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Don Quixote cover art

Don Quixote

By: John Ormsby - translator,Miguel de Cervantes
Narrated by: Roy McMillan
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Summary

The most influential work of the entire Spanish literary canon and a founding work of modern Western literature, Don Quixote is also one of the greatest works ever written. 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2011 Naxos AudioBooks

What listeners say about Don Quixote

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • 22-02-12

The Mother and Father of all novels

Although I have a dread of dusty old fiction, curiousness overcame caution and I downloaded this book. I am very glad that I did. Not only is the story itself bewitching, the narration is outstanding. This is the only audio book which I have listened to a second time for the pure pleasure of it. A true comic masterpiece, peppered with wit, wisdom, foolishness and absurdity in perfect balance. Roy McMillan's pace and intonation are perfect for the tale too.

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78 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Probably/Possible the Greatest Book ever?!

What made the experience of listening to Don Quixote the most enjoyable?

The quality pf the story is incomparable. The reading by Roy McMillan is - what can I say? Outstanding does not cover it. I am not a wordsmith or I would find the right word - as many others have said - Roy brings this book to life. I could have read it myself and had a much inferior experience.

What did you like best about this story?

I think that DQ offers an insight into humanity which is as great as a select few works of fiction. It is full of Spanish sensibility but it is also just as mind provoking as a modernist icon like Ulysses. DQ, the man, is counterparted by Sancho's realism. But then DQ is full of a sense himself. He is viewed as a fool but also as a man of sense by his contemporaries.

The book develops a perspective of 'celebrity; because DQ's adventures as a knight errant which start as hopeless and irrational are written about and DQ and Sancho acquire 'fictional' counterparts .Then socially prominent individuals begin to engage with the real DQ and Sancho as 'real people' and also with DQ and Sancho the 'irrational' and 'legendary' characters! It is bewildering and exhilarating and of course it provokes reflection on what is 'irrational' and what is 'realistic?' I am old enough to remember when people who were worried about the earth and conservation were 'hippies,' and when vegetarianism was seen as a 'fad.' These are now mainstream schools of thought and DQ, the work holds up a mirror to conventionalism and shows it wanting.

What is mad about being idealistic? Are realists admirable?Or just lazy people who settle for less because they lack energy and creativity? There is also a very modern self consciousness about creating a text (because of the layers of narration) and how a text and I suppose - a life - escapes the 'control' of the 'author/human?!' What a wonderful book.

What does Roy McMillan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Roy McMillan, as many have said, has voiced the characters in this complex book in a wonderful way. I can hear the voices as I write this and I finished the book 4 weeks ago. Roy is a brilliant narrator like Neville Jason in War and Peace. I could never have had the experience I have had just by reading. There are some 'tough' points to this book - there are some extensive 'cataloguing' pages about every knight errant that ever lived for example and if I never hear the name of 'Amadis of Gaul' again - it will be too soon! But the range of characterisations, the sense of humanity is just not to be missed.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Nothing to do with 'Man of La Mancha!' or anything to do with windmills.. I would be a bit dour and I suppose too boring but I would want to say something about an essential contribution from Spain towards understanding and valuing of our common humanity. This would be a film that uplifts you in understanding your fellow human.

But - actually - don't waste your time - it is too subtle and important to be a film - just listen to the book!

Any additional comments?

As previous commentators have remarked - it is a slow burn at first. Stick with it through the cataloguing of heroes of chivalry, books of chivalry and the more absurdist episodes such as the windmills etc. They almost lay the basis for the picaresque tales within tales and then you will experience the unravelling of DQ, the man as a human and the endlessly admirable and loveable Sancho - a true 'everyman.' I now have some of Sancho's proverbs by heart and whilst they madden DQ - I enjoy them very much - after all - 'St Peter is well in Rome! Oh - and I shouldn't miss a shout-out for 'Roscinante' and 'Dapple!'

