Jason’s Comments (group member since Dec 12, 2013)

Jason’s comments from the Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes group.

Ha! Well you can be honest. I only cut the chapters to fit the 10 weeks. I didn't know the story well enough to cut it in more convenient places.

I love the story, though. I'm looking forward to finishing it (I assume) at lunch today.

I just started this week's reading. It's interesting that the story about Don Fernando gets cut off between the two reading sections.

SO cool.

I just got to that part. What I like about it, at least in my version, is that is doesn't actually call out Cervantes by name. Does yours? He is spoken of as their "wise man" whose job it is to memorialize DQ and his deeds, but it doesn't go as far as to name that wise man.

It certainly seems to be the foundation of it, to some degree.

Bryn wrote: "Way amused end of chapter 19 by how he gets his Knight of the Sorrowful Face name. [spoilers removed]"

I was just talking with someone about how I think Don Quixote might be a novel that serves as one of the earliest examples of meta-fiction. I love stuff like that.

(I just started Chapter 19, incidentally.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madamfou...

Bryn wrote: "I'm amused by how sensible and well-reasoned an answer he lets Marcela give to those absurd pseudo-shepherds who want to blame her when they fancy her and can't have her. Thanks Cervantes. And than..."

YES!!!

Four hundred years ago, motherfuckers.

“And if chastity is one of the virtues that most adorn and beautify both body and soul, why should a woman, loved for being beautiful, lose that virtue in order to satisfy the desire of a man who, for the sake of his pleasure, attempts with all his might and main to have her lose it?”

Have you been reading the footnotes? I've been mostly ignoring them.

I'm not making it up! What kind of brilliant coincidence is that??

So, I'm just about finishing up last week's reading, and I'll probably start this week's tomorrow.

I'm loving this book, guys. One of the things I keep thinking about as I read this book is, actually, Moby-Dick. They are both so perfectly well-written and are ostensibly about very simple things and yet contain much more than meets the eye. In fact, and I swear to god this happened and I KNOWWWW you're not going to believe me, but I just kind of wanted to delve back into Moby-Dick a tiny bit and reminisce (I recall having a similar reading experience, too, wherein I was essentially smiling the whole time I was reading it. Both books have a delightful sense of humor).

Anyway, I randomly opened to the book and this is what I find. I SWEAR.

Granting that the White Whale fully incites the hearts of this my savage crew, and playing round their savageness even breeds a certain generous knight-errantism in them, still, while for the love of it they give chase to Moby Dick, they must also have food for their more common, daily appetites.

Emphasis mine.

Woo hoo!!

Dustin, I just made you co-moderator of the group. Let me know if that's okay.

First rule of moderatorship: pick a mod title!

We are like the blind leading the blind!

Hahah, I don't knooooow!

I hope I don't get bored! It's still early so anything is possible. My plan is to catch up over the weekend. I'll have more to say about the first 13 chapters on Sunday. =)

Nice find, Bryn.

Yeah, I started this morning. I'm on Chapter 4 and it's pretty great so far.