A review by jlrmac
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

5.0

I somehow stumbled upon this very long story written in the 1300's. It revolves around stories a group of Italian youths who escaped Florence's plague by moving into an abandoned secluded villa to wait out the deadly plague. They pass the time by sharing stories, one per night (for 100 nights). They go from erotic, whimsical, funny, irreverent, to tragic. Some are more engaging than others, of course. But this fictionalized account certainly opened my eyes to life in the 1300's. I have since learned that this is considered an important early classical Italian work of prose. It was intriguing to read a work written 700+ years ago!