Köpeklerin Sohbeti

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Sinan Okan (Translator)

Talihsiz bir evlilik yüzünden hastaneye düşen bir teğmen hasta yatağında yatarken sokakta iki kişinin konuştuğunu duyar. Sohbetin çekiciliğine kendini iyice kaptıran teğmen konuşanların aslında hastanenin bekçi köpekleri olduğunu anlar ve bu mucizevi sohbeti kağıda aktarır. Bir süreliğine konuşma kabiliyeti kazanan iki köpek başlarından geçenleri anlatırken insanlığın derin mevzularına değinirler: ahlak, yozlaşma, dedikodu, haset, talih, onur, sinsilik, tahakküm... Cervantes'in yaşadığı dönem ve ülke üzerine yoğun bir hiciv içeren bu uzun öyküsü, bütün bir insanlık tarihinin (ve muhtemelen geleceğimizin de) güzel bir eleştirisine dönüşüyor.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Spanish Literature, Novella, Literature, Short Stories, Audiobook

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1613

About the author

Miguel de Cervantes y Cortinas, later Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His novel Don Quixote is often considered his magnum opus, as well as the first modern novel.

It is assumed that Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares. His father was Rodrigo de Cervantes, a surgeon of cordoban descent. Little is known of his mother Leonor de Cortinas, except that she was a native of Arganda del Rey.

In 1569, Cervantes moved to Italy, where he served as a valet to Giulio Acquaviva, a wealthy priest who was elevated to cardinal the next year. By then, Cervantes had enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Algerian corsairs. He was then released on ransom from his captors by his parents and the Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order.

He subsequently returned to his family in Madrid.
In Esquivias (Province of Toledo), on 12 December 1584, he married the much younger Catalina de Salazar y Palacios (Toledo, Esquivias –, 31 October 1626), daughter of Fernando de Salazar y Vozmediano and Catalina de Palacios. Her uncle Alonso de Quesada y Salazar is said to have inspired the character of Don Quixote. During the next 20 years Cervantes led a nomadic existence, working as a purchasing agent for the Spanish Armada and as a tax collector. He suffered a bankruptcy and was imprisoned at least twice (1597 and 1602) for irregularities in his accounts. Between 1596 and 1600, he lived primarily in Seville. In 1606, Cervantes settled in Madrid, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Cervantes died in Madrid on April 23, 1616.
-Copied from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

El coloquio de los perros es la historia de Berganza, un perro que ha tenido distintos dueños, quien empieza a narrar a Cipión las cosas terribles que hacen los seres humanos a los demás, no importando si es humano o animal. Una naturaleza que está dividida en el bien y el mal, pero que muchas veces es más propensa a la corrupción, al egoísmo, y al herir a cualquier ser vivo con actos moralmente cuestionables. Personas que tienen más desperfectos que virtudes.

Lo que más me gustó y me impresionó de una novela de este talante es que todo por lo que pasa Berganza es una realidad que se sigue viviendo incluso en el siglo XXI, donde hay carniceros que empuñan cuchillos porque es su trabajo y lo que les da de comer, pero hay otros que los empuñan para herir, robar y matar a gente inocente. Donde hay personas que traicionan la confianza de amigos, familiares y/o conocidos que les han brindado una mano cuando más lo necesitaban, justo como hicieron los pastores; y lo peor no es solo eso, sino que en el camino pueden terminar culpando o tratando mal a personas injustamente y que nada tenían que ver con el problema. Al igual que se sigue viendo a personas hipócritas, que muestran una cara amable, bondadosa y propensa a hacer el bien pero a escondidas hacen actos que ética y moralmente están mal.

El coloquio de los perros me dio una visión de una época del pasado muy lejana que muestra situaciones que aún no se han oxidado actualmente y que más allá de mostrar lo positivo dentro de una sociedad expone una variedad de falencias en los seres humanos, desde el punto de vista de un animal leal y educado que tuvo que pasar y vivenciar por un montón de traiciones, corrupción, violencia, hipocresía, injusticias y el egoísmo humano. Al final se puede ver una lucha entre el bien y el mal, donde el primero (para sorpresa de los lectores) lo encarnan estos animales que han pasado por muchos actos aberrantes y donde el mal es la representación de un ser humano dispuesto a todo con tal de salir ganando, dejándose llevar por las más bajas pasiones e instintos. Y lo peor sigue siendo eso, que sus temas y problemáticas siguen vigentes en la actualidad y casos como esos los puedes vivir en carne propia o los puedes ver en los medios de comunicación diariamente, un contexto en el que se evidencia claramente la decadencia social, cultural, ética y moral de un grupo de personas. No ha envejecido nada y sigue siendo actual, lo cual es más triste que otra cosa.

