My First Foray into Renaissance Literature

In the coming session at uni, I’m taking a class on Renaissance literature and culture. As the book stack for all my subjects is pretty high, I’ve already started reading one of the books set for this renaissance class. I’m only 70 pages in to Don Quixote (which is over 900 pages long), but so far I’m finding it so much mo

re enjoyable than I expected! In fact, one of the funniest classics I’ve ever read. What I thought would be a classic chivalrous tale turns out to be a wicked satire of the genre, starring a man gone mad who thinks prostitutes are ladies and windmills are giants. 900 pages may put you off, but I highly recommend the book. Aside from the nonsense that happens in the book, Cervantes makes so many hilarious quips and includes so much biting sarcasm that he’s had me chuckling my way through those first 70 pages.

But even if you never pick up Don Quixote, I hope you can be encouraged to pick up an old book that you are doubtful about and just give it a go. If this (short) experience has taught me anything thus far, it is that I should never judge a book by my completely uninformed prejudices. I had no basis for thinking Don Quixote would be hardly entertaining at all. I’m just glad university forced me to pick it up. But I hope it doesn’t require the force of a tertiary institution for you to give books a go. Try them out, give them 100 pages, and be amazed at what you discover.