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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
listen....why was this So Long
some of the stories were entertaining enough, but most of them weren't that interesting to me. i noted that i liked the one about lady constance but at this point i don't even remember what it was about
that one with the students staying with that couple and their daughter was definitely rape-y oh my god he tricked the wife into believing she was getting into bed with her husband like those dudes should die
griselda you should kill this guy fr oh my god he just kept fucking up her life as a "test" like why
"i want no woman who is thirty years of age" okay leonardo dicaprio
definitely got antisemitic vibes from one of the stories (was it the prioress one i can't remember the names)
melibee was super boring to me in fact the last few weren't stories they were just LISTING things on and on why those would be put at the end is beyond me it really made it drag on
anyway even the stories that were mildly interesting i can't say they make it all worth reading
some of the stories were entertaining enough, but most of them weren't that interesting to me. i noted that i liked the one about lady constance but at this point i don't even remember what it was about
that one with the students staying with that couple and their daughter was definitely rape-y oh my god he tricked the wife into believing she was getting into bed with her husband like those dudes should die
griselda you should kill this guy fr oh my god he just kept fucking up her life as a "test" like why
"i want no woman who is thirty years of age" okay leonardo dicaprio
definitely got antisemitic vibes from one of the stories (was it the prioress one i can't remember the names)
melibee was super boring to me in fact the last few weren't stories they were just LISTING things on and on why those would be put at the end is beyond me it really made it drag on
anyway even the stories that were mildly interesting i can't say they make it all worth reading
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A nice "bi-lingual" edition with Middle English and Modern English on facing pages. A real help until you get into the rhythm of it and start to build some Middle English vocabulary.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can absolutely see why people like this book. Most of it was a chore for me to get through, both on audiobook and in physical form. I found the best parts were far outweighed by the slog of biblical, Hellenic, astrological, misogynist, and otherwise obscure or painful references, treatises, digressions and tangents. Multiple stories in the Tales were just people quoting Seneca, Solomon, and unattributed "writers" at each other which I found somewhat grating.
Lastly, the abundance of and casualness towards rape, marital rape, statutory rape, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, harassment, and virulent antisemitism really sapped the "jolly little guys going on adventure" vibe from the book
I have to say the Wikipedia page is incredibly interesting and I would have given that 5 stars.
I have to say the Wikipedia page is incredibly interesting and I would have given that 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault
I feel slightly guilty putting this as read when actually I only read 60% of it (the text) and skipped the 500+ pages of notes. Anyway, the tales were very uneven in quality, and sadly my favorite (and one of the only two that I really loved) was the first one. The rest, barred one, were either average or really dull. That being said, I enjoyed the experience of reading them, as a) the linguistic part of it was really interesting and b) if someone had told me how many of these stories ended in farts, I probably wouldn't have believed it.
2.63
2.63
The Knight's Tale - 5/5 - The Two Noble Kinsmen, which is a retelling of this tale, being one of my favorite plays of all times, this tale was bound to resonate with me, and happily it did.
The Miller's Tale - 2.5/5 - I feel like there were simpler ways to send the husband away for a whole night. Also of all things I didn't expect to find in this book, the sentence "he caught her by the cunt" ranked pretty much at the top.
The Reeve's Tale - 1/5 - (: big yikes
The Cook's Tale - Not rating this because it's unfinished and we only have a couple of pages of introduction.
The Man of Law's Tale - 2.5/5 - I feel like I've read this same tale countless times in the Brothers Grimm's Tales or in the Arabian Nights, which isn't really the tale's fault but it's definitely basic.
The Wife of Bath's Tale - 3/5 - We do agree that the knight raped a lady at the beginning of the tale, right? And he ends up being... rewarded...?
The Friar's Tale - 3/5 - Very average story.
The Summoner's Tale - 2/5 - It's not that I expected these stories to be a little less immature, but I would not have guessed that two of them (so far) contained a fart as a punchline.
The Clerk's Tale - 2/5 - If there is one (1) tale motif that I absolutely despise, it's the patient Griselda. I've read so many variations of it. I just. I can't. I'll never agree with or enjoy any Aesop that comes out of it.
