Well at long last I finished our ambitious summer project of reading Don Quixote and I admit to being a little sad. After so much time together it is hard to say goodbye and I also have lots of questions now that I didn't have 300 pages ago.
For example, who were the Duke and Duchess and why were they tricking Don Quixote and having so much fun at his expense? That just didn't seem right to me and yet the book travels on with no comment on whether this is acceptable behavior, particularly toward someone they know to be delusional.
Also, why would the good knight suddenly come to his senses on this deathbed and renounce his former life? And isn't it sad that he would then, with no chance of changing the course of his life, see that he had been wrong all along? Perhaps at that point it is better not to know, but what do you all think?
Jean was absolutely right when she said the last 100 or so pages were the best in the book, I was really unable to put it down once I got to Sancho's brilliant governorship of his insula, his decision to leave it all behind and the end of the Don's knight errantcy at the hand of his neighbor the bachelor.
Now I know why this book has held the interest of so many for centuries. Goodbye, dear Don Quixote.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
September - the end of Don Quixote.
Hello to all from gorgeous Montana where Rick and I have come for a week of (hopefully) hiking, trail riding and river rafting in-between hanging out in great towns like Bozeman. Today we lucked into a big treat - the high school's Homecoming Parade down Main St.
We hit the jackpot though with a personal tour of the Museum of the Rockies from a resident paleontologist. This wonderful young man is working on his masters at MSU and is from Louisa, VA. He has discovered, get this, a NEW DINOSAUR!
Despite not being born when the bones were excavated (1985!!!!) Cary was the first to take a serious look at what he describes as a box of bones. Through some pretty exhaustive work, he was able to prove it is a unique species, not a juvenile version of something else. He makes me think I am wasting entirely too much time sleeping at night.
But I digress - we are actually here to talk about Don Quixote with whom I have spent most of my summer. Let me first welcome our newest member, Ashley Silverburg. She naively expected to finish a book in the two weeks she had before our meeting; then she found out is was Don Quixote and over 1,000 pages. Here's the worst part - she got further than I did, all the way to page 695. Way to go Ashley!
As it turns out, only Jean actually finished the book in time for our meeting. The consensus is that we all liked it, but weren't in love with it. One problem was that it wasn't a page turner so there was only so much reading time we could put in at any one time before wandering off to a steamy beach read.
At the same time, it was very entertaining and by now, I am very fond of the old knight and Sancho Panza. Despite so many of his adventures seeming repetitive, I still wanted to spend time with them both and look forward to our time together, which others also said.
The ongoing editorial issues with mis-titled chapters, the beloved donkey disappearing and reappearing without explanation, etc. were a reminder of just how early this novel was and how primitive publishing was at that time. The first part was published in 1605 and the second in 1615.
We were all struck with the way Cervantes included himself, some of his rivalries and the editorial issues as part of the novel. Jean and I both thought that perhaps Cervantes was a bit enthralled with his own voice, enough to seem a bit of a character in the novel itself.
Another thing that struck us was that so many of the very famous anecdotes from the book happen very early on, particularly the tilting at windmills. While perhaps that meant people didn't get very far into the book, it may also be that these episodes were so striking that they really stood out.
So, on to the next book. We are reading The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. Our meeting is set for Oct. 16. We had hoped to be at Julie's house but that is not going to work now - should we move to the 22nd or 23rd or go ahead at a different location. Please weigh in! Please note this is a Tuesday. Our wandering types, Jean and Val are now in Richmond during the week, so we can branch out from our usual Mondays.
November's book is by Fiona's friend David Ebenbach. The book is called Into the Wilderness. Fiona and David met at an artist retreat. David will be in town at the Fountain Book Store for a signing at 2pm on Nov. 10. We will meet with him for an early dinner (tentatively) around 5pm at Fiona's. This is a Saturday, so take note of that as well. What a treat, thank you Fiona!
As a final aside, Beryl reported that the wedding was wonderful and she had a great time as did her daughter. Pictures to follow. By the way, Jean, can we see pics of your son's wedding as well?
Hope to see you all in October, let me know your preference.
We hit the jackpot though with a personal tour of the Museum of the Rockies from a resident paleontologist. This wonderful young man is working on his masters at MSU and is from Louisa, VA. He has discovered, get this, a NEW DINOSAUR!
Despite not being born when the bones were excavated (1985!!!!) Cary was the first to take a serious look at what he describes as a box of bones. Through some pretty exhaustive work, he was able to prove it is a unique species, not a juvenile version of something else. He makes me think I am wasting entirely too much time sleeping at night.
But I digress - we are actually here to talk about Don Quixote with whom I have spent most of my summer. Let me first welcome our newest member, Ashley Silverburg. She naively expected to finish a book in the two weeks she had before our meeting; then she found out is was Don Quixote and over 1,000 pages. Here's the worst part - she got further than I did, all the way to page 695. Way to go Ashley!
As it turns out, only Jean actually finished the book in time for our meeting. The consensus is that we all liked it, but weren't in love with it. One problem was that it wasn't a page turner so there was only so much reading time we could put in at any one time before wandering off to a steamy beach read.
At the same time, it was very entertaining and by now, I am very fond of the old knight and Sancho Panza. Despite so many of his adventures seeming repetitive, I still wanted to spend time with them both and look forward to our time together, which others also said.
The ongoing editorial issues with mis-titled chapters, the beloved donkey disappearing and reappearing without explanation, etc. were a reminder of just how early this novel was and how primitive publishing was at that time. The first part was published in 1605 and the second in 1615.
We were all struck with the way Cervantes included himself, some of his rivalries and the editorial issues as part of the novel. Jean and I both thought that perhaps Cervantes was a bit enthralled with his own voice, enough to seem a bit of a character in the novel itself.
Another thing that struck us was that so many of the very famous anecdotes from the book happen very early on, particularly the tilting at windmills. While perhaps that meant people didn't get very far into the book, it may also be that these episodes were so striking that they really stood out.
So, on to the next book. We are reading The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. Our meeting is set for Oct. 16. We had hoped to be at Julie's house but that is not going to work now - should we move to the 22nd or 23rd or go ahead at a different location. Please weigh in! Please note this is a Tuesday. Our wandering types, Jean and Val are now in Richmond during the week, so we can branch out from our usual Mondays.
November's book is by Fiona's friend David Ebenbach. The book is called Into the Wilderness. Fiona and David met at an artist retreat. David will be in town at the Fountain Book Store for a signing at 2pm on Nov. 10. We will meet with him for an early dinner (tentatively) around 5pm at Fiona's. This is a Saturday, so take note of that as well. What a treat, thank you Fiona!
As a final aside, Beryl reported that the wedding was wonderful and she had a great time as did her daughter. Pictures to follow. By the way, Jean, can we see pics of your son's wedding as well?
Hope to see you all in October, let me know your preference.
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