. I stumbled through a bit, then lost interest. This reads like a book, Putnam reads like poetry.

A well done translation faithful to Cervantes' original style
I disagree with some of the criticism of this translation, particularly that of Mr. Moreno who mistakenly acuses the translator of a "catastrophic error" ...'introducing the name "Don Quixote" in the narrative before Cervantes himself mentions it.' If Mr. Moreno reads Cervantes Prologue to the book or even the chapter title of the first chapter, which mentions don Quijote by name several paragraphs before the section he sites, he will see his own error. In addition, Cervantes spells the name Quijote, not Quixote as Mr. Moreno does. Mr. Moreno also mistranslates the text in question "en resolución, él se enfrascó tanto en su lectura..." by replacing the "él" referring to don Quijote with "the old gentleman" introduced by Mr. Moreno and not by Cervantes. Translation is difficult as the translator's notes document. I was deeply impressed by the translator's use of a 1611 textbook of the Spanish language to clarify the means of words whose meanings have changed in the past four centuries. In addition, this translator comes closer to Cervantes' actual colloquial style than many of the stodgy Englsih translations that are now in existence. This translation is highly readable and almost as enjoyable as the orginal work in Spanish that so delighted readers when it was first released to the public at the beginning of the seventeenth century.