Don Quixote: A New Translation by Edith Grossman

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Edith Grossman (Translator), Harold Bloom (Introduction)

Overview

Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalry romances that he determines to turn knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, these exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While Quixote's fancy often leads him astray -- he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants -- Sancho acquires cunning and a certain sagacity. Sane madman and wise fool, they roam the world together -- and together they have haunted readers' imaginations for nearly four hundred years.

With its experimental form and literary playfulness, Don Quixote has been generally recognized as the first modern novel. The book has been enormously influential on a host of writers, from Fielding and Sterne to Flaubert, Dickens, Melville, and Faulkner, who reread it once a year, "just as some people read the Bible." This Penguin Classics edition includes John Rutherford's masterly new translation, which does full justice to the energy and wit of Cervantes's prose, as well as a brilliant new critical introduction by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060188702
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/21/2003
Pages:	976
Sales rank:	43,488
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.81(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Miguel de Cervantes was born on September 29, 1547, in Alcala de Henares, Spain. At twenty-three he enlisted in the Spanish militia and in 1571 fought against the Turks in the battle of Lepanto, where a gunshot wound permanently crippled his left hand. He spent four more years at sea and then another five as a slave after being captured by Barbary pirates. Ransomed by his family, he returned to Madrid but his disability hampered him; it was in debtor's prison that he began to write Don Quixote. Cervantes wrote many other works, including poems and plays, but he remains best known as the author of Don Quixote. He died on April 23, 1616.

Edith Grossman is the distinguished prize-winning translator of major works by leading contemporary Hispanic writers, including Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Alvaro Mutis, and Mayra Montero. Her new translation of Don Quixote is Edith Grossman's excursion into the classic literature of an earlier time, a natural kind of progression in reverse. Now she employs her many years' experience translating modern classics to bring us an elegantly contemporary translation of Don Quixote.

Read an Excerpt

Don Quixote

Part One of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha

Chapter One

Which describes the condition and profession of the famous gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha

Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing. An occasional stew, beef more often than lamb, hash most nights, eggs and abstinence on Saturdays, lentils on Fridays, sometimes squab as a treat on Sundays -- these consumed three-fourths of his income. The rest went for a light woolen tunic and velvet breeches and hose of the same material for feast days, while weekdays were honored with dun-colored coarse cloth. He had a housekeeper past forty, a niece not yet twenty, and a man-of-all-work who did everything from saddling the horse to pruning the trees. Our gentleman was approximately fifty years old; his complexion was weathered, his flesh scrawny, his face gaunt, and he was a very early riser and a great lover of the hunt. Some claim that his family name was Quixada, or Quexada, for there is a certain amount of disagreement among the authors who write of this matter, although reliable conjecture seems to indicate that his name was Quexana. But this does not matter very much to our story; in its telling there is absolutely no deviation from the truth.

And so, let it be said that this aforementioned gentleman spent his times of leisure -- which meant most of the year -- reading books of chivalry with so much devotion and enthusiasm that he forgot almost completelyabout the hunt and even about the administration of his estate; and in his rash curiosity and folly he went so far as to sell acres of arable land in order to buy books of chivalry to read, and he brought as many of them as he could into his house; and he thought none was as fine as those composed by the worthy Feliciano de Silva, because the clarity of his prose and complexity of his language seemed to him more valuable than pearls, in particular when he read the declarations and missives of love, where he would often find written: The reason for the unreason to which my reason turns so weakens my reason that with reason I complain of thy beauty. And also when he read: ... the heavens on high divinely heighten thy divinity with the stars and make thee deserving of the deserts thy greatness deserves.

