Don Quixote

The first modern novel and arguably the most important book written in Spanish. Cervantes invented the antihero, metafiction and irony long before those words existed. Reading Don Quixote today demands patience but rewards with unforgettable scenes. The problem is not that it is difficult — it is that we approach it wrong, as an obligation rather than the tragicomedy it really is. Give it a genuine chance and it changes how you read everything else.