Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes; narrated by Roy McMillan | 2011; originally published 1605–1615 | Naxos Audiobooks | Audiobook $ 44.50
Hugely entertaining but also moving at times, this episodic novel is built on the fantasy life of one Alonso Quixano, who lives with his niece and housekeeper in La Mancha. Quixano, obsessed by tales of knight errantry, renames himself “Don Quixote” and, with his faithful servant Sancho Panza, goes on a series of quests. Many of these adventures, including tilting at windmills, are established in European literary consciousness. Originally published in two volumes a decade apart (in 1605 and 1615), Don Quixote has been brought to life in its entirety in this audiobook.
It’s arguably the most celebrated literary work out of Spain, and one of the first modern novels to ever be published in Europe (or perhaps the very first, depending who you ask). Of course this book had to go on my to-read list.
I’ll admit that this one was a bit intimidating to start with. The unabridged audiobook is nearly 40 hours long! It’s also over four centuries old, and I’ve had very mixed experiences with pre-twentieth century literature. But I needn’t have been so apprehensive.
This turned out to be a pretty fun story; it was mostly engaging all the way through and it was easy for me to appreciate why the book has remained perennially popular — although to be entirely honest, there were a few sections that dragged a bit. I’m sure my own overall enjoyment must be in part to the excellent narration of this audio edition; a good oral storyteller is always a treat to listen to, and even the parts that drag can be pleasantly half-listened to while one’s thoughts wander off in another direction for a little while.
This one was also surprisingly funny. I think I was surprised by the humor in part because my only prior knowledge of the story was from Man of La Mancha, a musical that is partly based on Don Quixote (but not entirely). The musical does have some lighthearted moments, but is overall more of a drama with a definite shadow hanging over the whole thing by virtue of its being set within the context of an impending trial by the Spanish Inquisition. The mood of the musical is somber yet hopeful (IMHO); by contrast, the mood of the book is satirical, tragi-comic, and even a little bawdy, with the more philosophically serious bits only really making it to center stage in the final chapters.
To be clear, that philosophical motifs — a kind of rage against the dying of the light, to borrow a phrase from Dylan Thomas, but combined with a skeptical perspective of insidious nostalgia — are an underlying thread throughout the book, but this is overlaid by so much slapstick and pranking and even poop jokes that it doesn’t shine through too obviously at first. And yet, eventually the reader is led to the conclusion that the ludicrous fool who can’t accept the gray world as it is may be an actual madman, but said madman also demonstrates a profound perseverance in his quest to identify and share beauty and righteousness that puts the sane men who try to humiliate him to shame.
This is definitely a book for a reader who’s looking for a project, whether that’s a long listen for a multi-day road trip or a big meaty read (the kind that is sure to result in a few detours into footnotes and looking up historical context or exploring thematic debates among literary scholars).
Links:
- Public domain book available at Project Gutenberg
- Review at AudioFile Magazine
- Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes [Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library] from the University of Alicante, Spain
Publication information: de Cervantes, Miguel. Don Quixote. Potters Bar, UK: Naxos Audiobooks, 2011. Audibook.
Source: Public library, via Hoopla.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
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