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The Eaten Heart: Unlikely Tales of Love
Love can be surprising
Ten young Florentines take refuge in the countryside from the Black Death and tell stories to pass the time. From the unfaithful wife who unwittingly eats her lover’s heart to the sly peasant plotting to seduce a whole nunnery, these are tales of lust, adventure and unexpected twists of fate.
Ten young Florentines take refuge in the countryside from the Black Death and tell stories to pass the time. From the unfaithful wife who unwittingly eats her lover’s heart to the sly peasant plotting to seduce a whole nunnery, these are tales of lust, adventure and unexpected twists of fate.
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1353
11 people are currently reading
767 people want to read
About the author
Giovanni Boccaccio
1,835 books583 followersGiovanni Boccaccio (1313 - 1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular. Boccaccio is particularly notable for his dialogue, of which it has been said that it surpasses in verisimilitude that of just about all of his contemporaries, since they were medieval writers and often followed formulaic models for character and plot.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
June 5, 2012
Basically Aesops Fables for lovers, this series of short medieval tales tell of love, lust and cuckoldry and delve into the frivolous and fantastic all of which still have an appeal today.
Sowing the seeds of love
If you are a lusty young Italian with the body of Adonis and the face of Paris, then what could be better than banging an equally lusty young nun? Why, banging nine nuns and the Abbess of course! Via his friend Nuto, the strapping young Masetto becomes aware of an “opening” at the local nun house, but in the end encounters several. In Lady Chatterly style the nuns are in need of handy man to deal with all those irksome outdoor chores. Pretending to be both deaf and mute Masetto is awarded the post of gardener. Within a short time Masetto finds himself merrily ploughing many furrows in alfresco scenarios but not a lot of gardening is getting done. A clear indication that in medieval Florence, the saying “get ye to a nunnery” (admittedly Shakespeare was but a starry twinkle when this was written so forgive the artistic license with time scales) was the modern day equivalent of instructing someone to participate in an 18-30s holiday in Ibiza.
Love wanders in the night
Love does indeed wander in the night but its not the wandering that's the worrying part, it's what it chooses to do to your wife and daughter once it is lying down again that should be keeping you gentlemen up at night. Pinnucio and Adriano make a pit stop for seduction at an honest inn keeps house with a mind to making a bit of merry with his lovely young daughter (young enough to make it statutory rape but this seems to be of never no mind to Boccaccio and his fellow medievalers). Three beds and six people in one tiny room and make for some Benny Hill style late-night bed swapping shenanigans and a puzzled inn keep.
Animal Passions
Upon marrying a man whose carnal interests lie in other directions, a young wife sets out to find alternative diversions... only to find she's not the only lady in the village engaged in extra curricular activity. When discovered by her husband she defends herself by uttering the immortal statement "i'd rather get laid than have lots of nice shoes and clothes". Whoa hold on a minute there love... what sort of shoes are we talking about? If there's the chance of a Manolo Blahnik then you might want to recant that statement. Perhaps some sort of middle ground? Sex while wearing designer shoes. You know it makes sense. Boccaccio sums up this rather random tale of vice and shoes by saying that So my advice to you, dear ladies, is this, that you should always give back as much as you receive (sound messy); and if you can't do it at once, bear it in mind till you can, so that what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts . I am pretty sure this sounded better in Italian.
All cats are grey in the dark
There once was a love lorn groom who fell into fits of passion over Theodelinda, the beautiful and intelligent Queen of Lombardy. Being but a humble groom posed something of a problem as it was very unlikely that the Queen would ever reciprocate his passions. So, feeling that he had very little option the groom did what he thought was best - he disguised himself as the king, gained admittance to her chambers and then raped her. The king realised that something was amiss but in order to preserver his honour (no one likes to wear a cuckolds horns) he doesn't make a fuss. And that is the nature of true love in Lombardy.
To Catch a Nightingale
For any of you out there who are a bit slow on the uptake, I'll clarify this immediately; nightingale in this case is slang for cock. Unusual and poetic slang at that and obviously puts you in mind of comedy singing members but remember, this is medieval love and it's not supposed to be funny so wipe those smirks off your faces immediately! Ricciardo and Caterina are trying to catch the nightingale. Caterina wants to hold it in her hand and Ricciardo is all too eager for it to be caged. Caterina awaits her love on the balcony (remind you of some other famous Italian lovers?) After repeated cagings and escapings, the sated pair fall asleep and in the morning are awoken by Caterina's parents who see her lying there holding the nightingale in her hand, begging one to question the value of one in the hand versus two in the bush at this inconvenient juncture.
