《堂吉訶德》是塞萬提斯最具國際影響的傑作，書名全稱為《匪夷所思的拉曼查紳士堂吉訶德》。 作品描寫瞭讀騎士小說入迷的沒落紳士吉哈達，自號堂吉訶德，試圖用虛幻的騎士之道還世界以公正與太平，先後三次騎著老馬齣外行俠。他雇請崇尚實際的農夫鄰居桑丘·潘薩作為侍從，與自己一起經曆瞭風車大戰、英勇救美、客棧奇遇、惡鬥群羊、挑戰雄獅、人地穴探奇等等奇特事變。他不分青紅皂白，亂砍亂殺，不斷鬧齣笑話，被人捉弄，屢遭慘敗，直至臨終之前纔翻然醒悟。小說通過塑造與刻畫堂吉訶德這一滑稽可笑、可愛而又可悲的人物形象，成功反映瞭西班牙當時的人文主義思想和現實之間的矛盾，揭露瞭封建貴族階級的驕奢淫逸，錶達瞭人民對社會變革的要求和願望。

Publisher Comments:

The text reprinted here is based on award-winning translator Burton Raffel's masterful translation of Don Quijote, which is consistent, fluid, and modeled closely on the original Spanish.

Backgrounds and Context invites readers to explore the creative process that culminated in the publication of Don Quijote. Included are selections from works parodied by Cervantes (Amadis of Gaul and Orlando Furioso) and a portion of the spurious sequel to Part 1 written by Fernándes de Avellaneda.

Criticisms presents fifteen major interpretations of both the novel and selected episodes, describing Cervantes' intellectual milieu, revealing how he infused new life into the literary modes and motifs he had inherited, and illustrating the fundamental importance of Don Quijote in the history of modern fiction.

Synopsis

Part parody and part cautionary tale, "Don Quijote" is considered a literary masterpiece. This critical edition is based on Burton Raffel's translation that comes as close as possible to recreating Miguel de Cervantes' prose style - it is consitent, fluid and modelled on the original Spanish. Carefully selected background materials bring readers into the creative process that culminated in Don Quijote. Included is other writing by Cervantes as well as contemporary works by other authors and a modern account of the novel's influence throughout the ages. Fifteen critical essays present interpretations of both the novel and selected episodes.

From Library Journal

A translator of Horace, Balzac, Rabelais, and Salvador Espriu, as well as a theorist (The Art of Translating Prose, Pennsylvania State Univ. Pr., 1994), Raffel (Univ. of Southwest Louisiana) undertook the formidable task of translating Cervantes's masterpiece because he was uncomfortable recommending any of the existing translations. There are some real differences here. Raffel has junked the traditional transcription of Cide Hamete, the pseudoauthor, in favor of the less "colonialist" and more authentic Arabic, Sidi Hamid. Proper names that contain puns are explained within square brackets, and footnotes are kept to a minimum. A more vernacular style reigns: The blow on the neck and the stroke on the shoulder that dub Don Quijote a knight are, respectively, a "whack" and a "tap." The women at the inn, usually called "wenches," are "party-girls" or "whores." Sancho dreams that his "old lady" will someday be a queen and that his "kids" will be princes. In the proofs, "Castile" has been misspelled as "Castille," an oversight one would hope to see corrected in the final book. This is a lively alternative to the wide assortment of truly old-fashioned translations.

Book Dimension

Height (mm) 234 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Width (mm) 142