Lanza en astillero: El Caballero Don Quijote Y Otras Sus Tristes Figuras (Spanish Edition)

I bought this when I was in Spain in 2005 when it was also the 4ooth anniversary of  Don Quixote. I remember spending an hour perhaps in Madrid or Toledo looking at an exhibit of Don Quixote editions. There must have been a hundred of them: the first Spanish edition, the second, the first printed in Mexico, the first in English, etc. I enjoyed the experience. Part of the exhibition had included episodes from Don Quixote drawn by different artists, mostly Spanish. The drawings were interesting, so I bought it. And now I finally have read it.

Either you like Don Quixote or you don’t. I’m not going to talk about the Quixote other than to say in this edition there apparently no restriction on repeating the same episodes, which is a bit of a problem because it seems the artists only select the same few stories to illustrate and it gets a little repetitive. The art, on the other hand, is the important element here, what originally drew me to the book.I particularlly liked the use of the dark shadings of Luis Duran, the geometric forms of Esther Gili and the geometric and cross hatched work of Miguel Calatayud. Each of their works is interesting in its use of the cartoon form.

I can’t say much more, other than I should read the Quijote one day. And that it is impressive what an exhibition of books can move you to do.