With these words and phrases the poor gentleman lost his mind, and he spent sleepless nights trying to understand them and extract their meaning, which Aristotle himself, if he came back to life for only that purpose, would not have been able to decipher or understand. Our gentleman was not very happy with the wounds that Don Belianís gave and received, because he imagined that no matter how great the physicians and surgeons who cured him, he would still have his face and entire body covered with scars and marks. But, even so, he praised the author for having concluded his book with the promise of unending adventure, and he often felt the desire to take up his pen and give it the conclusion promised there; and no doubt he would have done so, and even published it, if other greater and more persistent thoughts had not prevented him from doing so. He often had discussions with the village priest -- who was a learned man, a graduate of Sigüenza -- regarding who had been the greater knight, Palmerín of England or Amadís of Gaul; but Master Nicolás, the village barber, said that none was the equal of the Knight of Phoebus, and if any could be compared to him, it was Don Galaor, the brother of Amadís of Gaul, because he was moderate in everything: a knight who was not affected, not as weepy as his brother, and incomparable in questions of courage.

In short, our gentleman became so caught up in reading that he spent his nights reading from dusk till dawn and his days reading from sunrise to sunset, and so with too little sleep and too much reading his brains dried up, causing him to lose his mind. His fantasy filled with everything he had read in his books, enchantments as well as combats, battles, challenges, wounds, courtings, loves, torments, and other impossible foolishness, and he became so convinced in his imagination of the truth of all the countless grandiloquent and false inventions he read that for him no history in the world was truer. He would say that El Cid Ruy Díaz4 had been a very good knight but could not compare to Amadís, the Knight of the Blazing Sword, who with a single backstroke cut two ferocious and colossal giants in half. He was fonder of Bernardo del Carpio because at Roncesvalles he had killed the enchanted Roland by availing himself of the tactic of Hercules when he crushed Antaeus, the son of Earth, in his arms. He spoke highly of the giant Morgante because, although he belonged to the race of giants, all of them haughty and lacking in courtesy, he alone was amiable and well-behaved. But, more than any of the others, he admired Reinaldos de Montalbán, above all when he saw him emerge from his castle and rob anyone he met, and when he crossed the sea and stole the idol of Mohammed made all of gold, as recounted in his history. He would have traded his housekeeper, and even his niece, for the chance to strike a blow at the traitor Guenelon.

The truth is that when his mind was completely gone, he had the strangest thought any lunatic in the world ever had, which was that it seemed reasonable and necessary to him, both for the sake of his honor and as a service to the nation ...

Don Quixote. Copyright © by Miguel Cervantes. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Table of Contents

