Monsignor Quixote

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Monsignor Quixote
LC Class
PR6013.R44 M6 1982

Monsignor Quixote is a novel by Graham Greene, published in 1982. The book is a pastiche of the classic 1605 and 1615 Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes with many moments of comedy, but also offers reflection on matters such as life after a dictatorship, Communism, and the Catholic faith.

Plot summary

Father Quixote, a parish priest in the little town of

Seat 600 called "Rocinante" and in the company of the Communist ex-mayor of El Toboso (who, of course, is nicknamed "Sancho"). In the subsequent course of events, Quixote and his companion have all sorts of funny and moving adventures along the lines of his ancestor's on their way through post-Franco
Spain. They encounter the contemporary equivalents of the windmills, are confronted with holy and not-so-holy places and with sinners of all sorts. In their dialogues about Catholicism and Communism, the two men are brought closer, start to appreciate each other better but also to question their own beliefs.

Quixote is briefly taken back to El Toboso, confronted by the bishop about his doings and suspended from service as a priest, but he escapes and sets out again with Sancho. In his last adventure, Father Quixote is struck down and wounded while attempting to save a statue of the

Trappist monastery where, sleepwalking and in delirium, Father Quixote rises from his bed at night, goes to the church, celebrates the old Tridentine Mass—all the time imagining he holds bread and wine in his hands—and then, in a last effort, administers communion
to the Communist ex-mayor before sinking dead into his friend's arms.

Television adaptations

In 1985, Greene and

Don Quixote, starring John Lithgow
.

Radio adaptations

In 2016, Stephen Wyatt adapted the novel for BBC Radio 4's 15 Minute Drama. The ten-episode adaptation, directed by Marc Beeby, starred Bernard Cribbins as Quixote and Philip Jackson as Sancho.[1] There is also an unabridged audio version of the book read by Cyril Cusack.[2]

References

  1. ^ "15 Minute Drama: Graham Greene – Monsignor Quixote". BBC Radio 4.
  2. ^ "Monsignor Quixote Graham Greene (Author), Cyril Cusack (Narrator)". Amazon.co.uk. Audible. Retrieved 8 June 2019.

External links

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