Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Alcalá de Henares, September 29, 1547 – Madrid, April 22, 1616) was a Spanish soldier, novelist, poet, and playwright. He is considered the greatest figure in Spanish literature and is universally known for writing Don Quixote de la Mancha, which many critics have described as the first modern novel and one of the finest works in world literature. Furthermore, it is the most edited and translated book in history, surpassed only by the Bible, earning him the nickname "Prince of Wits." Cervantes is highly original. By parodying a genre that was beginning to decline, such as the chivalric romance novels, he created a highly vibrant new genre: the polyphonic novel. In this form, differing worldviews and points of view overlap until they blend in a level of complexity that mirrors reality itself, even utilizing meta-fictional elements. During this era, epic stories could also be written in prose, and with Lope de Vega's precedent in theater showing little respect for classical models, it fell to Cervantes to forge the formula for narrative realism. This realism had already been foreshadowed in Spain by an entire literary tradition dating back to the Cantar de Mío Cid, and Cervantes offered it to Europe, where he gained more disciples than in Spain itself. The entire realist novel movement of the 19th century is marked by his mastery. On the other hand, another great masterpiece by Cervantes, the Exemplary Novels, demonstrates the broad scope of his mind and his desire to experiment with narrative structures. In this collection of short stories, the author experiments with the Byzantine novel (The English Spanish Lady), the detective or crime novel (The Force of Blood, The Jealous Extremaduran), Lucianesque dialogue (The Dog's Colloquy), a miscellany of witty sayings and aphorisms (The Glass Licentiate), the picaresca novel (Rinconete and Cortadillo), and narratives built around a sudden recognition or anagnorisis (The Gypsy Girl), among others. As a tribute and token of recognition, Editorial Alvi Books dedicated this space on Amazon to him in 2016.