/lit/ - Literature

>>4159447
While it's not commonly talked about, it's actually a very well-respected book here on /lit/. Unless that's kind of what you meant..
Anyways I haven't read it myself.

>>4159460
That's what i meant yes. Hey, something off topic here, but there's in fact a small "thought" that i once had, written in english. It's cool to post it here or should i make a "rate my shit" thread?

>>4159492
Post away bro. If it's about Don Quixote you can put it here. People will call you out on your shit regardless of whether or not you asked them. It's kinda how we roll.

As for DQ: book fucking rocks. Calling it the best book ever written sounds cliche, because it is. But it's also true. Now whenever I talk about the best books I just skip right over DQ because it's redundant and superfluous. It contains every other book ever written since its publication.

Look into the character Sancho Panza. (Pantha) anyway Great read OP! Hope you enjoy It's Interesting for sure.

I've been reading the Penguin Classics translation and I've fallen in love with the story. It's funny, it's witty, and there's a certain something (my words fail me) about how Quixote is clearly insane, but he's the only one trying to make life greater and far more fantastic than it is, fighting for a greater good that may or may not be tangible. The book may as well have been written yesterday rather than nearly 400 years ago.

>>4159996
That's right! I've been trying to think clearly about this subject and although i would not consider it "the best book ever" it just maybe one of the best, def top 3 or so (if such thing is possible in literature. i wate "top" things). So i guess it is a kind of cliche indeed but when it comes to great pieces of art like these, it's impossible to describe it without a certain amount of cliches. And to think that Cervantes started this masterpiece in prison!

>>4161141
I'm very lucky when it comes to this "translation" subject because i can actually read it in Castilian, but currently i'm reading the portuguese version, translated by Aquilino Ribeiro. It's often cited as one of the best translations in the world. The best about it is the fact that Portuguese and Spanish language are in many ways very similar, even more back in the days it was written. But anyways, any thoughts about the english translation? The book has very arcaic terms and expressions, even regional words\terms from andaluzia and the country side of spain\portugal. It's very hard to translate D. Quixote peculiar writing. That's a work for only the best translators out there.

>>4159447
Spainard here. Read one tenth of it. Realize is mostly crap. Too long didn't read. They try to fool people into believing it was so philosophical and all, but it simply was the Jersey Shore from the XVI century. Cervantes wasn't an excellent writer. Trust me, the reason is so valuable is because we make a lot of money from it, still...

>>4160028
Thanks anon, i'm really enjoying it, plus it's a superb laugh riot!

>>4161330
Como podes comparar a merda do Jersey Shore com a história do Dom Quixote? Consigo entender que não gostes do livro, por esta ou aquela razão. No entanto, essa comparação continua a não fazer sentido. Sobretudo para quem só leu 1\10 da obra. Talvez se lhe deres uma segunda hipótese, passes a gostar mais..

I supose that you can read Portuguese, as i can read "Spanish". I'm to high to write in your language, plus this way you can't make fun of my mistakes lol.

>>4159447
has anybody read this in spanish?

>>4161346
I understand everything you wrote, and I still consider it to be not a bad book, its actually entertaining, and for someone willing to be carried on a long trip inside a novel, its fine. But you really need to identify with the characters and have patience enough with their stupid occurences.

I haven't read more because I simply couldn't. I just got bored from it... The comparison comes from the type of thing we call "novel" in that time came in the press, in short releases, aimed to please the great public, mostly mind-numbing light literature. Don Quijote is like a TV series. Made to please, not to stay. It is a pathway, not a fortress. That's why i don't consider it a jewell.

>>4161347
I can read spanish, but i don't have any spanish version of it. So i guess my answer is no.

>>4161352
> But you really need to identify with the characters and have patience enough with their stupid occurences.

Well, we can definiltly agree on that one!

>>4161354
>I can read spanish, but i don't have any spanish version of it. So i guess my answer is no.

>look at me! look at me everybody!!!!1

>>4161328
The Penguin Classics translation is actually a massive one, because it translates not only the words, but the entire book as a single entity. The English is fairly modern (by literary standards), but it doesn't feel like a 20th century or a 17th century book; the language is very "timeless," and there were very few moments where I found myself wondering what certain words meant. Also, the original humor is perfectly translated, as many times I found myself laughing aloud at some of the things happening, but especially with the irony, wordplay and the narrator's own observations.

