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Books That Matter: The Decameron
A deadly plague ravages the land; so, a small band of people flee to the country. There, in relative seclusion and safety, they entertain one another with vivid stories that reimagine life and its possible and impossible outcomes. Sounds like a story from today? Think again. It was actually written more than 600 years ago, in a time and place so different - yet so similar - to ours.
A classic of medieval Italian literature, Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron still matters for us today. And Boccaccio scholar Kristina Olson reveals why in the 10 lectures of Books that Matter: The Decameron. Here, you’ll listen between the lines of stories that range from hopeful and spiritual to cynical and bawdy. You’ll hear words turn a sinner into a saint, brutes made noble through the power of love, and riches rediscovered on the open seas. You’ll find love in disguise, greed transformed into generosity, and danger staved off with wit. You’ll meet women who rewrite the laws of pleasure and tyrants who suffer in silence.
True, the times in which we live are vastly different from Boccaccio’s. Yet by connecting our own experiences with the stories told by this medieval band, you’ll learn why the Decameron is proof positive that, by listening to the past, we can give voice to the present.
A classic of medieval Italian literature, Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron still matters for us today. And Boccaccio scholar Kristina Olson reveals why in the 10 lectures of Books that Matter: The Decameron. Here, you’ll listen between the lines of stories that range from hopeful and spiritual to cynical and bawdy. You’ll hear words turn a sinner into a saint, brutes made noble through the power of love, and riches rediscovered on the open seas. You’ll find love in disguise, greed transformed into generosity, and danger staved off with wit. You’ll meet women who rewrite the laws of pleasure and tyrants who suffer in silence.
True, the times in which we live are vastly different from Boccaccio’s. Yet by connecting our own experiences with the stories told by this medieval band, you’ll learn why the Decameron is proof positive that, by listening to the past, we can give voice to the present.
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First published April 20, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 15, 2021
Distracted by Very Breathy Narration
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (April 20, 2021)
Books That Matter: The Decameron is part of Audible's The Great Courses occasional series Books That Matter*. I'm glad to see this new series as it is somewhat of a continuation of the limited series Books That Changed the World from 2006-2007, of which I read several in my pre-Goodreads days. They are somewhat confusingly listed on a Goodreads Listopedia as Books That Shook the World** although they were never marketed under that alternative title to my knowledge.
** Apologies, this series/list seems to have been deleted by someone after I wrote this review. It was definitely there on May 9, 2021.
In any case, this present lecture introduces Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)'s The Decameron (from the Greek: "Ten Days") (1351). The framing story is that 10 members of the nobility have quarantined themselves for a period of 10 days in order to avoid the bubonic plague aka black death that was spreading through Florence, Italy at the time. To pass the time, each member is appointed king or queen for a day and selects a theme from which then everyone has to tell a story. So it is a collection of 10 x 10 = 100 stories with the occasional interjection of the overall storyteller Boccaccio.
I have to confess that I found the narrator's breathy voice and inhalations to be very distracting and it effected my being able to concentrate on the summaries provided, which often provided the plots of the major stories of each day. Many of these felt rather dated now as they were often along cynical and/or misogynistic themes even when the storytellers are the women. Most of them also didn't stick in my mind as they tended to blur together. The ones that stood out were the Nightingale, the Falcon and the Griselda stories most of all. There is a brief element in the lecture introduction and conclusion to tie it into the present COVID pandemic.
Because of the blur of names and stories presented, I found myself referring to Wikipedia quite frequently in order to help orient myself. This Summary of Decameron Tales was particularly helpful.
Books That Matter: The Decameron was available free to Audible subscribers through the Audible Plus program. It is available to everyone for a standard price.
Trivia and Links
* I don't think there is a separate Audible or Goodreads Listopedia for these, but some that I have spotted are Books That Matter: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (2017), Books that Matter: The Analects of Confucius (2016), Books that Matter: The City of God (2016), Books that Matter: The Prince (2016) and Books That Matter: The Federalist Papers (2020).