By the next stage of the book you are questioning who the 'mad' are.. the gentlemanly classes are shown up as they try to fool with DQ who actually has many admirable human qualities and you willl learn to value Sancho ( especially as a governor) , the Curate, the Barber and the inimitable Bachelor Carasco as representatives of the disinterested kindness that humanity can be capable of in its sense of community and friendship.

I have found this book a deeply uplifting experience.For those who have read it - there is a free course on Yale on the i-net which expertly analyses the work. This is a great Spanish (amongst many from that wonderful country) contribution to world culture. Thanks

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Worth the effort

When I started listening to this book I regretted getting it straight away. I found it hard to get into, but eventually I realised how good it was; and now I've listened to it a couple of times.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful and witty saga read so well by Roy McMillan

It's not for nothing that this classic has stood the test of time. You are transported to another world and another culture where the pace of life is slower and where storytelling is part of the fabric of life. The characters are so varied and engaging and the sense of right and wrong clearer than today. There's plenty of wit and humour and now and again great pathos too. A book unlike any other I've read or listened to.

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13 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Classic story delivered with accuracy and humour

Long, but worth it! A wonderful classic with humorous dramatic reading without straying from the text.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Astonishing and intriguing

If you could sum up Don Quixote in three words, what would they be?

wonderful complex funny

What did you like best about this story?

Cervantes' limitless imagination and complete control over what he's doing.

What about Roy McMillan’s performance did you like?

Fluent and easy to listen to, with a good choice of accents to represent the many characters. Occasional slight quibbles with the pronunciation of some Spanish proper names, but not enough to spoil the enjoyment.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's laugh out loud funny in parts, both because of occasional slapstick incidents and the very wry comments made mostly by Sancho Panza. It is also surprisingly affecting especially in the closing chapters.

Any additional comments?

I have been putting off reading Don Quixote for many years. It is of course a Classic Of World Literature, so I approached it with some dread. How wrong I was. The novel is fascinating and intricate, the humour works (unlike most of Shakespeare's jokes, which really are not funny to the modern ear), and the writer knows exactly what he's doing at every turn. Even the minor characters live and breathe. The story of a man apparently out of touch with reality (or is he?) and his companion who seems to have no contact with fantasy (but will believe almost anything he's told) is absorbing and delightful. The way Cervantes plays with notions of truth and fiction, especially in the second part where many of the characters have read the first part and expect the heroes to behave in certain ways, is astonishingly original for an early 17th century novel. I look forward to reading it again with great pleasure.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

What happens when you read too many books

My readings of Don Quixote were patchy and, as a curious storyteller, I wanted to fill in the gaps.I couldn't have done better than choose this audiobook. Don Quixote, his head filled with idealism and fantasy from reading too many books on chivalry, is accompanied on his adventures by Sancho Panza, stolid and down to earth, a marvellous comic partnership, Roy McMillan is a jaunty,affectionate narrator who brings the characters, farce, enchantments, combats, wounds, courtships torments and foolishnesses to life. There are nevertheless repetitions and slownesses, especially in the early stages, but when the story is so well narrated that is forgiven .The seemingly endless string of episodes becomes addictive. It is like The Canterbury Tales or The Arabian Nights. The second half of the book really takes off with one rollicking encounter after another and I found it hard to press pause.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

An excellent listen.

Excellent narration brings this epic tale to life. I really enjoyed the flair and verve with which the book was read.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Humanity

Full of surprises even if some of the well known incidents are already familiar. Witty and touching, always entertaining.
The reading is superb with brilliant characterisations.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A lot more entertaining than I expected

Would you listen to Don Quixote again? Why?

Maybe not, because it's very long, but I'm glad I listened to it this time. It's a lot funnier than I expected. I had always assumed it was about this very courageous, serious character but Don Quixote turns out to be a loveable but deluded figure of comedy and the author spends the entire book taking the p out of him in the nicest of ways.

What about Roy McMillan’s performance did you like?

Roy McMillan really brought the story and characters to life with different voices and accents; I can guarantee I would not have found it anywhere near as funny had I been reading the dialogue on the page.

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