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Blondie Birthday month read for this year and the first year without the sweet kid! 🐶💖 I been reading dog centered books for several years now, in honor of my kid with a tail and I will continue to do so annually. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's The Deceitful Marriage starts this Kindle version of The Dialogue of the Dogs but since both stories only connected by Ensign Campuzano presence in the hospital hearing the dogs talk and quite different than the introduction short story; which tells of his unfortunate marriage that I reviewed separately.

Last year I read a different kind of talking dog book by Ouida called "Puck" which I truly loved, in that story the dogs talk to each other but the humans can not understand them, in TDOTD if a human is in hearing distance, the dogs can be heard. Both "The Dialogue of the Dogs" (TDOTD) & "Puck" though written around 200 years apart have similarities which I will state before going onto my review here. The hard life of a dog without a loving master and the without human kindness makes life unbearable but of course the dogs try their best and escape evil when they can. The dogs are made to dance and do tricks to make a profit for their master and little benefit for their hard work. The authors tell their thoughts on the world around them and the differences in people. The dogs want stability and a happy life.


Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra shows his attitudes on dogs and people. The dogs are not part of evil but witness the immorality of some humans and through this, the author tells of the wickedness of authority figures, criminals, harlots, witches, misers and different kinds of people. Scipio and Berganza are the two dogs given the power of speech one night and Berganza tells of his life, not knowing how long they have to talk. You have to wonder about the poet in this story and how his play is ridiculed by the theater people who just want burlesque entertainment, and if Saavedra had this sort of happening to him.
This story shows me that the author thought that dogs had a mind because he had to put himself in their "paws" to tread their path.

The short story in short- A dog's adventure to find the best home for himself.

"And yet the power of thought has always been so far beyond us that the main difference between men and animals is: they can think and we can’t."

Animals can think to a point but that is clearly not all known.

This is one of my favorite quotes in this book.

"In Roman times everybody spoke Latin as their mother tongue, yet there must’ve been some morons even then. Speaking Latin didn’t absolve them of stupidity."

I truly enjoyed reading a book about dogs from 1631. I loved that a scenario with a lapdog was mentioned, I wonder what the favorite toy dogs were back then and think of our dear little papillon. 🐶💖🐶💖💜💜🐕🐕💖💖

