Scan barcode
atrus's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
efbeckett's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed the first half with its parade of horny Italians and women who give as good as they get, over the second half with its brutal misogyny. Even taking into consideration when it was written and why, story 8.7 is toxic. Even worse is the revelation in the endnotes that most Boccaccio scholars believe it's autobiographical.
aabha's review against another edition
4.0
For being written in 1353 I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. These short allegorical stories are bold, raunchy and very scandalous. They give us a peek into medieval life, the morality of the time, views on property and sex and women and the clergy. Actually two main themes in the stories are misbehaving women and misbehaving clergymen. But they also talk about the more practical aspects of medieval life like sanitation(there a really stinky story of a man falling into a cesspit), burial practices(why do people in these stories love to climb into tombs?) and the treatment of servants(Pretty much like disposable tissues.)
Like any short story collection, some are better than others. That’s my subjective opinion, your favorite ones could be totally different from mine. That’s just how short story collections are.
Where this book wins your heart though is in the language. Each character, no matter Of high or low social standing, is given good lines. Quite democratic. Look at how an assassin addresses his victim “command your soul to god, my lady, for this is the place you must die.” Or how inventively he uses a different way each time to describe what is essentially “a fuck.” For example, “...he began making amorous sport with her. She had no conception of the horn men do their butting with...” Even his casual sexism has some lyrical qualities “...she was youthful and vivacious and she possessed rather more intelligence than a woman needs.” And let’s not forget the downright strange “The ladies were laughing so heartily that you could have pulled their teeth out.”
As a lot of literature is inspired by and borrows from the Decameron and as an extension film and tv which I can now appreciate with a little more depth. The Ramsey Bolton hunting scene in game of thrones is described in perfect detail, down to the hounds. Here it is.
“Furthermore, on looking straight ahead he caught sight of a naked woman, young and very beautiful, who was running through a dense Thicket of shrubs and briars towards the very spot where he was standing. The woman’s hair was disheveled, her flesh was all torn by the briars and brambles, and she was sobbing and screaming for mercy. Nor was this all, for a pair Of big, fierce mastiffs we’re running at the girls heels, one on either side, and every so often they caught up with her and savaged her. Finally, bringing up the rear he saw a swarthy looking knight, his face contorted with anger, who was riding a jet black steed and brandishing a rapper and who, in terms no less abusive than terrifying, was threatening to kill her.”
The movie “the little hours,” which is a great movie by the way, is based on a couple of stories from day three. I saw a bit of Shakespearean imagery in there and apparently Chaucer borrowed from it too. I can’t wait to discover more art that the Decameron Inspired.
Finally, we can’t really talk about these stories without a bit of feminist perspective. There are a lot of perplexingly contrary stories, in some the woman outwits her abusers and is the heroine like the story where an adulterous wife argues with the judge that her adultery can not be punished(horrifically by burning at the stake) because “...men and women should be equal before law..” and no such law existed for men. And she wins the case too. In others, wives aren’t satisfied by their husbands performance in bed so they come up with inventive ways to fulfill their desires with other men. And sometimes they get caught and others they get away with it. This declaration and affirmation of female desire Seems possibly feminist. But other stories are horrific in their dealing with women. Especially if a women becomes too proud of her looks, she might be tortured to near death. There’s talk of beating women regularly to keep them in check thought the saying about the rod and the woman may be taken to have a whole other meaning as well. We’ll never know will we.
There are stories in here that are uninteresting and frankly a bit ridiculous. Others are hilarious and shine with sheer brilliance. It may be problematic but the Decameron is definitely a product of its time and it’s a fascinating look into medieval times.
Recommended to All who wish to see a people “hoist by their own petard.”
Like any short story collection, some are better than others. That’s my subjective opinion, your favorite ones could be totally different from mine. That’s just how short story collections are.
Where this book wins your heart though is in the language. Each character, no matter Of high or low social standing, is given good lines. Quite democratic. Look at how an assassin addresses his victim “command your soul to god, my lady, for this is the place you must die.” Or how inventively he uses a different way each time to describe what is essentially “a fuck.” For example, “...he began making amorous sport with her. She had no conception of the horn men do their butting with...” Even his casual sexism has some lyrical qualities “...she was youthful and vivacious and she possessed rather more intelligence than a woman needs.” And let’s not forget the downright strange “The ladies were laughing so heartily that you could have pulled their teeth out.”
As a lot of literature is inspired by and borrows from the Decameron and as an extension film and tv which I can now appreciate with a little more depth. The Ramsey Bolton hunting scene in game of thrones is described in perfect detail, down to the hounds. Here it is.
“Furthermore, on looking straight ahead he caught sight of a naked woman, young and very beautiful, who was running through a dense Thicket of shrubs and briars towards the very spot where he was standing. The woman’s hair was disheveled, her flesh was all torn by the briars and brambles, and she was sobbing and screaming for mercy. Nor was this all, for a pair Of big, fierce mastiffs we’re running at the girls heels, one on either side, and every so often they caught up with her and savaged her. Finally, bringing up the rear he saw a swarthy looking knight, his face contorted with anger, who was riding a jet black steed and brandishing a rapper and who, in terms no less abusive than terrifying, was threatening to kill her.”
The movie “the little hours,” which is a great movie by the way, is based on a couple of stories from day three. I saw a bit of Shakespearean imagery in there and apparently Chaucer borrowed from it too. I can’t wait to discover more art that the Decameron Inspired.
