It’s impossible to review such a towering work of literatures, so I’ll just share some opinions.
What Did I like?
It really is a funny book. The translation I read from captured some of the subtlety of the humor to give a similar effect as those who would have read it natively. The book did not take itself too seriously, but the humor was sharp at the same time. Some of the vignettes were enjoyable stories in their own right, even though the whole project is making a mockery of the genre of chivalry. You can’t help but be sympathetic with Don Quixote, given his madness and the way he is treated by his “friends.” On the other hand, he wasn’t exactly nice himself, and could speak down to others on a fair occasion.
What Did I not Like?
It was quite a long read. This is a generational problem, if I had to guess. The unanimous place this book holds in great book lists would confirm that any issue working through this is probably caused by the distraction-induced ADHD of our generation. It’s incredible, but true. The other thing is that this is actually two volumes combined into one, so the first readers would have had a decade gap between them. Regardless of the reason, as I got near the end I was just wanted to finish and find out how it all wraps up. Many of the motifs felt like they were becoming repetitive. Plus, Sancho started to become mean as he lost faith in his master’s ability to deliver on the promises.