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (April 20, 2021)
Books That Matter: The Decameron is part of Audible's The Great Courses occasional series Books That Matter*. I'm glad to see this new series as it is somewhat of a continuation of the limited series Books That Changed the World from 2006-2007, of which I read several in my pre-Goodreads days. They are somewhat confusingly listed on a Goodreads Listopedia as Books That Shook the World** although they were never marketed under that alternative title to my knowledge.
** Apologies, this series/list seems to have been deleted by someone after I wrote this review. It was definitely there on May 9, 2021.
In any case, this present lecture introduces Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)'s The Decameron (from the Greek: "Ten Days") (1351). The framing story is that 10 members of the nobility have quarantined themselves for a period of 10 days in order to avoid the bubonic plague aka black death that was spreading through Florence, Italy at the time. To pass the time, each member is appointed king or queen for a day and selects a theme from which then everyone has to tell a story. So it is a collection of 10 x 10 = 100 stories with the occasional interjection of the overall storyteller Boccaccio.
I have to confess that I found the narrator's breathy voice and inhalations to be very distracting and it effected my being able to concentrate on the summaries provided, which often provided the plots of the major stories of each day. Many of these felt rather dated now as they were often along cynical and/or misogynistic themes even when the storytellers are the women. Most of them also didn't stick in my mind as they tended to blur together. The ones that stood out were the Nightingale, the Falcon and the Griselda stories most of all. There is a brief element in the lecture introduction and conclusion to tie it into the present COVID pandemic.
Because of the blur of names and stories presented, I found myself referring to Wikipedia quite frequently in order to help orient myself. This Summary of Decameron Tales was particularly helpful.
Books That Matter: The Decameron was available free to Audible subscribers through the Audible Plus program. It is available to everyone for a standard price.
Trivia and Links
* I don't think there is a separate Audible or Goodreads Listopedia for these, but some that I have spotted are Books That Matter: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (2017), Books that Matter: The Analects of Confucius (2016), Books that Matter: The City of God (2016), Books that Matter: The Prince (2016) and Books That Matter: The Federalist Papers (2020).
April 2, 2022
If you are reading The Decameron and have Audible, I highly recommend this book. Kristina Olson is a great narrator and does a good job of succinctly summing up the stories. After I finished reading a day of stories, I would listen to Olson's wrap-up.
March 24, 2024
I have stumbled across this on Audible and it seemed like a good idea to listen to this, as I have listened to the Decameron before. It turned out that I remembered next to nothing, but it made me re-listen to the book and having understood better the interactions between narrators and the significance of the stories, I am quite certain they stick with me a lot longer this time.
Kristina Olson takes us through each of the ten days and the focus of each day, drawing significant examples. This is all pretty interesting and gives a pretty good overview to those who do not actually want to read the much longer book - although I quite enjoyed it, as the stories are entertaining.
What is probably unique and interesting in these lectures is the parallel the lecturer draws between the plague and the Covid pandemic. Boccaccio's description of how people reacted to the plague is spot on even now. He mentions four groups of people: 1. those who lock themselves into their houses; 2. those who flee to the country; 3. those who feel like the world is ending so might as well party like there is no tomorrow; 4. and those who decide to go about their business but cover their noses with scented kerchiefs. Some things never change.
Kristina Olson takes us through each of the ten days and the focus of each day, drawing significant examples. This is all pretty interesting and gives a pretty good overview to those who do not actually want to read the much longer book - although I quite enjoyed it, as the stories are entertaining.
What is probably unique and interesting in these lectures is the parallel the lecturer draws between the plague and the Covid pandemic. Boccaccio's description of how people reacted to the plague is spot on even now. He mentions four groups of people: 1. those who lock themselves into their houses; 2. those who flee to the country; 3. those who feel like the world is ending so might as well party like there is no tomorrow; 4. and those who decide to go about their business but cover their noses with scented kerchiefs. Some things never change.
May 12, 2021
This was a relatively short but very well done overview of the Italian classic by Boccacio, The Decameron. The author breaks down each of the 10 days of the Decameron and expounds on themes that link the tales and themes of each day. Most interestingly, she reads the Decameron, which takes place during the Black Plague of 1346-1353, in light of the 2020 plague of COVID-19. She pulls interesting insights from the text which might not have been apparent without living through a pandemic.
