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A review by eric_d_peterson
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
3.0
While the Decameron has been on my “to read” list for some time, the pandemic provided the impetus to tackle it. The literary conceit is that 10 citizens of Florence decamp to the countryside to wait out the plague which was ravaging Florence. The company consists of seven ladies and three gentlemen. To pass the time, each is required to tell a story. A king or queen is chosen for each day who sometimes decrees that the stories follow a theme. The title refers to 10 days. Ten days, ten people in company equals 100 stories which points to the problem with the book: quality control.
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales seems to have been modeled on the Decameron and there is a small amount of shared material. However, Chaucer’s 24 tales are better chosen, and, in my opinion, it is a better book.
Both works represent early literary writing in the vernacular during a time when many serious writers continued to write in Latin. It is interesting that modern Italian readers have no more trouble with Boccaccio’s Tuscan Italian that we do with Shakespeare, but English readers are obliged to read Chaucer in translation.
The stories are varied and come from multiple sources. Some stories are off-color, others are morality tales. There is a strong current of anti-clericalism with a lot of lecherous and corrupt clergy (the Friars Minor are specifically targeted). The comical stock figures of Calandrino, Buffalmcco, and Bruno make multiple appearances.
I really wanted to like this this book and I don’t regret reading it, but it was more of a chore than a pleasure.
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales seems to have been modeled on the Decameron and there is a small amount of shared material. However, Chaucer’s 24 tales are better chosen, and, in my opinion, it is a better book.
Both works represent early literary writing in the vernacular during a time when many serious writers continued to write in Latin. It is interesting that modern Italian readers have no more trouble with Boccaccio’s Tuscan Italian that we do with Shakespeare, but English readers are obliged to read Chaucer in translation.
The stories are varied and come from multiple sources. Some stories are off-color, others are morality tales. There is a strong current of anti-clericalism with a lot of lecherous and corrupt clergy (the Friars Minor are specifically targeted). The comical stock figures of Calandrino, Buffalmcco, and Bruno make multiple appearances.
I really wanted to like this this book and I don’t regret reading it, but it was more of a chore than a pleasure.