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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
3.5 stelline
Ser Ciappelletto: 3.75/5
Melchisedech giudeo: 4/5
Andreuccio da Perugia: 3.5/5
Masetto da Lamporecchio: 3.25/5
Tancredi e Ghismunda: 4.5/5
Lisabetta: 2.5/5
Cimone e Efigenia: 3/5
Nastagio degli Onesti: 3/5
Federigo degli Alberighi: 3.5/5
Chichibio: 3/5
Guido Cavalcanti: 2/5
Frate Cipolla: 3.25/5
Gianni Lotteringhi: 2.75/5
Peronella e il doglio: 3.5/5
Tofano e Ghita: 4/5
Calandrino e l'elitropia: 3.75/5
La badessa e le brache: 4/5
L'oste, moglie, figlia e giovani: 3.75/5
Dianora, Gilberto, Ansaldo: 3.75/5
Sofronia, Tito e Gisippo: 4.5/5
Il marchese e Griselda: 4/5
Alcune novelle brillanti, altri scialbe, complessivamente piacevoli e un buon intrattenimento, con una funzione didattica non troppo accentuata e uno stile narrativo abbastanza scorrevole (ci si abitua in fretta) che però ho apprezzato solo occasionalmente.
Ser Ciappelletto: 3.75/5
Melchisedech giudeo: 4/5
Andreuccio da Perugia: 3.5/5
Masetto da Lamporecchio: 3.25/5
Tancredi e Ghismunda: 4.5/5
Lisabetta: 2.5/5
Cimone e Efigenia: 3/5
Nastagio degli Onesti: 3/5
Federigo degli Alberighi: 3.5/5
Chichibio: 3/5
Guido Cavalcanti: 2/5
Frate Cipolla: 3.25/5
Gianni Lotteringhi: 2.75/5
Peronella e il doglio: 3.5/5
Tofano e Ghita: 4/5
Calandrino e l'elitropia: 3.75/5
La badessa e le brache: 4/5
L'oste, moglie, figlia e giovani: 3.75/5
Dianora, Gilberto, Ansaldo: 3.75/5
Sofronia, Tito e Gisippo: 4.5/5
Il marchese e Griselda: 4/5
Alcune novelle brillanti, altri scialbe, complessivamente piacevoli e un buon intrattenimento, con una funzione didattica non troppo accentuata e uno stile narrativo abbastanza scorrevole (ci si abitua in fretta) che però ho apprezzato solo occasionalmente.
I started reading this at the beginning of the first lockdown wondering what the situation would be when I finished. Well here we are mid-december and non-essential shops and hairdressers will likely need to close again this week.
Now I'm working on The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. I have an ancient, musty, humongous copy that I picked up for 10 cents somewhere and which has an inscription dated 1937 inside the cover. It's...interesting. I was reading it at work, and someone smiled and said knowingly, "Ahh, you like to read the Good Book on your lunch?" I informed them that it was very definitely NOT the Bible, but rather was a medieval Italian work from 1350 in which Florence is succumbing to an epidemic of the Black Plague. People don't ask me what I'm reading at work anymore.
Update: In a tragic accident, I left The Decameron at work over the weekend, so I couldn't finish it as I had planned. I'm 150 pages from finishing it, and it reminds me more and more of The Canterbury Tales, not because of the obvious similarities in structure and premise but because good grief, these stories are raunchy. I was 12 when I read Canterbury and was utterly scandalized by several of the stories. Twelve-year-old Stephanie wouldn't even have known what to do with The Decameron, where every other story includes adultery in some form. Those medieval Italians...tsk tsk. I kind of feel like I have to finish it now, after spending so much time on it. :/
I did manage to finish The Decameron at last, in spite of abandoning it to the cleaning crew's clutches at work for one weekend. By the end, I didn't hate it anymore. As Boccaccio says in his conclusion, "My tales will run after nobody asking to be read." Nobody made me read it, so perhaps I shouldn't complain...
Update: In a tragic accident, I left The Decameron at work over the weekend, so I couldn't finish it as I had planned. I'm 150 pages from finishing it, and it reminds me more and more of The Canterbury Tales, not because of the obvious similarities in structure and premise but because good grief, these stories are raunchy. I was 12 when I read Canterbury and was utterly scandalized by several of the stories. Twelve-year-old Stephanie wouldn't even have known what to do with The Decameron, where every other story includes adultery in some form. Those medieval Italians...tsk tsk. I kind of feel like I have to finish it now, after spending so much time on it. :/
I did manage to finish The Decameron at last, in spite of abandoning it to the cleaning crew's clutches at work for one weekend. By the end, I didn't hate it anymore. As Boccaccio says in his conclusion, "My tales will run after nobody asking to be read." Nobody made me read it, so perhaps I shouldn't complain...
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
tak daję to jako read po przeczytaniu 5/100 nowel bo tak się bawimy na polonistyce
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Sexism
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Classism
I might recommend this if you're interested in the time period or if you're looking to compare Boccaccio's work with that of Dante or Petrarch, but even then only with caution. Some of the stories contained within are so deeply resentful and bitter towards women that I had trouble finishing the book at times. It's one of the only books that I have considered burning passages from, and that's positively sacrilegious for me.
I started with what I didn't know was an abridged edition of the audiobook... to only include the erotic stories. Let me tell you, if I'd known about this book when I was in middle school or high school, I would have definitely read it then. Just the perfect amount of sex with skillful storytelling.
..turns out the rest of the stories are pretty great, too, though I'll always associate this with sex, sex, and more illicit sex.
..turns out the rest of the stories are pretty great, too, though I'll always associate this with sex, sex, and more illicit sex.