In Search of Don Quixote Book by Jack E Fernandez
Home > General > In Search of Don Quixote
In Search of Don Quixote

In Search of Don Quixote


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



International Edition


About the Book

In Cervantes' great novel of the early seventeenth century the main character, rattled by reading countless books on chivalry, wanders out into the Spanish countryside as a knight errant, bent on conquering villains and succoring damsels in distress, not knowing that the world of chivalry he is entering had disappeared over a century earlier. In his wanderings he consistently mistakes poor peasant women for princesses, inns for castles, and innkeepers for kings. He unfailingly mistakes priests and monks for villains. His true love is a poor maid he has never met who lives in a nondescript village he has never visited. He attributes his every defeat to the work of enchanters. His words are always elevated and righteous, his deeds deranged. His family and friends, sane, caring, and dull-witted, try to cure him in ways that reveal their own lunacy. We soon begin to feel that his disconnection from reality may not be uncommon. In his memoir, Fernandez recounts the Fulbright Lectureship that took him and his family to Spain where he taught a graduate seminar in organic chemistry at the University of Madrid. But a quite different pursuit soon captured him: the Quixotic pass-time of recording the lives of those men and women who follow the footsteps of the famous knight of La Mancha. Such people add sparkle, substance, and occasional exasperation to the lives they touch. One such person is a Cracker from the piney woods of north Florida, a major character in this memoir, who transplants himself into the Hispanic community of Ybor City (Tampa) as a postal employee, becomes a civic leader, politician and writer. And using the pseudonym of the Green Hornet (a popular radio crime drama of the day) he also becomes a crime fighter. Later he encourages his family to discover the wonders of Spain, their ancestral country of origin. This calm, pleasant, outgoing man seemed to enjoy living his active life in turbulent pursuits. Another character, a Spanish dandy, focuses exclusively on satisfying his every whim with humorous, but disastrous results. And there are many others: a man capable of heartfelt gratitude beyond imagining, an ancient artisan who makes wineskins he cannot bear to sell, a righteous woman of great rectitude who believes her son was conceived miraculously, an electrician who so fears electrocution that he cannot face his work without downing several shots of cognac, a landlord who cannot bear to vacate the house he rents out, a man who schemes to have his wife's dog murdered, hunters who board a train and refuse to buy their dogs tickets, a boy whose exciting leap lands him in a pond of manure, and finally a married couple who do not agree about which side bombed their homes during the 1936 - 1939 Spanish Civil War. For four centuries people of all nations have found the character of Don Quixote fascinating. Fernandez definitely does, and he seeks that character in everyone he meets. The reader may wonder why Don Quixote retains his fascination after four centuries. Could it be the knight's determination to play out his outlandish life in spite of the disapproval of all around him? Or can it be our submerged desire to do likewise.


Best Sellers



Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781497374706
  • Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
  • Publisher Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
  • Height: 229 mm
  • No of Pages: 192
  • Spine Width: 10 mm
  • Weight: 313 gr
  • ISBN-10: 1497374707
  • Publisher Date: 05 Jun 2014
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: N
  • Sub Title: A Memoir
  • Width: 152 mm

Related Categories

Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
In Search of Don Quixote
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform -
In Search of Don Quixote
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

In Search of Don Quixote

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept

    New Arrivals



    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!