Very nice book of essays about one of my new all time favorite books In terms of a recommendation, I have a few caveats 1 If you haven t read Don Quixote, this book doesn t serve general interest.2 If you ve studied the book and criticism quite thoroughly, you may find this a bit superficial I didn t but I m new to Quixophilia.3 Not every essay is interesting, but the ones that are interesting are dazzling I recommend the Preface, The So Called Normal, Madness and Method, A Modern Novel, The Con [...]

This is a nice overview of the history of DQ s reception and criticism on it Stavans writing gets kind of hokey at points a lot questions posed as page turners, yet left unanswered and unfulfilled It seems that he wanted to write a book of lit crit that would become a mainstream bestseller But, overall, it s a very accessible read for Cervantistas, and its sweeping view of DQ s circulation is a great way for readers to find out particular theories of the novel and specific writers who ve written [...]

For those of us who like or love Miguel de Cervantes The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha also known in English as Don Quixote, Ilan Stavans 2016 book Quixote The Novel and the World is a real treat This brief work is filled with facts, analysis, and thoughtful opinions about El Quijote as it s called in Spanish and its contribution to the Western canon and civilization Between its cover, readers and fans alike will learn among many other things the name of Sancho Panza s donkey why [...]

As another reviewer said below Stavan s book begins with an asteroid and ends in a Japanese convenience store, both named for one of literature s greatest characters That s reason enough to read it, in my view Agreed Also as others have said, if you haven t read the novel and don t have a basic background about Quixote criticism, you won t get as much out of this wonderful book I am a huge Ilan Stavans fan In fact, I think he might be the most interesting writer I have discovered in my old age H [...]

A great little read for Don Quixote fans, which is as light and easily digested, as it is insightful and valuable.The author is a lifelong Quixote connoisseur, but as the book proceeds, we see that he himself even doubts the authenticity of his lifelong obsession, a narrative which he wraps up wonderfully in the epilogue.The meat of the book consists of the history of the novel itself, the art, the adaptations, and the influence it has had not only in Spanish speaking countries, but all of the w [...]

Fascinating history of the book and the influence it has had At one point the author compares and contrasts Shakespeare and Cervantes, who died within a day of each other.

Best

Excellent introduction to Don Quixote Puts it in historical context and makes me, as a reader and lover of Don Quixote, feel like I m a member of a special club.

There s nothing better than reading a classic, and if you can find a book that has that classic as its main subject hey, even better Books about classics are like concentrated goodness for me and I usually wait to read the classic being discussed before I read the book about that classic I say usually because some classics I won t get around to anytime soon or ever but I still want to read about the book to learn whatever I can about the author, plot, characters, and whatever impact it may have [...]

This excellent appreciation of Don Quixote is written with the reverence and appreciation of Harold Bloom but a granular and broad set of insights Ilan Stavans is a self proclaimed Don Quixote lover with over 500 volumes of alternative translations on his shelves He waited a long time to finally write about it and it shows The first part of the book is The Novel, which is of a literary analysis of how Don Quixote is the first modern novel, how it shows all of its characters from different pers [...]

Ilan Stavans discussions of the novel and its afterlife provided excellent after the fact grounding for my recent reading of Don Quixote It s basically a biography of the novel written by an academic for an audience of lay readers, and it covers the novel s conception, reception and afterlife Stavans writing is concise, interesting and injects just the right amount of personal anecdote I wish he had added something about how his undergraduates at Amherst react to the novel, but it s unfair to di [...]

Stavan s book begins with an asteroid and ends in a Japanese convenience store, both named for one of literature s greatest characters That s reason enough to read it, in my view.But it also provides an impressive overview of the influence Don Quixote has had on the imaginations of some of the world s greatest authors and a few that weren t so great.Like Tabitha Gilman Tenney, who wrote Female Quixotism, Exhibited in the Romantic Opinions and Extravagant Adventures of Dorcasina Sheldon in 1801 a [...]

I am so glad that I read this while I was reading Don Quixote I was already growing to love the novel but now I am sure that it belongs on my list of favorite novels of all time.I enjoyed all of the different aspects of Don Quixote and Cervantes effects on the world at large throughout history and had no idea that Shakespeare and Cervantes lived at the same time let alone died almost at the same time.I m glad to have read this novel and I m sure that I will revisit it again the next time I read [...]

Overall, I liked this book I m sort of fan of Ilan Stavans, especially his translation of the opening of Don Quixote into Spanglish The book follows the publication, reception, translation, and than 400 year influence of Don Quixote I liked the history of the translations into English and the discussion of the novel s influence in Latin America This book is really not for the average reader, whether he she has read the novel or not.

Stavans traces the history of Don Quixote on world culture There s the occasional fascinating passage and I appreciated his mentioning Kathy Acker s take on the subject , but the book never quite came together for me Too much of it struck me as vague where I wanted detail, or meandering where I wanted concision There s certainly enough of value that anyone interested in the history of literary characters, or in Spanish literature, would benefit from examining it.

If you haven t read Cervantes Don Quixote, this excellent history of the book may not be as appreciated as it should be On the other hand, reading Ilan Stavans superb book first will lay the groundwork for a better understanding of just how successful the original was and is and to what degree, and why Either way, Stavans work is a marvelous compendium to the original.

This was a really enjoyable book if you are, like me, a huge fan of the novel in question I only just read Don Quixote in 2015 and immediately went looking for books about it Well worth reading if you are a fan probably not of any interest if you have not.

Completely compelling cultural history of the novel

worth reading just for the chronology of translations

Couldn t finish this but enjoyed what I read I ll come back to it after I ve finished the novel.