Quicklet On Miguel De Cervantes' Don Quixote
Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Reference
| Author: | Jennifer McGuire | ISBN: | 9781484006726 |
| Publisher: | Hyperink | Publication: | February 12, 2012 |
| Imprint: | Hyperink | Language: | English |
| Author: | Jennifer McGuire |
| ISBN: | 9781484006726 |
| Publisher: | Hyperink |
| Publication: | February 12, 2012 |
| Imprint: | Hyperink |
| Language: | English |
ABOUT THE BOOK
When I first read Don Quixote, I was fascinated by the protagonist who goes crazy after reading too many romance novels. Not only does he become completely immersed in the world of knights, ladies, and valor, he fancies himself a knight errant, as well. He creates a woman of purity and wonder from a plain peasant who doesn’t know he exists. Despite his madness, Don Quixote is the ultimate romantic hero, so much so that he is a parody of himself. Though I adore the contemporary versions of the historical romance genre, Don Quixote reaches a place in the hero books that is untouched by any hero written about since. While the character of Don Quixote may be a bit off-kilter, his absolute dedication to an ideal love makes all other heroes look like the silly ones. Finding that absolute dedication in a character has forever changed the way I view characters in other books.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Jennifer McGuire has a BA in Literature and Film, and a MFA in Creative Writing. She is a college English Teacher in the Bay Area. She's written and edited a long laundry list of things, and really enjoys seeing what people think and how they express it in words. She loves reading....and will read pretty much anything she can get her hands on.
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK
Don Quixote essentially reads as observations by the main character of everyone surrounding him. It’s a look into the mind of a man who wishes life to be something other than it is, and then lives according to that fantasy. The real actions come not from the characters so much as the interplay between Don Quixote’s new mindset and the rest of the world.
It was my great-uncle who gave me the book, and told me Cervantes liked to read romance. He told me that Cervantes wanted to write something that was reflective of that love of romance. After years of rereading the book and gleaning bits and pieces of Cervantes’ themes, it seems my great-uncle was on the mark.
The book was well-received by the public and was reprinted several times in 1605, its first year, alone. It was translated into other languages within the first few years. Having read several different translations of it, I have found that they vary quite a bit. I haven’t had the chance to read it in Spanish, and would love to be able to visualize Quixote’s world in his native tongue.
Even though it was popular, it took quite a while for Cervantes to write the second part of the book, which came out nearly a decade later. In the meantime, the book had already made a big impact on literature. At the time, romantic heroes were all over, but the character of Don Quixote changed the way the public received those other heroes. There isn’t much romantic literature to be found right after the publication of Don Quixote. It seems the public saw what I see now: Don Quixote is a hard man to top.
Buy a copy to keep reading!
ABOUT THE BOOK
When I first read Don Quixote, I was fascinated by the protagonist who goes crazy after reading too many romance novels. Not only does he become completely immersed in the world of knights, ladies, and valor, he fancies himself a knight errant, as well. He creates a woman of purity and wonder from a plain peasant who doesn’t know he exists. Despite his madness, Don Quixote is the ultimate romantic hero, so much so that he is a parody of himself. Though I adore the contemporary versions of the historical romance genre, Don Quixote reaches a place in the hero books that is untouched by any hero written about since. While the character of Don Quixote may be a bit off-kilter, his absolute dedication to an ideal love makes all other heroes look like the silly ones. Finding that absolute dedication in a character has forever changed the way I view characters in other books.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Jennifer McGuire has a BA in Literature and Film, and a MFA in Creative Writing. She is a college English Teacher in the Bay Area. She's written and edited a long laundry list of things, and really enjoys seeing what people think and how they express it in words. She loves reading....and will read pretty much anything she can get her hands on.
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK
Don Quixote essentially reads as observations by the main character of everyone surrounding him. It’s a look into the mind of a man who wishes life to be something other than it is, and then lives according to that fantasy. The real actions come not from the characters so much as the interplay between Don Quixote’s new mindset and the rest of the world.
It was my great-uncle who gave me the book, and told me Cervantes liked to read romance. He told me that Cervantes wanted to write something that was reflective of that love of romance. After years of rereading the book and gleaning bits and pieces of Cervantes’ themes, it seems my great-uncle was on the mark.
The book was well-received by the public and was reprinted several times in 1605, its first year, alone. It was translated into other languages within the first few years. Having read several different translations of it, I have found that they vary quite a bit. I haven’t had the chance to read it in Spanish, and would love to be able to visualize Quixote’s world in his native tongue.
Even though it was popular, it took quite a while for Cervantes to write the second part of the book, which came out nearly a decade later. In the meantime, the book had already made a big impact on literature. At the time, romantic heroes were all over, but the character of Don Quixote changed the way the public received those other heroes. There isn’t much romantic literature to be found right after the publication of Don Quixote. It seems the public saw what I see now: Don Quixote is a hard man to top.
Buy a copy to keep reading!
