Don Quixote

A review for my governor

Your highness Don Sancho Panza,
I wish to submit to you a review of the grand tale of Don Quixote of which you are the central figure. Of course your lordship knows that the book is named for your master but your wit, proverbs, and wise counsel make this story a joy to read. As the wise Miguel de Cervantes tells your history, he increases the enjoyment by really starting the second book of your adventures with extreme sarcasm and a bite of which the meanest of giants would be jealous. The constant reminder that the pseudo history written by an inferior author has no place in your noble adventures.
This audio version of your story is well casted by a great reader and impressionist for when he spoke I could not tell if I were listening or standing in your presence. Oh wise governor, may your story live in the hearts of your people and bring awe and fear to the hearts of those who dare besmudge the name of the great Don Sancho Panza.
Your humble servant,

66 of 67 people found this review helpful

Best Ever Written AND Read?

I read, somewhere, this book called the "best ever written." The performance by Guidall is also of that caliber - his character voices, of Don Quixote, Sanco Panza and all the others, are so individual that you soon forget this is a book. You can forget you are at home, washing dishes, believing instead that you are on a dusty plain in the burning sun, thirsty, with empty saddlebags, listening to the story of an enchanted shepherd. The voices are SO good that sometimes the dramatic pauses, sighs and perils-of-pauline-type purple-prose start in one register and fall down the scale, "Oh-h (high) - oh - oh-h oh-h (low) h-oh," in D-sharp minor. This book can't be rushed.

At first I was slightly bored by it, thinking OK, it's a classic, it's got to be good, and if it isn't, at least I can say I read it. Then, gradually, the humor started showing through. Now I don't want it to be over (I'm not done yet), I want to enjoy every moment, and I may even listen to it again.

Moreover (literati), this book is about books from a time when books were television, movies, YouTube, twitter, vines and all social media combined. It's also a history, capturing not only what was going on in Spain in the 16th century but referencing what had been going on in Europe from the 13th to 15th - it could be read side-by-side with Barbara Tuchman's In a Distant Mirror (the two versions of Knight Errantry fit rather well). It's the ideology of heroism about the ideology of heroism, knights saving widows and orphans (Tuchman points out that the reality was more like knights raping, then killing, widows and orphans) and the funny thing is, that same ideology is here with us today in Hollywood movies and other heroic shows. That's the mark of a classic, that it's timeless, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Cervantes managed to poke fun of the 21st century from the distant mirror of the 16th.

31 of 31 people found this review helpful

Masterpiece - in literature and narration!

I've been listening to audiobooks for over 3 years now, over 35 books, 2 hours a day in my commute. Of all the books I've listened to, this is easily the best. It's the first that had me laughing so hard I was worried about the effect on my driving. George Guidall's unparalleled narration took me completely into the drama of the story, brought out the characters as if they were alive in another country - not some un-relatable figures from the 14th century.
I can't fully put in words how much I enjoyed this listen and I have to make this review short as I am at work.
Get it.

81 of 83 people found this review helpful

Best book ever written?

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

Hillarious, dynamic, thought provoking (I know that is 4 words but the last 2 go together!)

Have you listened to any of George Guidall’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not but George Guidall's reading was wonderful. He did the voices marvelously and really brought out the characters' emotions.

Any additional comments?

I saw on a list published in 2000 that Don Quixote was the best book ever written. I was intrigued so I decided to check it out. I am not much for lists and what "academics" think is the best literature out there but several other books I loved were on this list so I figured it couldn't be all hokum, right! Well, Don Quixote did not disappoint. I admit, it was a little slow in starting and I was thinking, "the best book, really?" but as it went on I really found myself enjoying it and looking forward to getting back to listening and was actually pretty sad when it ended. The character development was wonderful and it was hillarious. I am not sure it is the best book I have ever read but it is certainly in my top 10 and worthy of reading again in the future.

70 of 72 people found this review helpful

My Fourth Try at an Audible Quixote

Any additional comments?

Well, I have to read this monster for a college class. Not that I don't want to read it for pleasure, but in this case it's especially important that the translator and narrator are as clear as possible. I have liked all of the beginnings of the unabridged versions available here, but I've kept spending credits hoping I'd get one that really knocked me out. This is the one. After a bit of cursory research, I found the Grossman translation highly recommended. And my own ears tell me that the Guidal narration is the best. This reading is four hours longer than most of the others, and it sounds so far like the extra time is well spent in helpful pauses. There is the added benefit for me that Grossman's translation is easily attainable in printed, annotated form so that I can dig up good notes for my paper after absorbing the audio a few times. I can't say I've listened to the whole of any of these, but if the first hour of four different versions can be trusted, I can easily call this one the best by far. Happy listening.

