Reading Order
Don Quixote Reading Order
Don Quixote (Part I, 1605; Part II, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra is the first modern novel — the story of Alonso Quijano, a minor Spanish nobleman who has read so many romances of chivalry that he loses his mind, renames himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, and sets out as a knight-errant to defend the helpless and right the wrongs of the world, accompanied by his earthy, pragmatic squire Sancho Panza. Don Quixote mistakes a roadside inn for a castle, windmills for giants, and flocks of sheep for armies. Part II (1615) is even more sophisticated than Part I: by this point the characters have read Part I and encounter readers and fans who know who they are; the novel becomes self-conscious in a way that anticipates postmodern fiction by three and a half centuries. The novel has generated more critical commentary than any other work in Western literature except Shakespeare, and has been read as a satire of popular romance, a meditation on the nature of fiction and reality, an exploration of the relationship between idealism and pragmatism, a study of friendship, and a profound meditation on madness, dignity, and what it means to live according to an ideal in a world that will not cooperate. Nabokov called it 'the greatest novel ever written'; Faulkner said he reread it every year.
Where to start
Don Quixote (Part I, 1605; Part II, 1615) — in a modern translation. Best Don Quixote reading order: read both parts in order — Part I first, then Part II, which is even better; Edith Grossman's 2003 Ecco/HarperCollins translation is the most celebrated modern rendering. Best reading approach: read Part I straight through, then take a break before Part II to let the experience settle.
Complete Don Quixote Book List
- 1Buy
Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes (trans. Edith Grossman)·2003·The most celebrated modern translation — Grossman's rendering is widely regarded as the finest English-language Don Quixote; Salman Rushdie called it 'the best translation I have ever read of any book' - 2Buy
Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes (trans. John Rutherford)·2000·The Penguin Classics translation — Rutherford's rendering is fluent and approachable; a reliable alternative to Grossman particularly for readers who want a more affordable edition - 3Buy
Kafka on the Shore
Haruki Murakami·2002·The contemporary novel most directly in the spirit of Don Quixote — a boy who runs away from home and an old man who talks to cats both inhabit a world where the boundaries between reality and imagination are not fixed; shares the novel's central concern with living by an impossible ideal - 4Buy
Tom Jones
Henry Fielding·1749·The English novel most directly descended from Don Quixote — Fielding explicitly models his comic novel of manners on Cervantes, and Tom Jones's adventures in the world share Don Quixote's episodic picaresque structure and comic reversal of expectations - 5Buy
Candide
Voltaire·1759·The philosophical comic novel most similar to Don Quixote's satirical spirit — Candide's travels through an absurd world that defies his Leibnizian optimism parallel Don Quixote's travels through a world that defies his chivalric idealism; both are comedies of the collision between ideal and real - 6Buy
The Tin Drum
Günter Grass·1959·The novel that most directly continues the Don Quixote tradition in the European novel — Oskar Matzerath, who decides at age three to stop growing, narrates the rise of Nazism in Danzig from the perspective of a man who has refused to grow up; shares Don Quixote's use of a protagonist who perceives the world differently from everyone else
Don Quixote — Frequently Asked Questions
What is Don Quixote about?
Don Quixote (Part I, 1605; Part II, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes is the story of Alonso Quijano, a Spanish minor nobleman who has read so many chivalric romances that he loses his mind, renames himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, and sets out as a knight-errant to defend the helpless and right the world's wrongs, accompanied by his pragmatic squire Sancho Panza. Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants, inns for castles, and farm girls for noble ladies. Part II is even more sophisticated, as the characters have read Part I and encounter their own fans. The novel is widely considered the first modern novel and the most important work in Spanish literature, generating more critical commentary than any work in Western literature except Shakespeare.
What is the best translation of Don Quixote?
Edith Grossman's 2003 translation (Ecco/HarperCollins) is the most celebrated modern rendering and is widely regarded as the finest English Don Quixote; Salman Rushdie called it 'the best translation I have ever read of any book.' John Rutherford's Penguin Classics translation (2000) is a reliable and more affordable alternative. For historical interest, Tobias Smollett's 1755 translation was the standard English version for two centuries and has its own literary character. The older P.A. Motteux translation is now considered dated.
Should I read both parts of Don Quixote?
Yes — Part II (1615) is generally considered superior to Part I (1605). Where Part I is episodic and sometimes repetitive, Part II is more psychologically complex and self-conscious: the characters have read Part I and encounter characters who know who they are, making the novel one of the first works of metafiction. The relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza deepens significantly in Part II, and the ending of Part II is one of the most moving passages in world literature. Most scholars and devoted readers consider Part II the greater achievement. Read Part I first for the context, then Part II for the masterpiece.
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