	Translator's Note to the Reader	xvii
	Introduction: Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra	xxi
	First Part of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha
	Prologue	3
	To the Book of Don Quixote of La Mancha	11
	Part One of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha	19
Chapter I	Which describes the condition and profession of the famous gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha	19
Chapter II	Which tells of the first sally that the ingenious Don Quixote made from his native land	24
Chapter III	Which recounts the amusing manner in which Don Quixote was dubbed a knight	29
Chapter IV	Concerning what happened to our knight when he left the inn	35
Chapter V	In which the account of our knight's misfortune continues	41
Chapter VI	Regarding the beguiling and careful examination carried out by the priest and the barber of the library of our ingenious gentleman	45
Chapter VII	Regarding the second sally of our good knight Don Quixote of La Mancha	53
Chapter VIII	Regarding the good fortune of the valorous Don Quixote in the fearful and never imagined adventure of the windmills, along with other events worthy of joyful remembrance	58
	Part Two of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha
Chapter IX	In which the stupendous battle between the gallant Basque and the valiant Manchegan is concluded and comes to an end	65
Chapter X	Concerning what further befell Don Quixote with the Basque and the danger in which he found himself with a band of Galicians from Yanguas	70
Chapter XI	Regarding what befell Don Quixote with some goatherds	75
Chapter XII	Regarding what a goatherd recounted to those who were with Don Quixote	81
Chapter XIII	In which the tale of the shepherdess Marcela is concluded, and other events are related	86
Chapter XIV	In which are found the desperate verses of the deceased shepherd, along with other unexpected occurrences	94
	Part Three of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha
Chapter XV	In which is recounted the unfortunate adventure that Don Quixote happened upon when he happened upon some heartless Yanguesans	102
Chapter XVI	Regarding what befell the ingenious gentleman in the inn that he imagined to be a castle	109
Chapter XVII	Which continues the account of the innumerable difficulties that the brave Don Quixote and his good squire, Sancho Panza, experienced in the inn that, to his misfortune, he thought was a castle	116
Chapter XVIII	Which relates the words that passed between Sancho Panza and his master, Don Quixote, and other adventures that deserve to be recounted	124
Chapter XIX	Regarding the discerning words that Sancho exchanged with his master, and the adventure he had with a dead body, as well as other famous events	134
Chapter XX	Regarding the most incomparable and singular adventure ever concluded with less danger by a famous knight, and which was concluded by the valiant Don Quixote of La Mancha	141
Chapter XXI	Which relates the high adventure and rich prize of the helmet of Mambrino, as well as other things that befell our invincible knight	152
Chapter XXII	Regarding the liberty that Don Quixote gave to many unfortunate men who, against their wills, were being taken where they did not wish to go	163
Chapter XXIII	Regarding what befell the famous Don Quixote in the Sierra Morena, which was one of the strangest adventures recounted in this true history	173
Chapter XXIV	In which the adventure of the Sierra Morena continues	182
Chapter XXV	Which tells of the strange events that befell the valiant knight of La Mancha in the Sierra Morena, and of his imitation of the penance of Beltenebros	190
Chapter XXVI	In which the elegant deeds performed by an enamored Don Quixote in the Sierra Morena continue	205
Chapter XXVII	Concerning how the priest and the barber carried out their plan, along with other matters worthy of being recounted in this great history	212
	Part Four of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha
Chapter XXVIII	Which recounts the novel and agreeable adventure that befell the priest and the barber in the Sierra Morena	227
Chapter XXIX	Which recounts the amusing artifice and arrangement that was devised for freeing our enamored knight from the harsh penance he had imposed on himself	239
Chapter XXX	Which recounts the good judgment of the beautiful Dorotea, along with other highly diverting and amusing matters	249
Chapter XXXI	Regarding the delectable words that passed between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, his squire, as well as other events	258
Chapter XXXII	Which recounts what occurred in the inn to the companions of Don Quixote	266
Chapter XXXIII	Which recounts the novel of The Man Who Was Recklessly Curious	272
Chapter XXXIV	In which the novel of The Man Who Was Recklessly Curious continues	289
Chapter XXXV	In which the novel of The Man Who Was Recklessly Curious is concluded	305
Chapter XXXVI	Which recounts the fierce and uncommon battle that Don Quixote had with some skins of red wine, along with other unusual events that occurred in the inn	313
Chapter XXXVII	In which the history of the famous Princess Micomicona continues, along with other diverting adventures	321
Chapter XXXVIII	Which tells of the curious discourse on arms and letters given by Don Quixote	330
Chapter XXXIX	In which the captive recounts his life and adventures	334
Chapter XL	In which the history of the captive continues	341
Chapter XLI	In which the captive continues his tale	352
