Tagged: Don Quixote

Don Quixote

Books and Reading / Humor

Another Outbreak of Manchegan Madness?

About a month ago I wrote about Manchegan Madness, and it now appears that certain members of the blogging community may be experiencing early symptoms. Sylvia at Classical Bookworm reports that she has joined Tilting at Windmills, a group of readers who will be spending May and June reading about the exploits of the famed Don Quixote of La Mancha. I’ve seen this before. It starts as a reading group but ends as a support group. Pretty soon they’ll be naming their pets Rocinante or Sancho Panza. Be careful! Manchegan Madness takes...

Don Quixote translated by Edith Grossman

Books and Reading

Sancho Panza on Death

I’ve been listening to George Guidall reading Don Quixote, and the other day I was struck by this description of death by Sancho Panza: “By my faith, Señor,” responded Sancho, “you mustn’t trust in the fleshless woman, I mean Death, who devours lamb as well as mutton; I’ve heard our priest say that she tramples the high towers of kings as well as the humble huts of the poor. This lady is more powerful than finicky; nothing disgusts her, she eats everything, and she does everything, and she...

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza

Books and Reading / Humor

Do You Recognize the 7 Early Signs of Manchegan Madness?

One of the biggest risks facing readers today is the danger of falling prey to Manchegan Madness. Manchegan Madness is an obsessive compulsive desire to act out the events of a fictional story and/or become a fictional character. The first known manifestation of Manchegan Madness was documented by Miguel de Cervantes in Don Quixote. If you are a habitual reader, you should learn to recognize these early signs of the onset of the disease: Naming your pets after literary characters: Our dog’s name is Pippin, and we constantly...

Don Quixote and the Mule

Book Review / Books and Reading

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

“Master, sadness was made for men, not for beasts, but if men let themselves give way too much to it, they turn into beasts.” It has been said that a person should read Don Quixote at least three times in one’s life: in youth, in middle age, and in old age. I whole-heartedly agree, but I would hope that it could be read more often than that. This is my all-time favorite book, the one book I would want with me if I was stuck on a deserted...