Reviews

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, David Wright, Christopher Cannon

kris47's review

adventurous emotional funny relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

katbert's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Literally what is the ending. Hello. Geoffrey im digging up ur grave i want answers

jamic3's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

nightwillowfox's review against another edition

2.0

I don't know some stories I enjoyed but other's, well most I didn't care for. I understand why I never could finish this book in high school.

arash's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

futurama1979's review against another edition

3.0

This is sort of like a dry run for the original text of the Canterbury Tales. Not that I mind that. The prose is functional and heavy, but, most importantly, it serves its purpose: to give the reader a quick retelling of each of the Canterbury Tales, without the poetry.

For me, it's a lot easier to absorb words in older English/Shakespearian English if I have an idea of what they're about first, and it allows me to focus more on the poetry/prose itself, with the worry of figuring out the story gone. So this is good for that; now, when I read Chaucer's original Canterbury Tales, I'll already have an idea of each story going in.

Don't come to this edition if you're looking for outstanding verse, poetic phrases, or a strong authorial voice. DO come to this edition if you want a functional Sparknotes on the Canterbury Tales to make future reading a little easier.

ros_scallydandler's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

A reliable translation to support reading the original in. Middle English 

ros_scallydandler's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Not a book one can sum up in a few lines.  Challenging to read in the original Middle English but a wonderful experience and far more rewarding than any translation as Chaucer's greatest strength is in his use of language. 

mandyfish's review against another edition

5.0

Chaucer was hilarious and dirty. And you wonder why I gave it five stars...

wiroju's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0