Giovanni Boccaccio's "The Decameron": A Collection of 100 Tales of Wit and Wisdom

FLORIN KUHN: Great.

United States on Nov 18, 2023

Barbara: Interested in this story

United Kingdom on Sep 14, 2020

David Blaker: Do not buy. This is a truly terrible translation into English, seemingly done by computer with little or no human intervention, and almost unreadable. "Sample sentence: "We have a sorry good deal on our palms of his affair, for that to send him forth of our residence, as a result unwell, were a sore reproach to us and take place sign of little wit on our part, if the people, who have seen us first acquire him and after let have a tendency and medicinal drug him with such solicitude..... " etc etc

Australia on Aug 23, 2020

MIGUEL RIVERA: El libro llegó muy manchado y sucio. Letra pequeña y falta de notas al pie, eso si la traducción es ágil y entendible.

Mexico on May 25, 2020

Michael A. Smith: Despite the age of these stories. They are an accurate portrayal of human foibles and passions of any era. I found many of the stories with the various heroes and villains quite compelling in their insights. Whether these stories were the fruit of the author's mind or as he declares in his afterword, passed down, they show us that there is indeed nothing new under the sun.

United States on Mar 27, 2020

Henry Ackerman: Very interesting, enjoyable and exciting.

Canada on Jul 18, 2019

Biplab: Immensely readable. This edition also help us get the context right.

India on Aug 08, 2018

Peter Stagnitta: I can't believe how entertaining and easy it can be to read a many hundreds year old book. I usually don't like 800 page books because I get bored somewhere after 300 pages. Being basically 100 somewhat unrelated chapters it is very easy to pause in your reading at natural breaks. This is a very recent translation so you don't have to first figure out what the words mean. Most stories are 3-10 pages long, or maybe 15 so it's very easy to keep track of the characters. Before I started reading cover to cover I selected individual stories from the synopsis in the front of the book. Each story stands on it's own and is not dependent on the chapters before or after. Get it......you won't be sorry.

United States on Feb 26, 2016

AJP: This is a classic!
Good translation of a classic renaissance text, containing short stories.
A group of nobles (the 1% from the 14th century) gather in the country to avoid the plague, and agree to tell each other stories to pass the time.
Note that the 4 questions Amazon 'lead-in" is silly:
Plot: I guess full of surprises. Each story stands by itself uniquely.
Mood: Ranges from dark to comedic to lighthearted to thoughtful. But they only let you check one box!
Pace: Usually fast-paced, since each story has to last for just one "session."
Characters: Many stereotypes (as one would expect!) so in these short shorts, no deep character analysis

United States on Feb 11, 2016

David Jarman: Boccaccio's The Decameron and Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales will forever be some of the greatest literature that came out of medieval Europe. Who said that they were The Dark Ages? Much of the culture we have today stemmed out of this period. Anyway, this edition is wonderful in that it is a perfect size to carry around without looking like you are carrying around an encyclopedia! Although this edition is great, I would not recommend to anyone who has trouble seeing as the print is rather small and pressed together. Other than that, I am in love with the book. If you are reading Boccaccio for the first time, I wish you luck and safe travels as you journey through the European countryside with our protagonists!

United States on Feb 17, 2015