Review of "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes

The “Knight of Woeful Figure” known whether one has read the book or not, Don Quixote truly is literature for the ages.  More than a picaresque tale of tilting at windmills, it is above all the story of a disillusioned man chasing his dreams, the simple squire who accompanies him, and the adventures they have riding the width and breadth of Spain.  

Human in telling and human in scope, this simple premise allows for profound heights of artistic expression; everyone at some level can relate to the tragic duo and their failures and successes.  Metaphor and allusion suffuse the deceivingly reflective series of stories that comprise the novel.  At one stroke Cervantes parodies both nationalism and orthodoxy while critiquing the self and subjective perception.   

Those seeking to boil it all down to “truth is relative,” however, would be missing out on the humorous dialogue and adventurous spirit of the story—not to mention the cultural importance the novel has to the Latin world.  While many classics collect dust on the shelf, this one is certainly worth the read.  Why not have a tilt yourself…