Further, I often tell my students that nothing is original. Everything stems from the Bible, Homer, or Shakespeare, but now I have to include Cervantes. The puns on Panza's parables and general speech were so familiar to me in movies and books I've read. This story generally felt like an old friend and darkly humorous.
After awhile in the book, Panza's buffoonery wore on me and was not as funny, and my feelings of Quixote became admirable because of his intense insane sense of doing right against the wrongs in the world. He was genuinely a good guy despite being crazy. Not to spoil, but I was not happy with the Duke and Duchess. How dare you?
I fell in love with this book and will read it more than once. Yes, it makes fun of knights but it doesn't make fun of what they stand for and it is that irony that makes Cervantes brilliant.
A big thanks to my brother-in-law for this recommendation!
You are welcome, Wendy. Don Quixote and Sancho were my companions as I hitch hiked around a cold and very wet Ireland during the winter of 1974. My buddy Leo and I had planned to camp but the tent leaked so we spent most of our time and money in pubs and Bed and Breakfasts. After the pub Leo would sleep and I would wake him up because I was laughing so hard reading the book.
ReplyDeleteYou tell great stories to go along with another great story. Thank you, Dan!
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