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set in florence at the time
of the black plague, the Decameron tells a fictional tale of seven young
women and four young men who set off, with their servants, to a mansion
in the country for the purpose of getting away from the horrid toll taken
by the Plague.
The place to which they get away is a stark contrast of the bleakness of the reality of that time...in this setting, for ten days, each of the members of the group is to tell a tale to entertain the rest and pass time. the result is 100 tales on 10 different topics (Boccaccio is often credited as the father of the modern short story)...one may expect that considering the time period of the tales, they would be very cautious in avoiding risque topics of sexuality, betrayal, wayward clergy...one may expect that, but one couldn't be more wrong. the tales, for most part, are ones of clever deceit and sexuality...often funny, and almost always highly entertaining. . to buy the book from amazon, click on the picture... . to read one of the tales, click here |