>>4161347
I'm reading it in spanish.
>>4161328
There's virtually no difference between castilian spanish and normal spanish, you make it look like it's a big thing.

>>4161396

> There's virtually no difference between castilian spanish and normal spanish, you make it look like it's a big thing.

What do you mean by "normal spanish"? Castilian IS "spanish"... There's no Spanish language per se you know? How could I state such a thing if they're the same language? I was talking about the hard work of translating with precision such a book from "spanish" to english for example, not about my "abilities" to read Castilian, because yeah, Castilian is what we often call Spanish.

>>4161394
Sounds like heaven to me!

>>4161435
That'd be like saying I'm reading a book and I'm reading it in British English when there's virtually no difference between American English and British English, just say English (in your case Spanish) and stop being a smug prick.

It's in my top 3 favorite books of all time. Truly inspiring, and it contains a good deal of wit and hilarity. Makes you wanna be a better person, and makes you feel good about life in general.

>>4161438
I understand your point, i really do, but you're still wrong. But then again, if you can read D.Quixote in spanish, you should know that Spanish is just the "other name" for Castilian, because if D.Quixote was written in Euskadi or Catalan (algo oficial languages in spain) you would not understand shit. So there, what you can read isn't spanish, it's castilian, because spanish doesn't exist. At the end of the day this is no matter to be a smug prick about, it's just a semanthics choice with a touch of the simple truth about things. It's not my fault that Spain has 3 ou 4 national languages and none of them is called "spanish". Chill.

>>4161455

>catalan
>not intelligible to a hispanophone

That shit is babby retard spanish.

>>4161328
The only version I've read is the 1957 translation by Walter Starkie. I have no clue how it compares to other translations, but I loved it.

>>4161455
>official language in spain
>somehow they are also derivatives of Spanish
>spanish doesn't exist
>doesn't know basque is an isolated language
>doesn't know catalan and castillian are from different language families
>being such a smug prick

>>4161467
To me it sounds like an actuall retard spanish baby being born from a spanish bitch who had sex with a gay french... Yeah i'll give you that.

test

>>4161478
> wiki: Spanish (español), also called Castilian is the official language in spain (etc).

You call it Spanish and everyone must call it that way because you're somehow our supreme ruler. Well, long response short (because i'm very aware of the basque peculiar situation and also the diferences between all languages spoken in Spain) I can be the smug guy, that's fine, but you're the prick. So i call it even. Have a nice day.

>>4161489
I call it Spanish because I haven't seen a single time when someone calls Spanish Castilian, they only refer to it (even not always) when their mother tongue is Spanish. I don't try to feel superior to other people by calling it Castellano, I know you're Spanish or Spaniard I don't give a shit, but you're an smug prick for referring to it as Castilian. Who cares if you know the differences between all of the fucking romance languages, you aren't better than someone who doesn't know them.
And yeah, I'm a prick but I don't give a fuck.

>>4161500
lol you're wrong again. I'm portuguese and here it's very common to say that "spanish people speaks castillian". And we're not trying to be better than anyone, it's just so happens that they speak castillian\spanish! Look, it's the same thing with China. Chinese people dont speak chinese, they speak Mandarin or Cantonese or whatever the other languages are! Same with India. They don't speak Indian, they speak indi or urdu etc. Same with Iran. They don't speak Iranian or Arabic, they speak Persian! But yeah i'm being a smug prick just because i know the names of some languages and i don't do that stupid small-minded generalization. But whatever man.

>>4161532
>small-minded generalizations
>"no im not better than everybody else i swear!"
epic simple epic

>>4161549
Meh.

>>4161556

>>4161549
Using a meme ironically has become a meme. Which is to say, you have become the new shitposter.

>>4161558
I'm not being ironical, I actually am using it.

>>4161557
Do you really think that just because i know some languages (the names) from whatever country instead of simply calling all of them "Chinese, Spanish, Indian" is equal to me being a smug prick who thinks he's better than anyone else? Is this such a thing to even be a smug prick about? Are we talking about quantum mechanics or something? Gezz. It's no big deal. Keep calling them whatever you want, i care as much as you. Stop trying so hard to "win" internet arguments just so you can use your "i pwned you" meme.

>>4161575
>Gezz
>"win"
>"pwned"

It's been a few years since I read it, but I remember book II being much better than book I.

To put it simply, the whole book is a satire of the "hero's journey". It tries to show how pointless and overused that trope is.