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jamiereadthis's review against another edition
4.0
Hey, remember way back when there was this pandemic happening? This was good reading during it.
lnatal's review against another edition
4.0
From BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3:
Terry Jones introduces five ripping Renaissance yarns from The Decameron, starring John Finnemore, Ingrid Oliver, Carrie Quinlan, Lydia Leonard, Samuel Barnett and Colin McFarlane.
The one hundred stories which make up Giovanni Boccaccio's humane and comic masterpiece, come from all over the world. They are vividly reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes in the cities of Renaissance Italy. But their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern, and their subjects - love, fate, sex, religion, morality - are universal.
Terry Jones introduces five ripping Renaissance yarns from The Decameron, starring John Finnemore, Ingrid Oliver, Carrie Quinlan, Lydia Leonard, Samuel Barnett and Colin McFarlane.
The one hundred stories which make up Giovanni Boccaccio's humane and comic masterpiece, come from all over the world. They are vividly reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes in the cities of Renaissance Italy. But their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern, and their subjects - love, fate, sex, religion, morality - are universal.
rhodered's review against another edition
4.0
Big favorite in high school, but don’t know which translation or if we read it in the original. Mists of time.
dlbvenice's review against another edition
5.0
A long and bawdy collection of tales, these stories are a fascinating window into the Middle Ages and the mind of Giovanni Boccaccio. Aided by an excellent translation and footnotes by Wayne Rebhorn, we are given a trip through tales involving four principal themes: Intelligence (usually exhibited as cleverness or cunning, particularly verbally), Fortune (or fate), desire (particularly as it pertains to carnal or romantic love), and magnanimity or generosity of spirit. The mores of Boccaccio's times are clearly not those of this century - with the treatment of women and the separation of the classes being the most evident. Yet people are still people, possessing the range of human cruelty, anger, empathy, kindness, love, and hatred we see today. If you're so inclined, it's well worth taking the time to read.
michellehogmire's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gossamerchild's review against another edition
3.0
Really enjoyed reading this, even though I did get pissed off occasionally. I probably shouldn't say this, but one of the reasons I enjoyed this book was simply that I didn't feel emotionally challenged by the characters ever. I understand that Boccaccio making fun of the Roman Catholic church was pretty significant for the time, but as we're in the era of child molesting priests, even the charge of hypocrisy seemed mild in comparison. Nevertheless, it was fun reading his anti-church rants.
caidyn's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I had read this earlier. Of course, I had to read some of the tales in high school for one of my classes, but I still wish I had read more of them. Loved Dioneo's stories, and the stories that involved Calandrino.
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