You simply must read Quijote in Spanish (which is the only way to read it if you actually read Spanish), especially now that you’ve already read an English translation of it. The translation may have been good, but it can’t compare to the original. I read it twice while in college and suggest that you read one of the critical editions. I happen to like the Clásicos Castalia edition by Luis Andrés Murillo.

In fact, I think you’ll be able to appreciate it more since you’ve been living in Spain for 10 odd years traveling around and interacting with the people. Of course the Spain of today isn’t the Spain of Cervantes’ time, but still I think your intimate familiarity with Spain, its people, and its culture will really enhance your appreciation of Quijote.

Marina,

During the podcast you mentioned that because it’s written in Old Spanish it would require a great deal of extra effort, but apart from a few minor differences in syntax and some words that you might not be familiar with, or that are used in a slightly different way, you won’t have any problems at all. And anything unusual will be explained in the footnotes. Also, orthography is updated so you’re not reading it as it was originally printed.

And, Marina, I’m telling you it’s worth it. There are parts of it that will have you rolling around on the floor in laughter. I first read it as an undergraduate while doing my degree in Foreign Languages and Literature. One day about 10 minutes before class, I was sitting in the language lab and one of my classmates, who had not done the required reading for that day, asked me to tell her what happened.

Well, as I started to try to tell her about one of the chapters we were supposed to have read, I got about four words out and then I started laughing uncontrollably. When I had originally read it I chuckled a bit, but that was it. But now I could not stop laughing. She, of course, looked at me like I was off my rocker, and was somewhat frustrated because I wasn’t helping her. But I just could not stop laughing. Each time I did manage to calm down a little and try to explain it to her again, I’d go right back into fits of laughter, and I basically laughed all the way to class. I laughed so hard that I started getting cramps in my sides. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to feeling that laughing too much could actually kill you.

Now, if I as a non-native speaker of Spanish, who at the time had never been to Spain nor met any Spaniards, could have that reaction, I feel fairly confident that you could potentially have many more experiences like that if you read Quijote. I’m telling you, you’ll never regret you did it. Trust me on this.

It’s been a longtime since I read Quijote, so I’ve decided to include it on my summer reading list. I started reading some of the front matter last night. It is one of the few books in Spanish that I’ve been able to get totally absorbed in.

If you guys do deicde to read Quijote in Spanish, it would be great to have a follow-up podcast to talk about your experience.

It is a short novel so I recommend it to anyone interested in reading in Spanish.