Gargantua and His Son Pantagruel

“[A] comic masterpiece . . . [Rabelais] wants, like any real writer, to explain the whole world to us—comically, satirically, ethically and unethically.” —The Guardian

Written in the sixteenth century, this pentalogy of novels follows the heroic adventures of the giant Pantagruel, son of Gargantua. Bawdy, irreverent, and even downright obscene, this Renaissance tour de force celebrates earthly realism over the divine, while elevating satire to the realm of the fantastic. As Pantagruel sets out on his journeys—with his friend Panurge at his side (for better or worse)—this parody of chivalric tales takes readers into a world of magic, mayhem, and mirth.

Carried by his mother for eleven months (because he is destined for greatness), Gargantua overcomes a terrible upbringing to become an honorable Christian knight. At the age of four hundred and four score four and forty, he fathers Pantagruel, who is so big and heavy that he cannot see the light of day without suffocating his mother during childbirth. Thus begins adventures set amidst philosophical differences, the financial mismanagement of kingdoms, and island realms where the inhabitants have been transformed into birds—among other wonders of a world that could only exist in the mind of François Rabelais.

“The name of Rabelais is a cordial for the spirits.” —William Hazlitt