[Skorofido Skorofido · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ο Θερβάντες είναι μεγάλος… αυτό είναι αξίωμα… και τα αξιώματα δεν δέχονται αμφισβητήσεις… κι αφού ο Θερβάντες καταδέχεται να γράψει ολόκληρη νουβέλα με ήρωες δύο ζώα (σκυλιά εν προκειμένω), περιμένω εναγωνίως τον μεγάλο εκείνο συγγραφέα του 21ου αιώνα που θα γράψει μια νουβέλα με ήρωες εμάς τα ταπεινά σκορόφιδα… Κι επειδή η ελπίδα πεθαίνει τελευταία και μέχρι αυτή η ελπίδα να γίνει πράξη, ας κάνουμε και καμιά δουλειά εδώ μέσα…
«Ο διάλογος των σκύλων» είναι η τελευταία από τις ΄Παραδειγματικές Νουβέλες’ (η 12η παρακαλώ) με τις οποίες ο Θερβάντες στηλιτεύει την κοινωνία της εποχής του ακολουθώντας τη μόδα που επικρατούσε στη λογοτεχνία εκείνη την εποχή, αυτής των ιταλικών μυθιστορημάτων. Άφησε για λίγο στην άκρη τον Δον Κιχώτη επειδή τον έκραξαν, συνέχισε με τις νουβέλες για να τα ξαναβρεί με το κοινό να βγάλει και κάνα φράγκο και ξαναγύρισε μετά στον Δον Κιχώτη.
Δυο σκύλοι λοιπόν βρίσκονται κάτω από το παράθυρο ενός νοσοκομείου και ω! ξαφνικά αρχίζουν να μιλάνε με ανθρώπινη λαλιά. Ευκαιρία λοιπόν για κουτσομπολιό, ο Βεργκάνθα λέει τα καθέκαστα της ζωής του, ο Σκιπίωνας σχολιάζει κι όλο το βιβλίο είναι ένας συνεχής διάλογος (μα τι πρωτότυπος τίτλος!)
Μπορεί να φαίνεται ολίγον παλιομοδίτικο όλο αυτό, λίγο ηθικές συμβουλές, λίγο κοινωνικός σχολιασμός, λίγο χιούμορ, όμως ακριβώς και αυτή είναι η όλη μαγεία της ιστορίας. Πως η ανθρώπινη φύση τελικά δεν αλλάζει, πως τόσο διαφορετικά αλλά και τόσο ίδια είναι όλα, πως όταν ένα έργο είναι καλό, ναι είναι καλό, όσα χρόνια κι αν περάσουν. Εντάξει, δεν είναι το βιβλίο που παίρνεις να διαβάσεις για να δεις τι θα γίνει στη συνέχεια, για να λιώσεις από την αγωνία ή για να προβληματιστείς τα μάλα. Είναι όμως ένα βιβλίο που αξίζει να διαβάσεις, να δεις πως κάποια πράγματα ρε φίλε δεν αλλάζουν, πως οι κλίκες κουφάλα νεκροθάφτη δεν πρόκειται να πεθάνουν ποτέ και πως ρε φίλε δεν γίνεται να το παίζω σκορόφιδο λογοτεχνικόν και να μην έχω και κλασικά αναγνώσματα στο ντουρβά μου (εντάξει αυτό το είπα έτσι για ξεκάρφωμα…)
Αυτά τα βιβλία είναι άνευ συναγωνισμού, εδώ δεν μαδάμε τη μαργαρίτα «μ’αρέσει, δεν μ’αρέσει», ο χρόνος έχει ήδη αποφασίσει πριν από μας για μας…
Εάν πέσει στα χέρια σας, διαβάστε το… Μικρό είναι, αληθινό είναι, έξυπνο είναι και λέει πολλές αλήθειες…
Τελικά οι σκύλοι μιλάνε ή το όλον ήταν το πυρετικό παραλήρημα ενός αρρώστου; Έλα μου ντε! Εδώ σε θέλω κάβουρα να περπατάς στα κάρβουνα…
Υ.Γ. Εάν το διαβάσετε, να έχετε πάντα στο νου σας την εποχή που γράφτηκε... κάποια πράγματα που φαίνονται ντιπ κατά ντιπ αναχρονιστικά, τότε ήταν το mainstream της εποχής...

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Their topics were many and varied, more what you’d expect from a pontiff than a mastiff.”

You don’t have to believe dogs can talk to enjoy this. It does help though, if like many dog lovers, you are used to hearing their voices in your head. Then you can recognize that Cervantes got the tone and tenor just right here.

This is too short to be comparable to Don Quixote, but there are similar elements. Berganza relays the tales of his many experiences, his many masters, and his thoughts on philosophy to Scipio, and Scipio critiques his storytelling abilities.

“But shed light, not blood. What I mean is, just make your point and don’t kill anyone while you’re at it.”

As the dogs converse, the reader is treated to ideas about slavery and loyalty and friendship. Never heavy handed, rather in that gentle way dogs have of steering us in the right direction.

[huzeyfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cervantes'in hiciv dolu müthiş dili ile akıcı bir uzun öykü. Köpeklerin dünyasından insanların kötü yönlerini okuduğumuz bu öykünün aldatılan bir teğmen tarafından aktarılması da hoş bir incelik.

[Engin Türkgeldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Çok hoş bir ismi olan bu kitap, Cervantes'in çağdaşlarını hicvetmek üzere kaleme aldığı kısa bir eser. İki köpeğin gözünden dönemin farklı sınıflarına mensup kişileri anlatıyor, bu kişilerin veya toplumun çarpıklıklarını esprili bir dille ortaya koyuyor. Zaman zaman kantarın topuzu kaçıyor ama Cervantes de bunun farkında olacak ki köpeklerden birine yer yer 'Hadi artık lafı uzatmayı, zırvalamayı kes de sadede gel' benzeri yorumlar yaptırıyor. Edebi bir derinlik beklemeden, rahat bir okuma süreci istediğiniz zaman elinize alabilirsiniz.

