Don Quixote

Wow. I feel a split in my thought on this book. I remember loving this story in high school. On my most recent dive into it, I fully enjoyed the hilarity of Don Quixote's affliction and especially the running commentary of his buddy Sancho. But, I became disenchanted as female character after female character arrived in the story with only her beauty and virginity of any worth. Clearly, it's a reflection of the culture of the time, but that knowledge brought me no pleasure. It made me angry to think that in such a good humored story, women's value decreases substantially once and then quickly over time.

Ignoring the misogyny, the story is funny and the characters endearing. I'd still recommend it to people who enjoy adventure stories and don't mind them being dreadfully long. Children, even teenagers, may not really understand all of the references, and the dialogue is complicated. However, there is nothing in the content explicit enough to exclude readers of any age.