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A review by eiramsor11
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
5.0
This is absolutely my favorite book. Whatever work I claimed to love the most, this tops it today. Although many of the stories' perspectives and disregard for morality and ethics, its copious amount of adultery, and misogynistic beliefs/occurrences truly disappoint me, this book is still fascinating. It is equally intriguing to me with its context and its content. For one, I have always been drawn, mildly obsessed, with The Great Plague of 1348. So right off the bat I am like a bee drawn to a bright flower. But starting with this desire to read stories of people encountering death with this apocalyptic tone I enjoy like when I used to watch The Walking Dead to savor those feelings of doom and survival, I started enjoying the book for other reasons as it actually was intended to stray away from all the sickness and death. This book did other things, went a different route than what I was expecting and hoping for, but I appreciate it even more. Boccaccio. is. an. amazing. storyteller! There is not one story in all the days that have ever left me bored. I can't even tell any story in my life half as good. For one, if you are ever curious of how people were like in the past, read this to see how they are just like anyone you know today. I no longer have this perception that people in the 1300s were weird freaks, these stories could be us today, they could happen today (with modifications obvs). The stories will also guaranteed leave you with some sort of impression. Depending on the theme of the day, you can feel truly sad and moved, you will actually appreciate wit and cleverness, and you will absolutely find some stories hilarious. I have never laughed out loud (literally) from any book ever as I have with the Decameron. Some stories actually leave me too stunned to speak, and I love how you will read a wise story that teaches you something deep and then the next thing you read is some totally scandalous crazy story right off an episode of "Shameless" type thing. I LOVE THIS BOOK.