5 Lessons from Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) is the famous Spanish author of Don Quixote and many other works, including plays and short stories. This book is the first of several anticipated volumes taking us on a journey through all of Don Quixote of La Mancha, which was published by Cervantes late in life in 1605 (a second part was published in 1615). Don Quixote is a lengthy and rich work--hence several volumes are needed. Why Cervantes? It is an almost universal judgment that Cervantes was the pioneer of the modern novel and also the writer of the greatest work of Western literature. As in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, another lengthy work, there are pearls of wisdom scattered throughout the narrated adventures. (I am persuaded that the pairing of Frodo and Sam in Lord of the Rings descends directly from the pairing of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza by Cervantes.) This first volume is introductory and provides commentary drawing from Chapters 1 through 14 of Don Quixote. Each of the subsequent volumes will cover significantly more chapters. With such a lengthy and insightful work by Cervantes, my strategy is to "divide and conquer."