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A review by zachlittrell
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
5.0
What a delightful (and dirty!) book from the 14th century! It's comforting to know that even in the Middle Ages, people's thoughts were just as in the gutters, and Boccaccio had the balls to put his down on paper.
7 young women and 3 young men escape plague-ridden Florence and pass their idle time telling 10 stories for 10 days. Some of my favorites were:
* A man is fooled into thinking he's pregnant, and his first reaction is to blame his wife for insisting on being on top all the time.
* Madonna Filippa successfully and logically argues at court that she can have sex with whomever she pleases.
* A gay man marries a frustrated buxom woman, who sneaks in a lover. Rather than getting mad, the husband finds a compromise for all three...ahem.
The Decameron has the audacity to suggest that both men and women enjoy sex. The 100 stories are not only each unique, but each of the 10 narrators gears hers or his story in connection to the one told before it. It is an amazing book and it is deceptively modern for something centuries old. Admittedly, there is still some violence I'm not 100% wild about. And it's hard to tell when Boccaccio is being satirical. But underneath the snark, sex comedy, satire, and some upsetting stories, there is a real heart beating underneath.
I read Wayne Rebhorn's translation, and it's really good. It matches the modern feel of the themes, but still has Boccaccio's antiquated beat. My one big niggling problem is the footnotes. They start off pretty useful, explaining some untranslatable puns and historical context, but progressively become obnoxious to redundant. I'm not sure needing to know the real-life inspirations to EVERY character is that helpful, and it's really annoying when Rebhorn explains things that are obvious (like sex jokes), or worst, explains things HE ALREADY FOOTNOTED EARLIER.
But forgiving Rebhorn's indulgence in footnoting (which is a minor sin anyway), this really is the best modern translation of a wonderfully funny and thoughtful book. Just make sure to carve out plenty of time to read it. It's a biggun...
7 young women and 3 young men escape plague-ridden Florence and pass their idle time telling 10 stories for 10 days. Some of my favorites were:
* A man is fooled into thinking he's pregnant, and his first reaction is to blame his wife for insisting on being on top all the time.
* Madonna Filippa successfully and logically argues at court that she can have sex with whomever she pleases.
* A gay man marries a frustrated buxom woman, who sneaks in a lover. Rather than getting mad, the husband finds a compromise for all three...ahem.
The Decameron has the audacity to suggest that both men and women enjoy sex. The 100 stories are not only each unique, but each of the 10 narrators gears hers or his story in connection to the one told before it. It is an amazing book and it is deceptively modern for something centuries old. Admittedly, there is still some violence I'm not 100% wild about. And it's hard to tell when Boccaccio is being satirical. But underneath the snark, sex comedy, satire, and some upsetting stories, there is a real heart beating underneath.
I read Wayne Rebhorn's translation, and it's really good. It matches the modern feel of the themes, but still has Boccaccio's antiquated beat. My one big niggling problem is the footnotes. They start off pretty useful, explaining some untranslatable puns and historical context, but progressively become obnoxious to redundant. I'm not sure needing to know the real-life inspirations to EVERY character is that helpful, and it's really annoying when Rebhorn explains things that are obvious (like sex jokes), or worst, explains things HE ALREADY FOOTNOTED EARLIER.
But forgiving Rebhorn's indulgence in footnoting (which is a minor sin anyway), this really is the best modern translation of a wonderfully funny and thoughtful book. Just make sure to carve out plenty of time to read it. It's a biggun...