159 of 165 people found this review helpful

Absoultely, amazingly delightful

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

It is mpossible to separate the three geniuses who made this such a fantastic listening experience. Of course they are Miguel de Cervantez - who wrote such an amazing piece over 400 years ago, Edith Grossman - who gave us such a glorious translation which reads like it was written both half a millennium ago and yesterday, and George Guidall who gives such an amazing performance that his every inflection becomes hilarious. The three together make this story wonderfully enjoyable from beginning to end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oh, puuulllleeeeze!!! Anyone who says their favorite character isn't Sancho Panza is lying or has been recently tossed in a blanket.

What does George Guidall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

George Guidall's understanding of the humor and his ability to deliver it is spot on glorious. I think that had I read the book in print, I would have walked away thinking, "That was really good," but not "That was quite possibly the most hilarious and entertaining thing I've ever read." An absolute tour-d-force. One of my favorite narrations EVER.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Well, when poor Sancho got tossed in his befouled blanket, and then proceeded to remind us about the incident 200 times thereafter. Also the running "Helmet of Mabrino" gag was hilarious every time it came up.

Any additional comments?

Okay, here's a point I really want to make. My family and I listened to this recorded book (I had listened to it once before) on a couple road trips, which spanned maybe 6,000 miles. I have an 11 year old and a 13 year old, and mostly all they want to do is play video games non-stop. One of the best parts of the experience for me, was when the narrative was winding down, AFTER 39 HOURS, and my 11 year old says, "I wish Don Quixote never had to die and could just keep going on adventures forever." Seriously, this kid enjoying anything that isn't on a screen moving 200 majillion pixels/hr bores him, and he was thoroughly entertained by a classic four centuries old. Bravo Recorded Books, and thanks Audible for picking this title up.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Sancho Panza!

This is my favorite work of fiction. I love the story of Don Quixote. If you haven't listened to or read this book, it is a must.

This book is very long, but is broken up into smaller stories told by people who run into Don Quixote on his travels and by a series of ridiculous "adventures" of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza themselves. (You will never see a blanket the same way again, for example. And everyone knows about the windmills... err... giants).

I have recommended this book to a few friends and some of them have gotten an hour or so into and thought it was dumb. I don't agree. I think the beginning is very clever, but it doesn't make much sense if you aren't familiar with the story- if you read the book and then re-read the beginning it will seem much more clever. My advice is to suffer through the beginning if you don't enjoy it- the book makes more sense before too long.

I have been waiting for audible to get this version of the book in their library. I have now purchased this 3 times. Once on tape, once on CD and now, finally MP3.

Now for the headline explanation. To me, this book is more about Sancho Panza than Don Quixote. The way George Guidall performs Sancho is such a joy. I remember the first time I finished the book I was a little depressed thinking that my friend Sancho was gone. One word of caution, though- Mr. Guidall's performance of Sancho became so iconic to me over the course of this book that other books read by him become hard to listen to. Mr. Guidall uses the "Sancho" voice in other books and whatever character he uses it on becomes Sancho in my head. It is very hard to separate. Try to take a serial killer seriously when he sounds like Sancho Panza. You'll half expect him to be murdering people in an effort to get his insula. Despite that, I would rather have Sancho be Sancho than have a scary villain.

Do yourself a favor- put down whatever book of chivalry you are reading now and read this one instead.

42 of 45 people found this review helpful

Way more fun than anticipated!

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

Classic, endearing, and (to my surprise) fun.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sancho Panza was easily my favorite character. He was a very dutiful squire who actually believed in his knight even when he KNEW Don Quixote was an all out whack job.

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

Mr. Guidall brought both of these honorable long winded characters to life in a way that now that I have completed the book I find myself missing both Panza and Quixote.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The world is full of adventure! Well sort of.

Any additional comments?

This is one of those books that I picked up because I really wanted to HAVE read it however I quickly found myself truly enjoying it.

18 of 19 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly Fun!

Any additional comments?

 
Potential listeners should not be discouraged by the considerable length of the work.  It turns out to be far more exciting that one could expect.  The key is that the novel should not be considered at face value but as a parody of chivalric romances that apparently abounded in Cervantes' days.  Thus, the reader discovers that a major theme of the work is the contrast, or rather the unfathomable gap, between literature and reality.

The work actually includes two separate books. The second written some time after the first was published includes many ironic comments on the latter.  There are many funny moments throughout, as when Don Quixote meets for the first time another character claiming to be a knight errant ... who has defeated the famous Don Quixote.  The description of the actual Dulcinea Del Toboso is also memorable.

It must be underscored that the excellent translation is very lively and includes a variety of styles and forms, apparently as in the original.

This work is consequently very highly recommended.

19 of 21 people found this review helpful

Funny and sweet masterpiece

It is a pleasure to listen to this fantastic tale about human nature; Sancho and Don Quixote are all of us. Take your pick about the perspective you want to use while listening to this tale: is it an essay about the human condition, a philosophical treaty,a magnificent allegory or a funny, gentle dialog about human weakness ?

9 of 10 people found this review helpful