Chapter XLII	Which recounts further events at the inn as well as many other things worth knowing	368
Chapter XLIII	Which recounts the pleasing tale of the muledriver's boy, along with other strange events that occurred at the inn	374
Chapter XLIV	In which the remarkable events at the inn continue	383
Chapter XLV	In which questions regarding the helmet of Mambrino and the packsaddle are finally resolved, as well as other entirely true adventures	391
Chapter XLVI	Regarding the notable adventure of the officers of the Holy Brotherhood, and the great ferocity of our good knight Don Quixote	398
Chapter XLVII	Regarding the strange manner in which Don Quixote of La Mancha was enchanted, and other notable events	405
Chapter XLVIII	In which the canon continues to discuss books of chivalry, as well as other matters worthy of his ingenuity	414
Chapter XLIX	Which recounts the clever conversation that Sancho Panza had with his master, Don Quixote	421
Chapter L	Regarding the astute arguments that Don Quixote had with the canon, as well as other matters	428
Chapter LI	Which recounts what the goatherd told to all those who were taking Don Quixote home	433
Chapter LII	Regarding the quarrel that Don Quixote had with the goatherd, as well as the strange adventure of the penitents, which he brought to a successful conclusion by the sweat of his brow	438
	Second Part of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha
	Dedication	451
	Prologue to the Reader	455
Chapter I	Regarding what transpired when the priest and the barber discussed his illness with Don Quixote	459
Chapter II	Which deals with the notable dispute that Sancho Panza had with Don Quixote's niece and housekeeper, as well as other amusing topics	469
Chapter III	Regarding the comical discussion held by Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and Bachelor Sanson Carrasco	473
Chapter IV	In which Sancho Panza satisfies Bachelor Sanson Carrasco with regard to his doubts and questions, with other events worthy of being known and recounted	480
Chapter V	Concerning the clever and amusing talk that passed between Sancho Panza and his wife, Teresa Panza, and other events worthy of happy memory	485
Chapter VI	Regarding what transpired between Don Quixote and his niece and housekeeper, which is one of the most important chapters in the entire history	491
Chapter VII	Regarding the conversation that Don Quixote had with his squire, as well as other exceptionally famous events	496
Chapter VIII	Which recounts what befell Don Quixote as he was going to see his lady Dulcinea of Toboso	502
Chapter IX	Which recounts what will soon be seen	509
Chapter X	Which recounts Sancho's ingenuity in enchanting the lady Dulcinea, and other events as ridiculous as they are true	513
Chapter XI	Regarding the strange adventure that befell the valiant Don Quixote with the cart or wagon of The Assembly of Death	521
Chapter XII	Regarding the strange adventure that befell the valiant Don Quixote and the courageous Knight of the Mirrors	526
Chapter XIII	In which the adventure of the Knight of the Wood continues, along with the perceptive, unprecedented, and amiable conversation between the two squires	533
Chapter XIV	In which the adventure of the Knight of the Wood continues	538
Chapter XV	Which recounts and relates the identity of the Knight of the Mirrors and his squire	548
Chapter XVI	Regarding what befell Don Quixote with a prudent knight of La Mancha	550
Chapter XVII	In which the heights and extremes to which the remarkable courage of Don Quixote could and did go is revealed, along with the happily concluded adventure of the lions	558
Chapter XVIII	Regarding what befell Don Quixote in the castle or house of the Knight of the Green Coat, along with other bizarre matters	567
Chapter XIX	Which recounts the adventure of the enamored shepherd, and other truly pleasing matters	576
Chapter XX	Which recounts the wedding of rich Camacho, as well as what befell poor Basilio	582
Chapter XXI	Which continues the account of the wedding of Camacho, along with other agreeable events	591
Chapter XXII	Which recounts the great adventure of the Cave of Montesinos that lies in the heart of La Mancha, which was successfully concluded by the valiant Don Quixote of La Mancha	597
Chapter XXIII	Regarding the remarkable things that the great Don Quixote said he saw in the depths of the Cave of Montesinos, so impossible and extraordinary that this adventure has been considered apocryphal	604
Chapter XXIV	In which a thousand trifles are recounted, as irrelevant as they are necessary to a true understanding of this great history	614
Chapter XXV	In which note is made of the braying adventure and the diverting adventure of the puppet master, along with the memorable divinations of the soothsaying monkey	620
Chapter XXVI	In which the diverting adventure of the puppet master continues, along with other things that are really very worthwhile	628
Chapter XXVII	In which the identities of Master Pedro and his monkey are revealed, as well as the unhappy outcome of the braying adventure, which Don Quixote did not conclude as he had wished and intended	636
Chapter XXVIII	Regarding matters that Benengeli says will be known to the reader if he reads with attention	642
Chapter XXIX	Regarding the famous adventure of the enchanted boat	647
Chapter XXX	Regarding what befell Don Quixote with a beautiful huntress	653
Chapter XXXI	Which deals with many great things	657