April 28, 2021
Very interesting lectures on The Decameron which was written in the time of a plague 600 years ago. Perfect read for our current pandemic
October 16, 2025
The good:
Olson seems like a very enthusiastic and deep source of learning on this topic and she offers several good insights into interpretations and sub-currents in the Decameron that require more knowledge of history and or language than a typical reader might have. I especially enjoyed her asides about the layout of the text and the many homages to Dante. Additionally it was nice to get a second set of eyes on the fairly subtle relationships between the narrators that I failed to pick up on.
However, having just finished The Decameron, I personally felt that Oldon's speedy review of the day by day text to be a bit unnecessary, and oddly bland. This could just be a matter of personal taste, but I felt time and again she glossed over things that could have been emphasized, and focused on things that seemed less important for a summary understanding. Additionally, I felt that she was stretching to find modern relevance with things that are barely mentioned in the text. Listening to this now, with it's countless mentions to COVID19 the work already feels oddly dated, or naïve in it's cultural conclusions. Lastly, I personally found the tone of the lecture to be rather dumbed down, as if it were meant for a high-school level class, with every innuendo or connection painstakingly and unnecessarily explained.
So even though the pandemic lens for Olson's lecture was a failure for me, there is still quite a bit of good content, and I hope that others will find her work, or my humble review, and make their way to the original Decameron, which is well worth your time.
Olson seems like a very enthusiastic and deep source of learning on this topic and she offers several good insights into interpretations and sub-currents in the Decameron that require more knowledge of history and or language than a typical reader might have. I especially enjoyed her asides about the layout of the text and the many homages to Dante. Additionally it was nice to get a second set of eyes on the fairly subtle relationships between the narrators that I failed to pick up on.
However, having just finished The Decameron, I personally felt that Oldon's speedy review of the day by day text to be a bit unnecessary, and oddly bland. This could just be a matter of personal taste, but I felt time and again she glossed over things that could have been emphasized, and focused on things that seemed less important for a summary understanding. Additionally, I felt that she was stretching to find modern relevance with things that are barely mentioned in the text. Listening to this now, with it's countless mentions to COVID19 the work already feels oddly dated, or naïve in it's cultural conclusions. Lastly, I personally found the tone of the lecture to be rather dumbed down, as if it were meant for a high-school level class, with every innuendo or connection painstakingly and unnecessarily explained.
So even though the pandemic lens for Olson's lecture was a failure for me, there is still quite a bit of good content, and I hope that others will find her work, or my humble review, and make their way to the original Decameron, which is well worth your time.
January 1, 2022
A perfectly good set of lectures about The Decameron.
As usual, there’s always more to these literary classics under the surface than is obvious upon first reading. Interesting stuff.
I did feel, however, that her explanations for some of the misogyny in these stories, which were supposed to be so in favor of women, amounted to little more than excuses. Yeah, I get it, it was the 14th century and all, but there are no excuses for story nine from day nine. I get that keeping your wife obedient with brutal domestic violence was received wisdom at the time, but let’s not pretend there was anything more to it than that. Of course, women would have felt they had to submit to survive. Most of them had no recourse at all. Let’s just view that story for what it is, a relic from another time that we can note as representing a value system that needs to be discarded permanently.
Also, I was surprised by her analysis of story ten from day ten. Unless the version I read was somehow different, I was definitely not given the impression that Griselda handed over her children thinking they might be killed, as far as I could tell she gave them up certain that they would be killed and that didn’t stop her from doing so with hardly a protest worth mentioning. Whatever allegorical significance you want to attach to that, it was overshadowed for me by the actual implications of such an act.
Anyway, there was a lot to unpack in those 100 stories and Kristina Olson does an alright job of bringing much of it out.
As usual, there’s always more to these literary classics under the surface than is obvious upon first reading. Interesting stuff.
