The Decameron by Boccaccio (1620) Translation

The Irony was that I started reading this about a week before lock-down?

It's a tough read; the old language is very interesting though, the alternative spellings are awesome.

The Decameron is very little more or less than the Canterbury Tales.

The mere number of them (a decameron of them) is daunting, the slow nature of the reading makes it a little tedious.

They wanted for little in the middle of a pandemic. Basically the ten characters escape from Florence during the Plague and being obviously wealthy have a grand old time telling tales, dancing and singing.

Having been to Florence and the surrounding areas it is really nice to follow along, the stories reference many towns and villages in Italy.

I would say that maybe less than 10% of the translation is about the character and of course that would have been a better story.

One amazing thing is how many stories dealt with the improprieties of the Clergy; many of these guys and girls were held in very low regard some 700 years ago!

Nice little renderings scattered throughout.

No print date I suspect 60's or 70's

The Pioneers by J F Cooper (1823)

I'm not sure how this story led to 5 subsequent writings?

The Pioneers starts out very slow and stays that way for a long time

J F was trying to warn against or at least contemplate the intensity of human activity in the New World.

He is also illustrating the clash of class as urban life intercedes onto rural life.

The series is out of order in that the 1st book printed t(his one) is telling the story of the aged and failing Natty and how civilization intrudes on his idyllic world

We have slaves, rich men, wilderness men, and the daughters of these men round out the characters list too. And of course at the end (as with all writings of this period) our young couple get the riches

The wealthy are doing what they always do; trying to make a buck by buying low and selling high.

The natural unavoidable instinct of the rich to look into the wilderness, buy it and strip it into wealth.

The American continent has provided this never ending source of easy money up until about the 1970s when the expansion ended.

I really liked all of the other books in the series, this one is not up the the exciting writing standards of the others

The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman (1849) Illus. Maynard Dixon

Outstanding book, great real-life encounters with basically untouched American Indians of the plains.

The only complaint is the 1/3 of the book devoted to the easy slaughter of Buffalo. The Buffalo are indeed stupid unwitting creatures and as such were easy and tempting game for those that lived in that short period of time; roughly from 1845 to 1870, the 25 years of this historic migration.

 

I have a nice copy New York: The Heritage Press, 1943.

Scattered throughout are the monochromatic renderings

Several one page full color images and one expansive two pager!

I have never read a more direct unfiltered view of the plight of the American Indian. Yes of course Parkman brought his prejudices to it. This particular book has an introduction by Mason Wade. Wade pull no punches in characterizing Parkman as an Elite snob; this is refreshing to get an honest look at the man and his era.

It seems as though (just like the Scotts) the Indians were indeed their own worst enemies; incapable of coming together they were ultimately easy to divide and concur.

(by the way I have taken to reading the Introduction to my books after finishing the book since they always assume a knowledge of the book in there writing)

The best line in the book comes from Shakespeare: To "Daff the World Aside and bid it Pass" 

A lesson we are learning all to well in these times!

Wanderer of the Wasteland by Zane Grey (1923)

Fantastic! I loved this telling of love, life, death, hatred, family, friends, and foes.

Grey ruminates thru the character of Adam upon what it means too be a man,  to be a woman, and how some might have little of each in them. (horror of horror)

The book takes on its title at the scene of the cover where upon Adam is induced by his own impulsive actions to take refuge in the desert.

I had recently finished Lin McLean; can't find anything good to say about that. So I needed a good Grey Fix

Not sure why I picked the Wanderer for my next read but am glad I did, this story sinks deep into the the mind of man and woman. Zane was know for his fondness for women, and this flavors all his great stories.

A story of an impulsive young man and his redemption thru honest and selfless deeds.

The insatiable allure of each sex for the other pervades Grey's world and this story, it is comforting to know that the flirting and allure of the "other" is universal.

I also love learning horsemanship and other survival techniques from years gone by.
Don't forget the sweeping descriptions of the Old Southwest he is great with setting the stage.

Never having thought much about Death Valley and what it meant to the explorer generations this book opens a window onto that hellacious place.

The movie came out the next year.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847)

Finally got to Jane Eyre, it was not the greatness I had hoped for.

The 1st half is slow, the second half moves better but the plot twists are annoying.

It is a segmented book as it covers Jane's early life I never felt close to any of the characters. 

She as the perennial Care Giver is supported at every step concluding with the love of her life becoming totally dependent on her.

Her time with her cousins seems most real and her zealot cousin was interesting.

Marmion by Sir Walter scott (1808)

I read this a decade ago and found this old copy at John King Books.

I need to be in a better space for this type of reading but I do love his works.

Thia old copy has sat around since I picked it up several years ago and I decided to read it again on the 200th anniversary of its printing.

They loved small printing and books back then; you really need your close up reading glasses for this one.

I was especially prompted by the numerous references to it in Jane Eyre.

Lin McLean Owen Wister (1897)

Summer reading means Westerns!
Lin McLean by Wister was a huge disappointment.

Hard to follow the screwed up language, dialog, story line and disjointed nature.
Killing off the 1st wife was nonsense as her corrector was far to self absorbed to have ever have done that on her own.The cynical insights in to the west of old seem real and insightful though.

The Virginian IS fantastic and is proof of his abilities.

I have soured on Wister as I have come to understand a little of the time and place he occupied.
He seems to have played a major role in the Elites of his day in trying to shape the American ideal.
America as an Eastern European derivative.
As an Italian by descent I am keenly aware of the biases placed on minorities (although I don't feel the effects of them) but he made it clear in this book what was thought of the Italian Immigrants among others.
Lin's brother who lived back East was most likely more like Owen than Lin.

So back to Zane!