Classic Books Store
Don Quijote (Norton Critical Editions)
RRP: $18.15
Our Price: $16.34
You Save: $ 1.81 ( 10% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Author: Miguel De Cervantes
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $16.34
You Save: $ 1.81 ( 10% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Author: Miguel De Cervantes
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Average Customer Rating:
Experimental feature: Order Don Quijote (Norton Critical Editions) from the UK, Canada, Germany or France by clicking an appropriate flag below.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Don Quijote (Norton Critical Editions) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 863.3
EAN: 9780393972818
ISBN: 039397281X
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 880
Publication Date: 1999-01-19
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Studio: W. W. Norton
Dewey Decimal Number: 863.3
EAN: 9780393972818
ISBN: 039397281X
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 880
Publication Date: 1999-01-19
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Studio: W. W. Norton
Editorial Review of Don Quijote (Norton Critical Editions)
Part parody and part cautionary tale, Don Quijote is a literary masterpiece. This Norton Critical Edition of Don Quijote is based on Burton Raffel's masterful translation. The Raffel translation comes as close as possible to recreating Cervantes's inimitable prose style-the translation is consistent, fluid, and modeled closely on the original Spanish. Diana de Armas Wilson provides a thought-provoking introduction and explanatory textual annotations. Carefully selected contextual materials bring readers into the creative process that culminated in Don Quijote. Jncluded are other writings by Cervantes published during the period from 1585 to 1616 as well as contemporary works by Ariosto, Avellaneda, Sannazaro, and Montalvo. Patricia Finch and John J. Allen provide a modern account of the novel's influence throughout the ages. Fifteen critical pieces present major interpretations of both the novel and selected episodes. Included are contributions by Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, Michel Foucault, Javier Herrero, Ruth El Saffar, Carroll B. Johnson, Robert ter Horst, Nicolas Wey-G6mez, Maria Antonia Carces, and Anne J. Cruz, among others. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.
Customer Reviews of Don Quijote (Norton Critical Editions)
Customer Rating: 
Review Summary: Disappointed
Review: I got this hoping it would be easier for my kids to digest, but am sending it back in favor of the Putnam translation. In an attempt to use language that would be more familiar to today's reader, the rhythm and flow has been lost. I stumbled through a bit, then lost interest. This reads like a book, Putnam reads like poetry.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A well done translation faithful to Cervantes' original style
Review: I disagree with some of the criticism of this translation, particularly that of Mr. Moreno who mistakenly acuses the translator of a "catastrophic error" ...'introducing the name "Don Quixote" in the narrative before Cervantes himself mentions it.' If Mr. Moreno reads Cervantes Prologue to the book or even the chapter title of the first chapter, which mentions don Quijote by name several paragraphs before the section he sites, he will see his own error. In addition, Cervantes spells the name Quijote, not Quixote as Mr. Moreno does. Mr. Moreno also mistranslates the text in question "en resolución, él se enfrascó tanto en su lectura..." by replacing the "él" referring to don Quijote with "the old gentleman" introduced by Mr. Moreno and not by Cervantes. Translation is difficult as the translator's notes document. I was deeply impressed by the translator's use of a 1611 textbook of the Spanish language to clarify the means of words whose meanings have changed in the past four centuries. In addition, this translator comes closer to Cervantes' actual colloquial style than many of the stodgy Englsih translations that are now in existence. This translation is highly readable and almost as enjoyable as the orginal work in Spanish that so delighted readers when it was first released to the public at the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: the best modern translation
Review: I often return to this granddaddy of novels, and consider this particular translation the best. Grossman's translation is stellar, but it lacks the brio, the spirited tone and zeal of BR's rendering. Certainly this translation is sometimes free-and-easy and best serves an American reader, but its rhythm and gusto more than compensate for the flaws an academic might stub her toe on, and that rush of vivid life, in my opinion, is the heart of Cervantes' work. Authentic phrase or authentic feel? I'll vote for the feel. De gustibus.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Classics Never Die
Review: Great Translation. Great extra essay material. And of course a story that will never die. Ten Thumbs Up!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A review of the book and of this particular translation.
Review: Reading Don Quijote was one of my goals for 2005. I did a lot of research in order to decide which translation to read. I was less interested in the faithfulness of the translation as I was in its readability while generally adhering to the overall faithfulness of the story and the message of the original book. This translation did not disappoint me. It was very readable and I am confident that my reading experience was as good as possible. The language is quite modern, which only bothered me very slightly. For example, we all know of Don Quijote as "the Knight of the Woeful Countenance", but in this book he is merely "the Knight of the Sad Face". Of course they both mean the same thing, but no one today would refer to someone as having a "woeful countenance".
As for the book itself, I very much enjoyed it - especially Volume II which was published 16 years after Volume I. Readers should be aware that this novel is very different from the musical play "Man of La Mancha" - a great play with a great message, but only very loosely based on this novel.
Review Summary: Disappointed
Review: I got this hoping it would be easier for my kids to digest, but am sending it back in favor of the Putnam translation. In an attempt to use language that would be more familiar to today's reader, the rhythm and flow has been lost. I stumbled through a bit, then lost interest. This reads like a book, Putnam reads like poetry.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A well done translation faithful to Cervantes' original style
Review: I disagree with some of the criticism of this translation, particularly that of Mr. Moreno who mistakenly acuses the translator of a "catastrophic error" ...'introducing the name "Don Quixote" in the narrative before Cervantes himself mentions it.' If Mr. Moreno reads Cervantes Prologue to the book or even the chapter title of the first chapter, which mentions don Quijote by name several paragraphs before the section he sites, he will see his own error. In addition, Cervantes spells the name Quijote, not Quixote as Mr. Moreno does. Mr. Moreno also mistranslates the text in question "en resolución, él se enfrascó tanto en su lectura..." by replacing the "él" referring to don Quijote with "the old gentleman" introduced by Mr. Moreno and not by Cervantes. Translation is difficult as the translator's notes document. I was deeply impressed by the translator's use of a 1611 textbook of the Spanish language to clarify the means of words whose meanings have changed in the past four centuries. In addition, this translator comes closer to Cervantes' actual colloquial style than many of the stodgy Englsih translations that are now in existence. This translation is highly readable and almost as enjoyable as the orginal work in Spanish that so delighted readers when it was first released to the public at the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: the best modern translation
Review: I often return to this granddaddy of novels, and consider this particular translation the best. Grossman's translation is stellar, but it lacks the brio, the spirited tone and zeal of BR's rendering. Certainly this translation is sometimes free-and-easy and best serves an American reader, but its rhythm and gusto more than compensate for the flaws an academic might stub her toe on, and that rush of vivid life, in my opinion, is the heart of Cervantes' work. Authentic phrase or authentic feel? I'll vote for the feel. De gustibus.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Classics Never Die
Review: Great Translation. Great extra essay material. And of course a story that will never die. Ten Thumbs Up!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A review of the book and of this particular translation.
Review: Reading Don Quijote was one of my goals for 2005. I did a lot of research in order to decide which translation to read. I was less interested in the faithfulness of the translation as I was in its readability while generally adhering to the overall faithfulness of the story and the message of the original book. This translation did not disappoint me. It was very readable and I am confident that my reading experience was as good as possible. The language is quite modern, which only bothered me very slightly. For example, we all know of Don Quijote as "the Knight of the Woeful Countenance", but in this book he is merely "the Knight of the Sad Face". Of course they both mean the same thing, but no one today would refer to someone as having a "woeful countenance".
As for the book itself, I very much enjoyed it - especially Volume II which was published 16 years after Volume I. Readers should be aware that this novel is very different from the musical play "Man of La Mancha" - a great play with a great message, but only very loosely based on this novel.