I'm starting Don Quijote

[cubix]

The thread says it all, I was at Border's (a bookstore) and I picked up a copy of DQ in English, i looked at the different translations, they had about 5, and I picked the grossman one.

They also had it in Spanish, and I read a page. Vocabulary wise I was ok, but comprehension wise is was near none.

I wonder how far I will get before I give up.

Gregorio
Edit:spelling

[Jimmy]

Just an interesting thing I read somewhere is that Jorge Luis Borges (famous Argentinian writer) was fond of telling:

...that when he first read Don Quijote in English, and that when he finally got around to the original Spanish it seemed a poor translation from the English...

Who knows...but interesting none the less !!!

Got the quote from this page:
http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1071

I have never attempted the Don Q...mainly because it doesn't star Penelope Cruz or Paz Vega.....(I know it's a book, but I have a good imagination.) :naughty:

[Ben]

The thread says it all, I was at Border's (a bookstore) and I picked up a copy of DQ in English...

Good luck! It is worth perservering with, there are some wonderful stories in there...

[greytop]

I was given a copy of DQ in the Clasicos Adaptados series aimed at "jovenes" & so far in 3 years I've managed 6 chapters. I suspect it is not just the vocabulary but insufficient interest as I manage to get through a computer magazine or newspaper without too much trouble.
I´m also slowly reading "Patero y yo" by Juan Ramón Jimenéz (Nobel prize winner) which is aimed at children so very readable. They are conversations he had with his donkey about life in the village. Again there are some archaic or little used words that even the dictionary may not have but you can usually work them out & learn in so doing. It also contains additional material by the author and others. Each story is only a page or two long, so I find I can pick it up and read one or two easily without losing the plot. A quick sample:
"Platero es pequeño, peludo, suave; tan blando por fuera, que se diría todo de algodón, que no lleva huesos. Sólo los espejos de azabache de sus ojos son duros cual dos escarabajos de cristal negro."
Buena suerte

[Netsirksmada]

It's a good book, I read the English version my sophomore year and I read the Spanish version this year. Keep reading through it.

[cubix]

I read the Spanish version this year. Keep reading through it.

Awesome, It's a slow read for me, I am used to like the Da Vinci Code or some thrill like that, where I can finish it one long night.