The Decameron (Signet Classics) Mass Market Paperback – December 7, 2010

By old style I mean, old, too much going on with the narrative to make a point and that makes this book tiresome. No matter what "they say" it gets boring. It's like Hallmark movies except that they are narrated by Bocaccio...I made it through the beginning of the 3rd day but could not take anymore. Every story, all of the first 20 I went through end in a happy tone.. there are bad things happening but in the end, everything becomes right.Get your dictionary - luckily, it is embedded in the app.Be warned... but at least, it's free, you can just dump it if you dont like.

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.

I collect Franklin Press 100 Greatest Books of All Times. I bought this thinking that it was of that collection. Leather binding, even same year of publication. In fact, it’s just a cheap version. Lured by the cheap price. Cheap leather binding, no silk bookmark. It was advertised accurately. Just my mistake

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.

600 years ago people behaved pretty much like us... and they didn't need the F word to tell about it.

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!

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

Many of the world's best stories are neatly summarized here. It gets a bit tedious at times, what with 100 separate vignettes to derive, but there are those bits and pieces that shine as brightly as a choir of angels in dragnet formation, or a supernova explosion.

I had not noticed that this is an 1886-translation :-( It is Impossible to read. I have to try one of the newer translations.

It's definitely The Decameron, but why anyone would print it so tiny - I need a magnifying glass.

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

Books printing is very small and it is difficult to hold the book. I think it's an average edition try out penguin classics. I am going to try out penguin classic.

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