Chapter XXXII	Regarding the response that Don Quixote gave to his rebuker, along with other events both grave and comical	665
Chapter XXXIII	Regarding the delightful conversation that the duchess and her ladies had with Sancho Panza, one that is worthy of being read and remembered	677
Chapter XXXIV	Which recounts the information that was received regarding how the peerless Dulcinea of Toboso was to be disenchanted, which is one of the most famous adventures in this book	683
Chapter XXXV	In which the information that Don Quixote received regarding the disenchantment of Dulcinea continues, along with other remarkable events	690
Chapter XXXVI	Which recounts the strange and unimaginable adventure of the Dolorous Duenna, also known as the Countess Trifaldi, as well as a letter that Sancho Panza wrote to his wife, Teresa Panza	697
Chapter XXXVII	In which the famous adventure of the Dolorous Duenna continues	702
Chapter XXXVIII	Which recounts the tale of misfortune told by the Dolorous Duenna	704
Chapter XXXIX	In which the Countess Trifaldi continues her stupendous and memorable history	710
Chapter XL	Regarding matters that concern and pertain to this adventure and this memorable history	713
Chapter XLI	Regarding the arrival of Clavileno, and the conclusion of this lengthy adventure	718
Chapter XLII	Regarding the advice Don Quixote gave to Sancho Panza before he went to govern the insula, along with other matters of consequence	727
Chapter XLIII	Regarding the second set of precepts that Don Quixote gave to Sancho Panza	732
Chapter XLIV	How Sancho Panza was taken to his governorship, and the strange adventure that befell Don Quixote in the castle	737
Chapter XLV	Regarding how the great Sancho Panza took possession of his insula, and the manner in which he began to govern	746
Chapter XLVI	Regarding the dreadful belline and feline fright received by Don Quixote in the course of his wooing by the enamored Altisidora	753
Chapter XLVII	In which the account of how Sancho Panza behaved in his governorship continues	757
Chapter XLVIII	Regarding what transpired between Don Quixote and Dona Rodriguez, duenna to the duchess, as well as other events worthy of being recorded and remembered forever	765
Chapter XLIX	Regarding what befell Sancho Panza as he patrolled his insula	772
Chapter L	Which declares the identities of the enchanters and tormentors who beat the duenna and pinched and scratched Don Quixote, and recounts what befell the page who carried the letter to Teresa Sancha, the wife of Sancho Panza	782
Chapter LI	Regarding the progress of Sancho Panza's governorship, and other matters of comparable interest	790
Chapter LII	Which recounts the adventure of the second Dolorous, or Anguished, Duenna, also called Dona Rodriguez	798
Chapter LIII	Regarding the troubled end and conclusion of the governorship of Sancho Panza	804
Chapter LIV	Which deals with matters related to this history and to no other	809
Chapter LV	Regarding certain things that befell Sancho on the road, and others that are really quite remarkable	817
Chapter LVI	Regarding the extraordinary and unprecedented battle that Don Quixote of La Mancha had with the footman Tosilos in defense of the daughter of the duenna Dona Rodriguez	823
Chapter LVII	Which recounts how Don Quixote took his leave of the duke, and what befell him with the clever and bold Altisidora, the duchess's maiden	828
Chapter LVIII	Which recounts how so many adventures rained down on Don Quixote that there was hardly room for all of them	832
Chapter LIX	Which recounts an extraordinary incident that befell Don Quixote and can be considered an adventure	842
Chapter LX	Concerning what befell Don Quixote on his way to Barcelona	849
Chapter LXI	Regarding what befell Don Quixote when he entered Barcelona, along with other matters that have more truth in them than wit	861
Chapter LXII	Which relates the adventure of the enchanted head, as well as other foolishness that must be recounted	864
Chapter LXIII	Regarding the evil that befell Sancho Panza on his visit to the galleys, and the remarkable adventure of the beautiful Morisca	875
Chapter LXIV	Which deals with the adventure that caused Don Quixote more sorrow than any others that had befallen him so far	884
Chapter LXV	Which reveals the identity of the Knight of the White Moon, and recounts the release of Don Gregorio, as well as other matters	888
Chapter LXVI	Which recounts what will be seen by whoever reads it, or heard by whoever listens to it being read	893
Chapter LXVII	Regarding the decision Don Quixote made to become a shepherd and lead a pastoral life until the year of his promise had passed, along with other incidents that are truly pleasurable and entertaining	898
Chapter LXVIII	Regarding the porcine adventure that befell Don Quixote	902
Chapter LXIX	Concerning the strangest and most remarkable event to befall Don Quixote in the entire course of this great history	907
Chapter LXX	Which follows chapter LXIX, and deals with matters necessary to the clarity of this history	912
Chapter LXXI	What befell Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho, as they were traveling to their village	919
Chapter LXXII	Concerning how Don Quixote and Sancho arrived in their village	924
Chapter LXXIII	Regarding the omens Don Quixote encountered as he entered his village, along with other events that adorn and lend credit to this great history	929
Chapter LXXIV	Which deals with how Don Quixote fell ill, and the will he made, and his death	934