Finally, we can’t really talk about these stories without a bit of feminist perspective. There are a lot of perplexingly contrary stories, in some the woman outwits her abusers and is the heroine like the story where an adulterous wife argues with the judge that her adultery can not be punished(horrifically by burning at the stake) because “...men and women should be equal before law..” and no such law existed for men. And she wins the case too. In others, wives aren’t satisfied by their husbands performance in bed so they come up with inventive ways to fulfill their desires with other men. And sometimes they get caught and others they get away with it. This declaration and affirmation of female desire Seems possibly feminist. But other stories are horrific in their dealing with women. Especially if a women becomes too proud of her looks, she might be tortured to near death. There’s talk of beating women regularly to keep them in check thought the saying about the rod and the woman may be taken to have a whole other meaning as well. We’ll never know will we.
There are stories in here that are uninteresting and frankly a bit ridiculous. Others are hilarious and shine with sheer brilliance. It may be problematic but the Decameron is definitely a product of its time and it’s a fascinating look into medieval times.
Recommended to All who wish to see a people “hoist by their own petard.”
eralon's review against another edition
4.0
Took me nearly 4 months to get through it because it is so long. It's a good quarantine read as the main characters are themselves in a bit of a quarantine bubble. There are a hundred stories of varying quality, but some of them were cheerful and bawdy. The tenth day of stories was a bit of a bummer though as things got even more misogynistic and cruel towards the end, especially with the husband that tortured the wife for years and is presented as wise for doing so.
emiliefyrst's review
adventurous
funny
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
yoanna7's review
5.0
If someone told 15-year-old me that I would read Decameron and give it 5 ⭐️, I would have seriously laughed. I first encountered this book when I was in 9th grade as I had to read it for my literature class and all I can remember is that for whatever reason I hated that book(although to be honest, I cannot recount properly reading it back then). And until a week ago I used to think that I really disliked it but then, last month, I suddenly remembered it and thought it would be the best time to give it a read judging by the fact that our current situation somehow resemblances the one in the book.
Decameron tells the story of 10 people from Florence who decide to take lodging outside of the city so to give themselves some time away from the constant news of death and sorrow in the city caused by the plague. Whilst there, they decide that each day each of them shall tell a story to pass time(10 stories a day) on various topics. Long story short, I decided to read each day a day(although I combined certain days) and by the third day, I was honestly feeling like I was part of their company, listening to their tales that helped me take my mind off our current situation. This was honestly a great experience that I highly recommend! Although some stories may seem long and tedious, there are so many hidden gems!
Decameron tells the story of 10 people from Florence who decide to take lodging outside of the city so to give themselves some time away from the constant news of death and sorrow in the city caused by the plague. Whilst there, they decide that each day each of them shall tell a story to pass time(10 stories a day) on various topics. Long story short, I decided to read each day a day(although I combined certain days) and by the third day, I was honestly feeling like I was part of their company, listening to their tales that helped me take my mind off our current situation. This was honestly a great experience that I highly recommend! Although some stories may seem long and tedious, there are so many hidden gems!
lucepu's review against another edition
5.0
Very nice. Stories mostly about taboo subjects, it was like it is still forbidden for me to read it.
evetoi's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
nannybooks's review against another edition
4.0
Reseñado en mi blog Nanny Books:
El Decamerón tiene cien cuentos, procedentes de distintas fuentes, enmarcados en una excusa para la historia: Diez jóvenes florentinos están aislados en una casa de campo para huir de la peste que enferma a la ciudad, durante dos semanas. Cada día, se cuentan cuentos, que leeremos en la obra.
Pero, no son cuentos aptos para los niños. Humorísticos, amorosos, eróticos, satíricos, exóticos, dramáticos, estas historias son muy famosas y de seguro conoces alguna, como el cuento de Landolfo, la fortuna imprevista, en donde un mercader tiene las más desgraciadas aventuras, pasando de rico a pobre y de pobre a rico varias veces hasta su final feliz; el cuento de Los calzones del juez, en donde un grupo de jóvenes le hacen una broma pesada al juez; el cuento del Avaro engañado, donde se le hace creer a un hombre que está embarazado; entre otros.
Esta obra está recomendada para reírse un buen rato, aunque es de lectura pesada si se compra la obra completa y en castellano antiguo. Creo que es más difícil encontrar el libro con todos los cuentos que leerlo, pero aún así están avisados.
Recomendado.
El Decamerón tiene cien cuentos, procedentes de distintas fuentes, enmarcados en una excusa para la historia: Diez jóvenes florentinos están aislados en una casa de campo para huir de la peste que enferma a la ciudad, durante dos semanas. Cada día, se cuentan cuentos, que leeremos en la obra.
Pero, no son cuentos aptos para los niños. Humorísticos, amorosos, eróticos, satíricos, exóticos, dramáticos, estas historias son muy famosas y de seguro conoces alguna, como el cuento de Landolfo, la fortuna imprevista, en donde un mercader tiene las más desgraciadas aventuras, pasando de rico a pobre y de pobre a rico varias veces hasta su final feliz; el cuento de Los calzones del juez, en donde un grupo de jóvenes le hacen una broma pesada al juez; el cuento del Avaro engañado, donde se le hace creer a un hombre que está embarazado; entre otros.
Esta obra está recomendada para reírse un buen rato, aunque es de lectura pesada si se compra la obra completa y en castellano antiguo. Creo que es más difícil encontrar el libro con todos los cuentos que leerlo, pero aún así están avisados.
Recomendado.