I did feel, however, that her explanations for some of the misogyny in these stories, which were supposed to be so in favor of women, amounted to little more than excuses. Yeah, I get it, it was the 14th century and all, but there are no excuses for story nine from day nine. I get that keeping your wife obedient with brutal domestic violence was received wisdom at the time, but let’s not pretend there was anything more to it than that. Of course, women would have felt they had to submit to survive. Most of them had no recourse at all. Let’s just view that story for what it is, a relic from another time that we can note as representing a value system that needs to be discarded permanently.
Also, I was surprised by her analysis of story ten from day ten. Unless the version I read was somehow different, I was definitely not given the impression that Griselda handed over her children thinking they might be killed, as far as I could tell she gave them up certain that they would be killed and that didn’t stop her from doing so with hardly a protest worth mentioning. Whatever allegorical significance you want to attach to that, it was overshadowed for me by the actual implications of such an act.
Anyway, there was a lot to unpack in those 100 stories and Kristina Olson does an alright job of bringing much of it out.
March 6, 2022
Adult themes, I suppose. This is a Great Courses audiobook about The Decameron, a classic book banned in the United States at one time. I can see why it was banned. The original book deals with deception and justified adultery along with anti-religious themes. The audio course obviously deals with that too, but in an academic sense. Nevertheless, it can be immodest at times.
The book has to do with people's reactions (mostly women's reactions) to the Black Death and how they coped with the fact that almost everyone they knew was dead. The book is fiction but this audiobook course is an academic look at the book. I think if I had simply read The Decameron without the background information (context) given here that I would have not understood why this book is so important.
The audiobook course is presented by a woman scholar. She points out the misogynistic aspects of the book. She also relates the book to the current COVID19 pandemic. She does both without getting preachy about it or shrill. She is just pointing out the obvious. Good on her.
I'd listen to the audio course again.
The book has to do with people's reactions (mostly women's reactions) to the Black Death and how they coped with the fact that almost everyone they knew was dead. The book is fiction but this audiobook course is an academic look at the book. I think if I had simply read The Decameron without the background information (context) given here that I would have not understood why this book is so important.
The audiobook course is presented by a woman scholar. She points out the misogynistic aspects of the book. She also relates the book to the current COVID19 pandemic. She does both without getting preachy about it or shrill. She is just pointing out the obvious. Good on her.
I'd listen to the audio course again.
October 6, 2021
The book opens with the authors commentary on comparing COVID impact to the Plaque impact the comparisons and analysis by this Italian literature expert present a picture of what is to come in the remainder of the book.
This is like a Cliff notes on the Decameron. So if you are interested in reading cliff notes on the Decameron, I highly recommend this book. It talks about the influence the book had and why it mattered but it glossed over the issues and there were lots of issues that made this book important. The discussion on why the book mattered was lost in the cliff notes.
I expected it would explore the 1st hand author's comments regarding the black plague, the impact it had on society as revealed in the book but it sort of touched on this issue. I have to admit after Chapter 4 I couldn't take spend any more time on this.
This is the first Great Course program I've reviewed that got less than 4 stars. I do not recommend for anyone interested in history or why this book mattered. For English majors maybe this course is useful.
This is like a Cliff notes on the Decameron. So if you are interested in reading cliff notes on the Decameron, I highly recommend this book. It talks about the influence the book had and why it mattered but it glossed over the issues and there were lots of issues that made this book important. The discussion on why the book mattered was lost in the cliff notes.
I expected it would explore the 1st hand author's comments regarding the black plague, the impact it had on society as revealed in the book but it sort of touched on this issue. I have to admit after Chapter 4 I couldn't take spend any more time on this.
This is the first Great Course program I've reviewed that got less than 4 stars. I do not recommend for anyone interested in history or why this book mattered. For English majors maybe this course is useful.
July 19, 2025
I read this book as I'm reading (now finishing) the Decameron itself. I read each day's analysis prior to my reading the original text in "The Decameron".
Book and its author provides very valuable context and analysis concerning "The Decameron" - it's themes - how Boccaccio is 'placed' among Medieval authors and how his (Boccacio's) views are similar or different from Dante, and others.
