The eponymous character in the novel is an American of Indian origin, in his seventies, called Ismail Smile, who works as a sales executive for his cousin, the owner of Smile Pharmaceuticals Inc. He spends his days on the road, selling opioid pain-management drugs, and his nights in tawdry motels where he absorbs overdoses of junk television and becomes besotted with a beautiful talk show host of Indian origin, forty-years his junior, called Miss Salma R. When his cousin fires him, it affects him little, as he is now intent only on meeting the object of his love. Under the pseudonym of “Quichotte”, he leaves Arizona and starts off on a quest leading to New York City, where Salma R resides. The son he has so far only dreamed of magically materialises, in black and white, on the

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Citation: Pesso-Miquel, Catherine. "Quichotte". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 May 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38992, accessed 24 November 2024.]