# Don Quixote

By Miguel de Cervantes

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/don-quixote-d2bd0a47/

Having absorbed too many tales of chivalry, Don Quixote decides to live as a wandering knight. He brings Sancho Panza along as his squire and sets out through Spain, ready to interpret whatever they meet as an opportunity for heroism.

## What makes it funny?

Sancho can explain exactly how a windmill works: the sails turn in the wind and drive the millstone. His master hears none of it. Don Quixote sees a field of giants, issues a challenge and rides straight at the machinery.

### The comedy at work

The pair can look at the same thing and find themselves in different stories. Don Quixote supplies the grand language and duties of chivalric romance; Sancho keeps trying to identify what is actually in front of them. Physical mishaps repeatedly test the knight’s account.

### Try this if…

An episodic journey for readers who enjoy arguments between traveling companions and heroes whose favorite stories have become a dangerous guide to life. The jokes include practical objections to lofty speeches as well as physical slapstick.

### Good to know

Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. Check the translator when choosing an English edition: the cited Penguin paperback uses John Rutherford, while the free Gutenberg text uses John Ormsby. Comic adventures include beatings and injuries.

## What to expect

- Genre: Adventure · Classic comedy
- On the shelf: Picaresque
- Kind of humor: Parody · Situational comedy
- Format: Novel
- Published: 1605

## Sources & further reading

- Reading sample: [Full text in English](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/996/996-h/996-h.htm)
- Review: [Translation review](https://miscellanynews.org/2018/05/02/arts/translations-of-don-quixote-prove-accessible-unique)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/286572/don-quixote-by-miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra-translated-with-notes-by-john-rutherford-introduction-by-roberto-gonzalez-echevarria)