Abu dhabi: Don Quixote was chosen as the World Book of the Year at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair. According to National Iraqi News Agency, the selection of Don Quixote as the “World Book” for the 35th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair transcends the novel’s status as one of the most famous literary works in history, reflecting its exceptional ability to transcend languages, cultures, and eras. Since its publication more than four centuries ago, the novel by the Spaniard Miguel de Cervantes has continued to provoke profound questions about humanity, truth, and imagination, retaining its vitality in every age in which it is read.

This selection aligns with the evolution of the fair, which has become a comprehensive cultural platform where knowledge intersects with literature, translation with intercultural dialogue, and local identity with universal human experiences. In this context, Don Quixote presents an ideal model of the “World Book” concept; a book capable of moving from one environment to another without losing its essence, acquiring new meanings and different interpretations in each culture.

When Cervantes wrote his novel between 1605 and 1615, he wasn’t simply presenting a satirical tale about a man who indulged excessively in chivalric romances. Rather, he was exploring the boundaries between reality and imagination. The protagonist sees the world differently; he transforms the inn into a castle, windmills into adversaries, and imbues his adventures with a moral dimension through which he strives to achieve justice and champion the oppressed. While he may appear to others as a prisoner of his own illusions, he remains convinced that the problem lies in the world’s perception, not his own.

Herein lies one of the secrets of the novel’s enduring appeal: Don Quixote presents madness and idealism as opposing forces, then places them within a single space where the desire to change reality intertwines with the ability to imagine it better. This is why the character has remained present in human consciousness, because he embodies the perpetual tension between what exists and what humanity aspires to achieve.