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Don Quixote ed. by Tom Lathrop (review)
- Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America
- Cervantes Society of America
- Volume 32, Number 2, Fall 2012
- pp. 204-207
- 10.1353/cer.2012.0023
- Review
- Additional Information
204 Cervantes Reviews aristotélica en Cervantes, proponiéndonos un concepto de verosimilitud dinámico, orientado hacia el lector, pues aquella ya no radica en el contenido textual. Al mismo tiempo, esta noción de verosimilitud se basa en la experiencia de la ficción que “relativiza las formas tradicionales de imaginar el mundo” (145). Lejos de presentarnos un Cervantes relativista Fine apostilla que “el mundo aun permanece” (145), o, lo que es lo mismo, la búsqueda de la verdad. El Quijote es una obra transgresora, aunque esto no quiera decir, necesariamente, una ruptura con lo anterior. Cuando el lector llega al destino final de esta documentada, rigurosa y cuidada lectura semiótico-narratológica del Quijote echa en falta un desarrollo más detenido de este capítulo final, a mi juicio, el mejor del libro, sobre todo, teniendo en cuenta el gran conocimiento de las tensiones ideológicas y religiosas que maneja la autora, como quedó plasmado en el memorable congreso de Jersusalén en 2005 sobre este tema. Isabel Lozano-Renieblas Dartmouth College Isabel.Lozano-Renieblas@Dartmouth.edu Tom Lathrop, ed. and trans. Don Quixote. By Miguel de Cervantes. New York: Signet, 2011. xxxi + 1040. ISBN: 978-0-451-53181-0. TOM LATHROP, EDITOR OF THE QUIJOTE Commenting on the copy of Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso found in Don Quixote’s library, the priest tells the barber, “if I find him here speaking a language that’s not his own, I’ll show him no respect, but if he’s in his original language, I’ll put the book on top of my head” (1.4:53). He goes on to criticize Captain Jerónimo Jiménez de Urrea’s Spanish translation of the Italian masterpiece and generally laments the depreciation of literary quality that is inevitably a result of the translation process. The priest is, of course, unaware of the irony of the fact that his words are presented here to the reader in translation; a mere approximation to the Volume 32.2 (2012) 205 Reviews original according to his own assessment. Furthermore, this is only the most superficial level of translation within a book whose fictional linguistic conversions are quite numerous (though dwarfed by the sheer quantity found in the real world). Let us not forget Cide Hamete Benegeli and the Arabic-speaking intermediary who deciphers the “original” for one of the many Hispanic narrative voices.1 If the issue of translation were not already complicated and murky enough regarding this text, this edition offers yet another variable to the equation: the tireless efforts of its editor, Tom Lathrop, to present the text of Don Quixote in its most pristine form. This noble cause may at first glance appear to conflict with the very nature of translation itself. If the goal is preservation, then this is perhaps the polar opposite: alteration. Yet, the reader of this translation is privy to an edition whose thoroughness and rigor excuse the interloping language’s presence. Throughout his career Tom Lathrop has frequently and fervently argued against the “correcting ” that over more than four centuries has transformed some versions of Cervantes’s novel into a very different book. This desire to present Don Quixote, “errors” and all, springs from his belief that these so-called mistakes are instead carefully placed rhetorical ploys. The introduction to this edition trenchantly explains this interpretation of the ever-so-present “discordancias cervantinas” (to borrow a phrase from Julio Baena’s well-known title). Some may differ in opinion with regard to the extent of Cervantes’s intentional use of “mistakes,” but none can deny that Lathrop has done his readers a great service. His detailed notes not only elucidate some of the trickier passages—even when translated—but also mark the evolution of this text from the most “original” copies to the more widespread editions. Perhaps my personal favorite feature of this edition is the fairly direct style of translation. It appears that Lathrop was able to resist the temptation to play with the language in the name of style—an all too common pitfall. Surprisingly, this stoic resolve does not diminish the readability of the novel. I am particularly struck by...