A review by marvelruinedmyspirit
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

2.75

I feel slightly guilty putting this as read when actually I only read 60% of it (the text) and skipped the 500+ pages of notes. Anyway, the tales were very uneven in quality, and sadly my favorite (and one of the only two that I really loved) was the first one. The rest, barred one, were either average or really dull. That being said, I enjoyed the experience of reading them, as a) the linguistic part of it was really interesting and b) if someone had told me how many of these stories ended in farts, I probably wouldn't have believed it.

2.63

General Prologue - 3/5 - A lot of effort for a dinner at an inn
The Knight's Tale - 5/5 - The Two Noble Kinsmen, which is a retelling of this tale, being one of my favorite plays of all times, this tale was bound to resonate with me, and happily it did.
The Miller's Tale - 2.5/5 - I feel like there were simpler ways to send the husband away for a whole night. Also of all things I didn't expect to find in this book, the sentence "he caught her by the cunt" ranked pretty much at the top.
The Reeve's Tale - 1/5 - (: big yikes
The Cook's Tale - Not rating this because it's unfinished and we only have a couple of pages of introduction.
The Man of Law's Tale - 2.5/5 - I feel like I've read this same tale countless times in the Brothers Grimm's Tales or in the Arabian Nights, which isn't really the tale's fault but it's definitely basic.
The Wife of Bath's Tale - 3/5 - We do agree that the knight raped a lady at the beginning of the tale, right? And he ends up being... rewarded...?
The Friar's Tale - 3/5 - Very average story.
The Summoner's Tale - 2/5 - It's not that I expected these stories to be a little less immature, but I would not have guessed that two of them (so far) contained a fart as a punchline.
The Clerk's Tale - 2/5 - If there is one (1) tale motif that I absolutely despise, it's the patient Griselda. I've read so many variations of it. I just. I can't. I'll never agree with or enjoy any Aesop that comes out of it.
The Merchant's Tale - 3/5 - I feel like I've read this tale before, though I'm not sure where. In any case, it does have the sort of classic tale vibe and intrigue, not sure why greek divinities had to be involved but sure.
The Squire's Tale - 2.5/5 - I wasn't sure whether I should rate this because it is unfinished (kind of) but there was a lot more of it than of the cook's tale. What there was, unfortunately, was just fine.
The Franklin's Tale - 5/5 - I was beginning to lose hope of finding another favorite but this one I loved.
The Physician's Tale - 3.5/5 - I mean, couldn't the people have risen up against Appius before Virginia's death?
The Pardoner's Tale - 2/5 - If I wanted to hear a sermon from a huge hypocrite, I would go to church. As it is, this one was rather boring.
The Shipman's Tale - 2.5/5 - Not the most imaginative tale.
The Prioress's Tale - 1/5 - Literally why.
Sir Thopas Tale - 2.5/5 - Why won't these people let the others finish their goddamn stories????
The Tale of Melibee - 2/5 - Fiction!Chaucer's solution to his funny little story about a knight wanting to marry an elf-queen being criticized is to come out with the most tedious story about a man debatting going to war for 50 pages. I am not a fan.
The Monk's Tale - 2.5/5 - Kind of a bummer, and also I can't believe they kept interrupting people earlier and now they're letting the monk tell a million short stories.
The Nun's Priest's Tale - 3.5/5 - Kind of liked this one, though it dragged a bit in the second half.
The Second Nun's Tale - 2.5/5 - Did not expect a biography thrown in there but sure.
The Canon's Yeoman's Tale - 2.5/5 - I don't know, the premise I got was "here is a list of characters, and they're all going to tell a story" and now not only did a few of them not get to finish their story but also some randos joined the party to tell a really average tale imo.
The Manciple's Tale - 3/5 - I mean, it's cute, I definitely remember reading that one in the Metamorphoses but whatever.
The Parson's Tale - 1/5 - At this point I've read the word penitence so much it has no meaning to me anymore. Again, if I wanted a sermon (especially one about how people dressing scantily is a sin against the poor, which is A TakeTM), I would go to church.