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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
fun because it’s like 1001 nights but not so fun because of the violent humor that goes too far
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I fully understand the importance of this book both for italian and world literature, it simply didn’t appeal to me and I couldn’t care less about it.
adventurous
dark
funny
slow-paced
Read for The Literary Life Podcast Reading Challenge: 19 in 2021
I did a curious experiment with this one, for the most part, except for the brief day 7, I listened to half of the stories as an audiobook. It worked. The Decameron got me out of my reading slump! Stars reflect only my level of enjoyment and not the unarguable value of this literary work as the first "novel" in "Modern Italian".
14. A 14th, 15th, or 16th century book
Imagine 10 young adults between the ages of 18-25 who are bored and at risk of dying of a pandemic in the year of our Lord 1348. Of course, the plague has killed lots of people, and they need a source of relax and entertainment, so they leave the city and, agreeing to lead the topic of narrations, they sit (presumably in a circle) and during the nights, they tell each other tales of love and lust, deception and humor, irreverence (religious relativism) and piety. 10 stories for 10 days. A total of 100 tales. It's no wonder the reading of this book increased the past year with our very own pandemic.
Some tales were kind of repetitive, especially the adulterous kind. Most religious people were presented as corrupt, the least were presented as naïve. The best tales, for me, were those where simple words were enough to get out of situations which resulted in some comedic value that didn't rely on 'and then the spouse never found out and they had sex forever and ever', or a character who's just gets something after persevering.
I actually don't agree much with the idea of the majority of the tales being laugh out loud funny, as the characters seem to imply... it seems more high school kind of humor at some point, but some tales were more tragic, including, but not limited to rape, beheading, taking someone's heart out... still, it's good for cultural interest and to see the mindset of someone who would help kickstart the Renaissance, though I argue this book is Medieval in many senses and not just by chronology, think of someone like Chaucer.
Though I would recommend its reading for mature teens and adults due to a few sexual references, it's by no means pornographic. It would be probably a good proof to show that the Middle Ages did not suffer from the decried Victorian mores of yesteryear.
I did a curious experiment with this one, for the most part, except for the brief day 7, I listened to half of the stories as an audiobook. It worked. The Decameron got me out of my reading slump! Stars reflect only my level of enjoyment and not the unarguable value of this literary work as the first "novel" in "Modern Italian".
14. A 14th, 15th, or 16th century book
Imagine 10 young adults between the ages of 18-25 who are bored and at risk of dying of a pandemic in the year of our Lord 1348. Of course, the plague has killed lots of people, and they need a source of relax and entertainment, so they leave the city and, agreeing to lead the topic of narrations, they sit (presumably in a circle) and during the nights, they tell each other tales of love and lust, deception and humor, irreverence (religious relativism) and piety. 10 stories for 10 days. A total of 100 tales. It's no wonder the reading of this book increased the past year with our very own pandemic.
Some tales were kind of repetitive, especially the adulterous kind. Most religious people were presented as corrupt, the least were presented as naïve. The best tales, for me, were those where simple words were enough to get out of situations which resulted in some comedic value that didn't rely on 'and then the spouse never found out and they had sex forever and ever', or a character who's just gets something after persevering.
I actually don't agree much with the idea of the majority of the tales being laugh out loud funny, as the characters seem to imply... it seems more high school kind of humor at some point, but some tales were more tragic, including, but not limited to rape, beheading, taking someone's heart out... still, it's good for cultural interest and to see the mindset of someone who would help kickstart the Renaissance, though I argue this book is Medieval in many senses and not just by chronology, think of someone like Chaucer.
Though I would recommend its reading for mature teens and adults due to a few sexual references, it's by no means pornographic. It would be probably a good proof to show that the Middle Ages did not suffer from the decried Victorian mores of yesteryear.
After six months of weekly read-alouds (starting at the beginning of the pandemic in the US), we finished!!!
indubbiamente un capolavoro della letteratura italiana. letto e studiato per un esame
emotional
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
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Kidnapping
A lot of sexual jokes and innuendos. Some stories are violent and women are treated badly, but the women in the stories usually fight back. There are especially several stories of sexual encounters between nuns and priests, and tricking others into sex. The stories are 700 + years old. Most are entertaining, a few downright disturbing,, but it is mostly tongue in cheek. If you’re setting out to read this, you probably don’t care about the content warnings. It’s a fun book—a great look into a specific time, some memorable stories, but ultimately, not incredibly deep (that’s not to say it’s not worth it).
Not what I expected. Lots of religious satire, which I don't mind, but I need to come back to it when that's what I'm looking for.