I just finished reading Don Quixote in its entirety

There is so much I could say about this book. It took me about 5 months to finish (I am a slow reader). I read it in the original Spanish (which is my family's language), and though it was tricky, the footnotes in my edition were extremely helpful.

Given its canonical status and reputation, I came to it expecting something that would appeal only to an uptight academic. In a way I was both right and horribly wrong. Yes, Don Quixote (Quijote for Spanish speakers) is full of classical, historical, and literary references, philosophical and theological musings, and countless layers of satire, irony, wit, pastiche, metafiction—enough to keep scholars busy for half a millennium. But it is also full of stories about love, passion, adventure, friendship, tragedy, madness, life and death, with a good dose of scatological humour, fart jokes, and slapstick comedy mixed in. There were moments that made me laugh, moments that felt a bit repetitive and were a drag to read, and moments that were inspiring and moving (I found the final chapter on Don Quixote's final days so bittersweet). All in all, I think DQ is an intelligent, beautiful, and all too human masterpiece.

For me, part of the experience was seeing the book's impact on Hispanophone culture. It was fun to recognise proverbs I had heard from my parents and grandparents in a 400 year old text. I feel like Cervantes' sense of humour has influenced a lot of later Spanish language comedy (for example, Cantinflas' films and Chespirito's comedy—both classics in Latin America—have humour that feels right out of DQ to me).

Overall, I loved this book so much. It is a difficult read and there are definitely parts which can be a bit of a drag to read, but I felt that the effort was well worth it. I'd love to read your opinions on this book and if it has impacted you as much as it did me.