This month, I am participating in a read along of The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. The idea was first proposed by a fellow YouTuber and while I started reading late, I am planning to complete the reading before the end of the month. The book is a little over 900 pages so no easy task, but not impossible.
If you aren’t familiar, The Decameron is a book of stories that was written in the mid 1300s. The book is set during the time of the Black Plague that hit Europe and it follows a group of seven young women intent on escaping the ravages of the plague by hiding out in an abandoned palace. However, since as these anti-feminist women say, women often get into trouble when left by themselves, they invite three male companions to escort them. Over the course of their stay, they entertain each other by sharing stories that reveal to a great extent their thoughts and obsessions – male and female relationships and commentary on the church.
The stories are told over the course of 10 days, with each character telling one story per day. Click below to watch where I recap the stories in the first day and if you haven’t already, subscribe to my YouTube channel so you won’t miss the next few days of synopses.
What are you reading this week?
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Hi Karen, hope you’re good. This sounds like quite a set of stories.
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Yes, it is. I am surprised that i’ve never read The Decameron before although some of the stories are familiar – a few of them mirror themes found in the Bible.
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It’s funny how much the Bible is used in modern fiction. ☺️
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True. The Bible has inspired probably more literature than authors have given credit 🙂
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Well it is life from many points of view…
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Hey adopted daughter! I’m back! And as usual, I am once again terribly impressed with you! I, too am an avid reader, but I’ve only read 35 books on my Goodreads challenge. Don’t know how you find the time! I’m going to look you up. In any case, your collection of stories sounds fascinating! ~ Lynn
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HEY. It’s so great to hear from you. How have you been. 35 books is quite a lot. It’s only in the last couple of years that I have read more than that so I am always happy to hear about reading, no matter how much or how often.
Thanks for the comment, Mom.
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Sounds like a good series!! Cant wait to follow along.
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