[Dimebag · Rating 5 out of 5]

El coloquio de los perros

Out of one Resurrection Hospital, in Valladolid, emerges a bushwhacked man all limping, who’s an ensign called Campuzano.

Looking at this destitute scene a man named Peralta identifies his friend, the ensign—these two haven’t met in years—and asks what misfortune befell the impoverished man and, in the process, the curious Peralta goes on to invite the poverty-stricken to his place and host him—needless to say, the invitation was accepted lickety-split.

Once at the host’s place, the two sit together, and without much encouragement, the penniless guest goes on to narrate his misadventures—mainly how he was wronged—to which our host sympathizes deeply and appropriately.

And then the poor man tries to tell one outrageous and outlandish story to which the host immediately takes offense since the story he's about to tell overtly threatens to violate common sense and immediately asks the down-and-out guest to leave, however, the already wronged guest promptly takes out a scroll and presses it on the exasperated host Peralta. A scroll on which the ensign Campuzano recorded the conversations that took place at the Resurrection Hospital between the two dogs—mat-mates essentially—namely Scipio and Berganza while the ensign was convalescing.

Thus begins The Dialogue of the Dogs…

Cervantes. Talking dogs. FUN!

[Sidik Fofana · Rating 5 out of 5]

SIX WORD REVIEW: Don't just read freakin' Don Quixote.

[Holly Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cervantes knows what I like, and what I like is TALKIN' DOGS. Definitely more straightforwardly picaresque than 'Don Quixote' (which is the only other thing by Cervantes I've read) with a surprising and somewhat unsettling turn towards grim diabolism towards the end. I don't want to make a monument out of a weird little novella about dogs with bad troubles, but I was a little fascinated by the fact that, fantastic or no, Cervantes still chose to center his narrative among the most down-and-out of subaltern groups.

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anachronistic translation but a fun introduction to Cervantes
in recommending Miguel de Cervantes’ The Dialogue of the Dogs (Art of the Novella) the point should be made that witty is not the same as laugh out loud funny, neither is satire. Both terms apply to this book, but I cannot say that I spend much time laughing. In this case I am more of a general reader and not fully versed on the historic context of this book such that I can exactly relate the academic analysis of it to the words on the page. Going a step further. I am rarely focused on the problems of the translator and am inclined to forgive the occasional use of words or expressions unlikely to available to the author or indeed in existence at the time of authorship. For such a short book, the translator depends on too many modern expressions. I can recommend The Dialogue of the Dogs, but my enthusiasm is for the change to read more Cervantes and less about the qualities of this specific text.

The Dialogue of the Dogs is believed to be the first literary example of talking dogs. An earlier Greek classic, circa 160 AD (compared with Cervantes book 1613) is The Metamorphoses of Apuleius. This is the story of a human who transforms himself into an a… , (to use a more polite word) mule and tells of the foible of fellow humans as he travels in unintended disguise. In similar fashion, Cervantes seizes upon the opportunity to tell us about ourselves from the relative objective viewpoint of our dogs.

In brief, dogs do not miss much and may know us better than we may want to be known.

This book tells the story of the dog Scipio as he relates his life with humans to his fellow dog Berganza. The suggestion is that this novella was intended to be the first of at least two. Indeed there is a hint that the two dogs are more than dogs and more than friends.

The stories themselves are by now fairly conventional. Thieving servants, banditry, gypsies being sly and so forth. Individual stories take no more than a few pages. Interruptions are made by Berganza as he warns Scipio to stick to the story and leave out his moralizing. This according to the analysis is part of the satire. Cervantes is speaking to the modes of storytelling and making his opinion known about how good stories should be told.
Stories need not be entirely novel to make good reading. Cervantes has lifted some themes from earlier story tellers, making them his by his abilities as a writer. However his reputation would be mauled in the modern world of instant web checks; Cervantes is a good story teller and The Dialogue of the Dogs is good reading.
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[R.H. Naranjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cervantes muestra, mediante su usual y exquisito tono jocoso, una espléndida crítica a la hipocresía de su tiempo, mostrando a través de la vida de Berganza y las reflexiones filosóficas de Cipión, la manera en que el vicio se presentaba en la gente de su época. Si bien los personajes muestran una naturaleza envuelta en la fantasía, llevan al lector a vivir la realidad de España en el siglo XVII con una lucidez espectacular.

[Violeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fue divertido y triste al mismo tiempo y esta lectura sí está escrita de forma magistral, no como otras (TdH ಠ_ಠ). El coloquio de los perros es tan genial y simple que hasta te sorprende.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

El planteamiento de dos perros guardianes de un hospital de Valladolid charlando de sus vidas me pareció muy original. Al final se trata de una novela picaresca en la que Berganza repasa con Cipión las aventuras que le han tocado vivir con cada uno de sus dueños, y son un buen montón: ya sea en un matadero, o cuidando de ovejas, o acompañando a unos gitanos, o a un mercader, o incluso a una bruja, que me ha resultado de lo más curioso... hasta llegar al hospital donde una noche, sin saber por qué, ambos perros descubren que tienen la capacidad de hablar y razonar.

De sus episodios, hay algunos que se me han hecho cortos y otros largos. Diría que lo más divertido de la novela son las interrupciones de Cipión, que reacciona muchas veces como lo haría el lector y cuyas intervenciones me recordaban tanto a cuando Quijote le pide a Sancho que cuando hable vaya al grano. Y me encanta cuando se mencionan refranes o expresiones antiguas, que me han hecho investigar la etimología de algunas palabras.

Lo he leído como un relato independiente en esta edición ilustrada de Nórdica Editorial, pero por lo visto forma parte de El casamiento engañoso, ya que es un relato que un personaje le da para leer al otro, y que aparecen al final del todo (algo que me descolocó, porque mientras lo leía no conocía este dato). En cualquier caso, me quedé con las ganas de saber la historia de Cipión, que promete explicarla en la segunda noche si siguen teniendo el don del habla... Qué le vamos a hacer. :)

Las ilustraciones modernas no son lo mío, lo tengo comprobado. En más de una ocasión me sacaron de la lectura..

[valen ۶ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

pobre berganza lo quiero mucho

[Maria Casanovas Royo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novela ejemplar para leer en un cuarto de carrera de filología no en cuarto de la ESO.
Esta segunda lectura realizada ya en cuarto de carrera me ha parecido muy interesante.

[Zeynepozmenunlu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Klasikler, köpeklere bile felsefe konuşturabiliyor.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of writers have used sentient animals as a tool for satirizing the human condition. Miguel de Cervantes did it first... or at least firster than most of the other ones you'll find.

What bothers me about many books of this type is that often the animals criticize humans with a superior, judgmental attitude that makes them just as flawed and obnoxious as the people they're trying to satirize. Cervantes avoids this by having his dogs prone to the same foils of man.

It's an amusing book, but really not that important. Fans of the picturesque novel or Cervantes should definitely give it a try, I guess. Or, y'know, if you like light brown.

[Tolgonay Dinçer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bir uzun öykü olan bu kitap bir teğmenin başından geçen basit bir aldatma-aldatılma hikayesi. İkinci bölümde teğmen kaldığı hastanedeki köpeklerin konuştuğunu iddia eder, onların neler konuştuklarını anlatır. Öykü bundan sonra bambaşka bir hal alıyor. Yoğun bir şekilde hiciv içeren öykü insanların ahlaksızlıklarını, ikiyüzlülüklerini, yozlaşmalarını iki köpek aracılığıyla aktarıyor. Belki yazarken kendi dönemini ve ülkesini eleştiriyordu ama değindiği noktalar şu anda hala geçerliliğini koruyor.

[Alexander Arce Márquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Algunos cuentos encierran y tienen la gracia en ellos mismos; otros, en el modo de contarlos (quiero decir que algunos hay que, aunque se cuenten sin preámbulos y ornamentos de palabras, dan contento); otros hay que es menester vestirlos de palabras, y con demostraciones del rostro y de las manos, y con mudar la voz, se hacen algo de nonada, y de flojos y desmayados se vuelven agudos y gustosos.