The Merchant's Tale - 3/5 - I feel like I've read this tale before, though I'm not sure where. In any case, it does have the sort of classic tale vibe and intrigue, not sure why greek divinities had to be involved but sure.
The Squire's Tale - 2.5/5 - I wasn't sure whether I should rate this because it is unfinished (kind of) but there was a lot more of it than of the cook's tale. What there was, unfortunately, was just fine.
The Franklin's Tale - 5/5 - I was beginning to lose hope of finding another favorite but this one I loved.
The Physician's Tale - 3.5/5 - I mean, couldn't the people have risen up against Appius before Virginia's death?
The Pardoner's Tale - 2/5 - If I wanted to hear a sermon from a huge hypocrite, I would go to church. As it is, this one was rather boring.
The Shipman's Tale - 2.5/5 - Not the most imaginative tale.
The Prioress's Tale - 1/5 - Literally why.
Sir Thopas Tale - 2.5/5 - Why won't these people let the others finish their goddamn stories????
The Tale of Melibee - 2/5 - Fiction!Chaucer's solution to his funny little story about a knight wanting to marry an elf-queen being criticized is to come out with the most tedious story about a man debatting going to war for 50 pages. I am not a fan.
The Monk's Tale - 2.5/5 - Kind of a bummer, and also I can't believe they kept interrupting people earlier and now they're letting the monk tell a million short stories.
The Nun's Priest's Tale - 3.5/5 - Kind of liked this one, though it dragged a bit in the second half.
The Second Nun's Tale - 2.5/5 - Did not expect a biography thrown in there but sure.
The Canon's Yeoman's Tale - 2.5/5 - I don't know, the premise I got was "here is a list of characters, and they're all going to tell a story" and now not only did a few of them not get to finish their story but also some randos joined the party to tell a really average tale imo.
The Manciple's Tale - 3/5 - I mean, it's cute, I definitely remember reading that one in the Metamorphoses but whatever.
The Parson's Tale - 1/5 - At this point I've read the word penitence so much it has no meaning to me anymore. Again, if I wanted a sermon (especially one about how people dressing scantily is a sin against the poor, which is A TakeTM), I would go to church.
It's hard to believe that this book was shorter than it was intended to be, because it's so, so long. I mean, it's only 600 pages, but so many of the stories just drag, especially — worst of all — the very first and very last ones. Certainly, some of the stories are funny and memorable, but then there are long treatises on religion that were a bear to get through. What's perhaps most interesting to me is what a large percentage of this book is devoted to gender relations, marriage, and sex, and the wide variety of opinions the stories cover, with different characters making different arguments for women's submission or independence. It's hard to know what Chaucer ultimately wanted his reader to come away from this work thinking.
I read a translated edition of this book (translated by Burton Raffel), and there are clearly pros and cons to reading a translation vs. Middle English. I felt that the translator was a little too heavy-handed in his replacement of words and names, and despite his lengthy explanation in the front about keeping rhythms and using stress markers and whatnot, he seemed to abandon all attempts to make the lines rhyme. I'm not sure if there's a translation out there that balances comprehension with poetry, but this wasn't it. I feel like it might be better to just get an audio recording of the original Middle English, except that you couldn't easily stop to look things up.
Despite genuinely liking parts of this book, I found much of it boring and hard to get through. I can see how this book would be rich for study and interpretation; you could easily write pages on the role of religion or gender or taboo topics in this work. It's nice to have the background of having read this classic, but it's not one I would recommend as a wholly enjoyable read.
I read a translated edition of this book (translated by Burton Raffel), and there are clearly pros and cons to reading a translation vs. Middle English. I felt that the translator was a little too heavy-handed in his replacement of words and names, and despite his lengthy explanation in the front about keeping rhythms and using stress markers and whatnot, he seemed to abandon all attempts to make the lines rhyme. I'm not sure if there's a translation out there that balances comprehension with poetry, but this wasn't it. I feel like it might be better to just get an audio recording of the original Middle English, except that you couldn't easily stop to look things up.
Despite genuinely liking parts of this book, I found much of it boring and hard to get through. I can see how this book would be rich for study and interpretation; you could easily write pages on the role of religion or gender or taboo topics in this work. It's nice to have the background of having read this classic, but it's not one I would recommend as a wholly enjoyable read.
challenging
funny
lighthearted