Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron is not a book that you can expect to dispatch with in a few days. (I’d say that’s fairly typical of medieval literature.) But it’s not a book you’ll get sick of, either. I read this book on a beach in Mexico, on the subway on my way to work, and everywhere in between, and was endlessly entertained the entire time.

The premise is this: at the time of the Black Plague, ten young Florentine nobles – seven women and three men – decide to escape the carnage and pandemonium of their city and retire to one of their pleasant country estates. Once there, in search of amusement, they decide to tell stories to one another. Each day, they gather in a garden to entertain each other. The book consists of the hundred stories they tell – ten stories per day for ten days, the Decameron. On some days they tell whatever story they think their companions will find most amusing; on other days they speak on a predetermined topic. The stories range from slapstick comedy to bawdy hijinks to cautionary tales.

A couple of notes: the book is very much a product of the times in which it was written. Many of the stories poke fun or censure at corrupt friars – Boccaccio seemed to have none too high an opinion of clergy in general. I’d also note that although Boccaccio was known by his contemporaries to be a defender (and admirer) of the ladies, the book does come off as quite misogynist at times, which would have irritated me profoundly if I didn’t keep in mind the times in which it was written. I definitely would encourage anyone who picks up The Decameron to read the introduction first (not the translator’s note). The version I had was introduced by G.H. McWilliam, who did a fantastic job at placing the book in the context of its times and explaining some of the inside jokes in the stories, which Boccaccio’s contemporaries would have understood at once but which can seem obtuse to the modern reader. It’s a long intro – about 100 pages – but the book will be that much more enjoyable for those who put the time in to read it.

Each story is entertaining and, on average, brief – so it’s a great book to pick up and put down at your leisure. It took me a few weeks to get through it, but I’m glad I did – both because Boccaccio influenced many writers who came along later, including Chaucer and Shakespeare, and because reading “The Decameron” was just an all around silly, racy, good time.

The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccacio (not an affiliate link)

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