[Roel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dialogue of the Dogs provides a satirical take on humanity through the eyes of two dogs who have been given the power of speech for a night. When my friend told me this about one of her favourite books, I was intrigued and starting reading it. I mean, it's got dogs, how can you not be interested in a book about talking dogs? The book was nice to read and I had an even better time discussing its ideas with my friend. Reading a fav book of a friend is a good way to get to know someone even better. But I also got to know myself better! Cervantes discusses moral issues and the meaning of wisdom, and through this he confirmed a few things for me:
1. Dogs truly are a man's best friend
2. Just because you're a human (or insert literally any other word), that doesn't mean you're more important than any other form of life.
3. "Gossip, although it may make people laugh, is not a good thing if it kills, and if you can entertain without it, I shall consider you the height of wisdom"
4. "One should never cast pearls before the swine"
5. "Wisdom in the poor man is hidden and obscured in the shadows and the mists of want and necessity, and if by chance this wisdom is revealed, it is judged as stupidity and treated with contempt"
6. "visiting foreign lands and meeting different people can make a fellow wise"

[MURAT BAYRAKTAR · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 yıldız..

Cervantes'in 1600'lerin başında yazdığı ancak benim maalesef yeni keşfettiğim eleştirel bakışla yazılmış taşlama dolu uzun öyküsü. 400 yıl önce yazılmış olmasına rağmen günümüz için hala güncel olmasıyla insanların değişmediğinin ve hiçbir zaman da değişmeyeceğinin göstergesi olan eser.

Adıyla müsemma olan öykü; iki köpeğin ağzından her sınıftan, mesklekten insanın yaptıklarını köpeğin gözünden anlatan okuması kolay ve eğlenceli ama bunca yıla rağmen de insanlık adına utanç duyulacak kısa bir kitap. Genç yaşlarda okunsa daha iyi olur..




Öyküdeki bu kadar entrika, hile ve ikiyüzlülükleri anlatan köpeklerin sohbetini aktaran karakterin de aldatılmış olması da ayrı bir nüans. Kitapta maalesef iyi bir karaktere hiç rastlamıyoruz..

[mariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

no me esperaba que literal fueran perros, lol.

[Umut Kaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bir sürü kültürü, insan halini, felsefeyi komik bir anlatımla sunmuş Cervantes. Tebrikler Cervantes, şimdilik kendine has, havalı bir ölümsüzsün.

[Yalin BV · Rating 5 out of 5]

No creí enredarme tanto en una obra, sin embargo llamo tanto mi atención que quise continuarla y si esta fuera del tiempo y la narrativa es muy de revoltijo pero me encanto.

[Laura ✯ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8

Para ser tan antiguo, la sociedad no ha cambiado, al contrario, ha empeorado.

Libro recomendado para un taller de lecto-escritura.

[Alejandro Orradre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historia muy corta de Cervantes que no aporta demasiado pero que se disfruta como casi todas las obras del escritor manchego.

[Eden]

Fuuuuuuck no

[Ava Jast · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
walked so Stan from dog with a blog could run

[Jorge Luis Gallegos Vargas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este cuento cuenta la historia de dos perros, Cipión y Berganza, que están atados y confinados en una perrera. Durante una noche, mientras sus dueños están durmiendo, los dos perros comienzan a conversar y a reflexionar sobre la vida y la muerte. A través de su conversación, Cervantes utiliza a los personajes para ridiculizar y criticar la sociedad, y para hacer una reflexión sobre la importancia de vivir una vida virtuosa y significativa.

"El coloquio de los perros" es una obra divertida y satírica que combina el humor y la filosofía. Es una muestra de la habilidad de Cervantes para crear personajes vivos y atractivos, y para explorar temas profundos y universales a través de su prosa poética y su estilo único

[Ed Erwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's face it: I'll never get around to reading Don Quixote, even though it sounds like something I'd enjoy.

Thankfully, Hesperus Press has taken on the task of publishing and bringing attention to shorter works by great authors, so that people can get a taste of some of the classic author's styles without having to commit to long works. They try to keep these books to about 100 pages each, though I've noticed that they take liberties with font size to stick to that limit. This one has a smallish font.

It is often claimed that Don Quixote has a pretty "modern" feel to it. The same was claimed about this story. While it does use some "post-modern" techniques, like unreliable narrators, multiple levels of story within a story, and frequent interruption of the narrative, it still feels very old fashioned to me and barely held my attention.

PS: There is an interesting short film by Raul Ruiz with _almost_ the same title, "Colloque DE Chiens" instead of "Collque DES Chiens". I can't find any information on whether the works are supposed to be related. Certainly the story in the film is totally different. But it is perhaps linked in the fact that it is sort-of a meta-story where you can't trust the narrator. (The visuals and the narration contradict each other at times.)