It’s rough, being a literary icon. First, you must be written in a time before typewriters, much less computers. Then your author, that scamp, cannot find a single poet to sing your praises — once upon a time, this was the height of fashion in literary marketing. You must even undergo scrutiny from those souls who make New York editors seem like pussycats: the Inquisitors.
Despite all this, you go on to be the kind of literary success that leads to your name becoming the basis for all types of excellent Scrabble words. And still, people complain:
Detractors argue that Cervantes is a careless stylist and a clumsy plot-builder, pointing out the fractured nature of the novel, the endless repetitions.
Okay, so maybe the book would have a hard time in today’s market, but we believe, given Don Quixote’s roles as what is arguable the first modern novel, a few untied plotlines and poorly structured sentences. Let’s face it, copy and paste wasn’t as easy as it could have been.
Personally, we think the anti-Don crowd is just jealous — it’s hard to compete with the ultimate romantic icon.
- Don Quixote at 400: Still Conquering Hearts
