A review by cinaedussinister
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

5.0

This is not a short book. It is, actually, quite long. Despite this, not once did I feel lethargic reading it, as one often does with books as long as this one is. No: thanks to its format of a series of interconnected short stories with an overarching plot, with each story being hilariously entertaining and tantalisingly blasphemous, it is impossible to be bored. Had this book been merely a set of well-crafted, humorous short stories about love, generosity, and deception, I would have rated it four stars, but what really makes its reading experience special is the boldness of Boccaccio in flagrantly and extravagantly lauding such controversial heresies as adultery, disrespecting the clergy, and even a bisexual ménage a trois! The liberality of Boccaccio's social values caught me completely off guard (it was published in 1353!), which is exactly what makes a great book.