What People are Saying About This

J. M. Cohen

One of the best adventure stories in the world.

Carlos Fuentes

“A major literary achievement.”

Milan Kundera

The novelist teaches the reader to comprehend the world of a question.
—(Milan Kundera

Reading Group Guide

"Don Quixote is practically unthinkable as a living being," said novelist Milan Kundera. "And yet, in our memory, what character is more alive?"

Widely regarded as the world's first modern novel, Don Quixote chronicles the famous picaresque adventures of the noble knight-errant Don Quixote de La Mancha and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through sixteenth-century Spain. This Modern Library edition presents the acclaimed Samuel Putnam translation of the epic tale, complete with notes, variant readings, and an Introduction by the translator.

The debt owed to Cervantes by literature is immense. From Milan Kundera: "Cervantes is the founder of the Modern Era. . . . The novelist need answer to no one but Cervantes." Lionel Trilling observed: "It can be said that all prose fiction is a variation on the theme of Don Quixote." Vladmir Nabokov wrote: "Don Quixote is greater today than he was in Cervantes's womb. [He] looms so wonderfully above the skyline of literature, a gaunt giant on a lean nag, that the book lives and will live through [his] sheer vitality. . . . He stands for everything that is gentle, forlorn, pure, unselfish, and gallant. The parody has become a paragon." And V. S. Pritchett observed: "Don Quixote begins as a province, turns into Spain, and ends as a universe. . . . The true spell of Cervantes is that he is a natural magician in pure story-telling."

Introduction

"Though there have been many valuable English translations of Don Quixote, I would commend Edith Grossman's version for the extraordinarily high quality of her prose. The Knight and Sancho are so eloquently rendered by Grossman that the vitality of their characterization is more clearly conveyed than ever before. There is also an astonishing contextualization of Don Quixote and Sancho in Grossman's translation that I believe has not been achieved before. The spiritual atmosphere of a Spain already in steep decline can be felt throughout, thanks to her heightened quality of diction.

Grossman might be called the Glenn Gould of translators, because she, too, articulates every note. Reading her amazing mode of finding equivalents in English for Cervantes's darkening vision is an entrance into a further understanding of why this great book contains within itself all the novels that have followed in its sublime wake

Editorial Reviews

In 1605, Miguel de Cervantes published El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (The History of the Valorous and Witty Knight Errant Don Quixote of La Mancha), which he pretended to have translated from a Moorish manuscript. Since that time, this richly imaginative work has become regarded as the first novel and, in the eyes of many, remains the finest ever written. William Faulkner read it every year; novelist Paul Auster described it as "one book that I keep going back to and keep thinking about," and a recent Spanish prime minister perused it every day. In 2002, a panel of 100 renowned writers adjudged it the greatest book of all time. Whether you are approaching Don Quixote for the first time or regaining its pleasures, there's no more readable version than Edith Grossman's new translation. Carlos Fuentes hailed it as "a major literary achievement" and Harold Bloom canonized Grossman as "the Glenn Gould" of translators.