"The Decameron" is a slice-of-life of people fleeing the plague in Florence in the 1300's amusing themselves by telling stories 10 people * 10 days = 100 Stories. These stories are about love, romance, sex, the distrust of institutions (The Church as but one example), foreigners; tales of unrequited love; tales of luck; tales of chance; tales of turnabout - in reality most of the human experience.
Would recommend for those who are reading "The Decameron" - or those wishing an intelligent summary and analysis of the work by a scholar.
Carl Gallozzi
Cgallozzi@comcast.net
Book and its author provides very valuable context and analysis concerning "The Decameron" - it's themes - how Boccaccio is 'placed' among Medieval authors and how his (Boccacio's) views are similar or different from Dante, and others.
"The Decameron" is a slice-of-life of people fleeing the plague in Florence in the 1300's amusing themselves by telling stories 10 people * 10 days = 100 Stories. These stories are about love, romance, sex, the distrust of institutions (The Church as but one example), foreigners; tales of unrequited love; tales of luck; tales of chance; tales of turnabout - in reality most of the human experience.
Would recommend for those who are reading "The Decameron" - or those wishing an intelligent summary and analysis of the work by a scholar.
Carl Gallozzi
Cgallozzi@comcast.net
June 1, 2021
The Decameron... Telling stories to pass the time while hiding from the plague. It's something that I use to think was out of my frame of experience, but now...
I have taught several of these vignettes to my students over the years, and having Olson breakdown some of the cultural issues and thematic threads was really interesting to me. I'll need to go re-read the main text again, and I'll have a bit more understanding of some of the irritating plot devices that use to crawl under my skin.
I have taught several of these vignettes to my students over the years, and having Olson breakdown some of the cultural issues and thematic threads was really interesting to me. I'll need to go re-read the main text again, and I'll have a bit more understanding of some of the irritating plot devices that use to crawl under my skin.
November 5, 2024
DNFed.
This being The Great Courses publication, I expected an academic approach to The Decameron with an analysis of the book's context, content, and the significance of this classic work. It was cliff notes mostly summarizing stories of each day, with some analysis here and there that was mediocre at best. Also, some contrived comparison between the pandemic of the Black Death and COVID. This feels more like a generic, watered-down audio essay than something from the Great Courses.
This being The Great Courses publication, I expected an academic approach to The Decameron with an analysis of the book's context, content, and the significance of this classic work. It was cliff notes mostly summarizing stories of each day, with some analysis here and there that was mediocre at best. Also, some contrived comparison between the pandemic of the Black Death and COVID. This feels more like a generic, watered-down audio essay than something from the Great Courses.
October 16, 2021
A lecture on the book. Not the actual book
With that said it was a good lecture on the book and correlation to the current pandemic. Although it seems a stretch to find common social ground with plague survivors where 80% of the population died to our relatively small pandemic. But fair analysis none the less of the literature.
With that said it was a good lecture on the book and correlation to the current pandemic. Although it seems a stretch to find common social ground with plague survivors where 80% of the population died to our relatively small pandemic. But fair analysis none the less of the literature.
June 1, 2021
This book is both fascinating and profound. it’s story telling about storytelling at its best! i highly recommend it to all who are genuinely interested in the human condition
November 4, 2025
I like the connection of this story to Covid and potentially other modern pandemics
May 23, 2021
When I got this book from Audible (which was free), I didn’t realize it was part of Great Courses. It’s basically a breakdown of The Decameron with some interesting comparison to 2020 Pandemic and to the Plague of Bocaccio’s time.
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I would NOT recommend this to someone who has not read the book. Instead, I would recommend this if you’ve already read the book or read it in tandem. It’s really interesting and makes the book even more fun and enjoyable. I’ve read the original book a few years back and very much enjoyed it, especially the raunchy bits.
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I would NOT recommend this to someone who has not read the book. Instead, I would recommend this if you’ve already read the book or read it in tandem. It’s really interesting and makes the book even more fun and enjoyable. I’ve read the original book a few years back and very much enjoyed it, especially the raunchy bits.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews