The ingenious hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha

Wikipedia says of Don Quixote, “it is often labeled as the first modern novel and one of the greatest works ever written.”

The first point would be something I'd be interested in hearing debated. There are a number of aspects to the book – the highly unreliable narrator(s), the stories within the story, etc – that I think can be cited as markers of a modern novel found in Quixote; but, I'm not sure what other novels it is up against for the claim.

The second claim is just bullshit.

This book was actually published in two parts and the first part is aimless, jerky, and annoying. The second part is actually a bit more sophisticated, I think, and it opens by trying to address some of the plotholes from the first part. But the second part is more cynical than the first, and still very annoying.

Nevertheless, I find almost all the characters obnoxious in some way or another. My favorite is probably Sancho Panza, but he is either genuinely stupid or deliberately stupid. In any case, dude is a dumbass. But Quixote himself is deluded, self-righteous, insulting, stupid, rude, and fickle. Various other characters – like the Duke and Duchess – entertain Quixote and his delusions (Along with Sancho who agrees to go along with said delusions in hopes of getting rich) just so they can make fun of Quixote.

The plot is aimless. I don't find there to be much real character development or change. It's as if the episodes are written for pure absurdism rather than the development of any particular theme.

I understand the interest in the book. There are lots of layers to it even if ham-handedly executed. And it reveals a lot about 17th century Spain. Thanks, I would argue, to its lack of focus, there are a lot of details to pick at, analyze, and understand as revealing some aspects of Cervantes' life and times.

But to call it the greatest book ever written is as absurd as Quixote's own adventures. If someone tried to publish this today, it would be scourged by critics and abandoned by readers. I promise you: the art of the novel has progressed significantly in the last half millennium.

I'm happy to have listened to the audiobook. I hated the book itself. I enjoyed thinking about the book as a book and historical document, though.

Would not recommend unless you're interested in such things.