What a monument is this book! How its creative genius, critical, free, and human, soars above its age!

Thomas Mann

A more profound and powerful work than this is not to be met with...The final and greatest utterance of the human mind.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The highest creation of genius has been achieved by Shakespeare and Cervantes, almost alone.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

There would seem to be little reason for yet another translation of Don Quixote. Translated into English some 20 times since the novel appeared in two parts in 1605 and 1615, and at least five times in the last half-century, it is currently available in multiple editions (the most recent is the 1999 Norton Critical Edition translated by Burton Raffel). Yet Grossman bravely attempts a fresh rendition of the adventures of the intrepid knight Don Quixote and his humble squire Sancho Panza. As the respected translator of many of Latin America's finest writers (among them Gabriel Garc a M rquez, Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa), she is well suited to the task, and her translation is admirably readable and consistent while managing to retain the vigor, sly humor and colloquial playfulness of the Spanish. Erring on the side of the literal, she isn't afraid to turn out clunky sentences; what she loses in smoothness and elegance she gains in vitality. The text is free of archaisms the contemporary reader will rarely stumble over a word and the footnotes (though rather erratically supplied) are generally helpful. Her version easily bests Raffel's ambitious but eccentric and uneven effort, and though it may not immediately supplant standard translations by J.M. Cohen, Samuel Putnam and Walter Starkie, it should give them a run for their money. Against the odds, Grossman has given us an honest, robust and freshly revelatory Quixote for our times. (Nov.) Forecast: A somber, graceless jacket won't do this edition any favors, but the packaging of the paperback will be most important in determining future sales. In any case, this will be an essential backlist title. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

In 2002, 100 major writers from 54 countries rated Don Quixote the world's best work of fiction. Any new translation of Cervantes's immortal classic is thus a major publishing event, and when that translator is Grossman-the prize-winning interpreter of such contemporary Latin American giants as Garc a Marquez and Vargas Llosa-it is a major event indeed. Grossman's goal was to make the 400-year-old book sound as if it were penned by one of her modern specialties. Using Martin de Riquer's scholarly edition, itself based on the princeps, she translates the text exactly, including the numerous gaps, such as the unexplained theft of Sancho's donkey. Grossman retains the original Latin, of course, but also such Spanish words as nsula that convey a particular meaning. She modifies the famous opening line of the novel by inserting the word somewhere before "in La Mancha," thereby reinforcing the vagueness of the location. Unlike earlier versions, this Don Quixote doesn't use the antiquated speech of the novels of chivalry that Cervantes is spoofing, thus providing a more readable text. Footnotes, many derived from de Riquer, are kept to a minimum and are included only when an explanation is indispensable; Grossman wants the novel to be read first and revered through the clogging of scholarly apparatus second. The end result of Grossman's two-year labor of love is a Don Quixote that is contemporary without being irreverent, a status Raffel's 1995 effort approached. The older, more faithful standard translations, like those of Putnam (1949), Starkie (1964), and Jarvis (revised 1992) will remain in the canon and in print, as much for their reliability as their quaintness. Where Grossman succeeds is in being faithful to Cervantes's comic spirit and natural style; it is indeed a sign of freshness and spontaneity that this reviewer laughed as if for the first time at passages that he's read many times before. As the literary world prepares for the quadricentennial in 2005 of the publication of Don Quixote's first part and in light of other competing versions, now and possibly to come by then, this is the one to beat. Recommended for all libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/03.]-Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

A major literary achievement.

Carlos Fuentes