Oh to be a Virgin
Truly, I think that no amount of wishing will do anything for me at this stage, but I digress. Oh to be a Virgin is an intercontinental sexathon for the medieval period (like inter-railing for the upper classes). Lovely virginal Ataliel is destined to make a good marriage and duly sets off from Alexandria to the Algarve with high hopes and hymen. Unfortunately the weather has other ideas and soon she's shipwrecked on the island of Majorca. A couple of bottles of Majorcan plonk later and Pericone, one of the local nobility is liberating Ataliel of her virgin state. He's the first but he is by no means the last. Stolen away from Pericone by his duplicitous brother Marato, Ataliel is soon rocking the boat with her latest captor (all this is described in a series of terrible puns). Unfortunately Ataliel is so beautiful that she's captured again and again and again by sailors on route to Corinth, princes and Dukes in Corinth and many others all of whom take more than a few liberties and by the end of the story, Ataliel has spent so much time hiding the sausage she must by now look like a hot-dog bun.
Thorns of Desire
Another take on Romeo and Juliet /or Heloise and Abelard/ Troilus and Cresyde/ Mariotta and Gianozza, where Guiscardo and Ghismondo enjoy a lovely time engaging in sexual gymnastics, as well as some actual gymnastics inappropriate to the gulf between their respective social and financial classes. All is well until Daddy finds out and promptly has Guiscardo dispatched. Cue one timely suicide and a duplex coffin to accommodate the star-crossed lovers.
Head in the Herbs
Young Lorenzo and Lisabetta are enjoying a bit of personal time together and this comes to the attention of her three brothers. Obviously since they're not married, bumping uglies is considered as sinful as murder or high treason because it's a slight on their honour. How very dare they! The three brothers lure frisky Lorenzo away from the house, kill him quick smart and stuff him into a shallow grave. Job done. Ghostly Lorenzo visits Lisabetta and grasses on the brothers Grim. Rather inexplicably, instead of exposing her brothers as murderous bastards, she digs up Lorenzo and cuts off his head and puts it into a pot and covers it with growing basil like a gruesome Chia Pet. Thus bringing a whole new meaning to the term "pot head".
The Eaten Heart
The eponymous and briefest tale from this collection. Two knights joust for the love of a queen. Insert lance/cock analogy here. In the blue corner is knight number one, a king and the husband of the queen. In the yellow corner is knight number two, the lover of said queen and the kings best friend. The cuckolded king shish-kebabs his best friend and takes the heart of defeated the knight, minces it, adds a pinch of garlic, some salt and a few herbs and serves it a la carte for the queen to unknowingly enjoy. The moral of this story is clearly that mince is not real food and if you can't tell what it once was, then you probably shouldn't be putting it in your mouth.
Finis
Sowing the seeds of love
If you are a lusty young Italian with the body of Adonis and the face of Paris, then what could be better than banging an equally lusty young nun? Why, banging nine nuns and the Abbess of course! Via his friend Nuto, the strapping young Masetto becomes aware of an “opening” at the local nun house, but in the end encounters several. In Lady Chatterly style the nuns are in need of handy man to deal with all those irksome outdoor chores. Pretending to be both deaf and mute Masetto is awarded the post of gardener. Within a short time Masetto finds himself merrily ploughing many furrows in alfresco scenarios but not a lot of gardening is getting done. A clear indication that in medieval Florence, the saying “get ye to a nunnery” (admittedly Shakespeare was but a starry twinkle when this was written so forgive the artistic license with time scales) was the modern day equivalent of instructing someone to participate in an 18-30s holiday in Ibiza.
Love wanders in the night
Love does indeed wander in the night but its not the wandering that's the worrying part, it's what it chooses to do to your wife and daughter once it is lying down again that should be keeping you gentlemen up at night. Pinnucio and Adriano make a pit stop for seduction at an honest inn keeps house with a mind to making a bit of merry with his lovely young daughter (young enough to make it statutory rape but this seems to be of never no mind to Boccaccio and his fellow medievalers). Three beds and six people in one tiny room and make for some Benny Hill style late-night bed swapping shenanigans and a puzzled inn keep.
Animal Passions
Upon marrying a man whose carnal interests lie in other directions, a young wife sets out to find alternative diversions... only to find she's not the only lady in the village engaged in extra curricular activity. When discovered by her husband she defends herself by uttering the immortal statement "i'd rather get laid than have lots of nice shoes and clothes". Whoa hold on a minute there love... what sort of shoes are we talking about? If there's the chance of a Manolo Blahnik then you might want to recant that statement. Perhaps some sort of middle ground? Sex while wearing designer shoes. You know it makes sense. Boccaccio sums up this rather random tale of vice and shoes by saying that So my advice to you, dear ladies, is this, that you should always give back as much as you receive (sound messy); and if you can't do it at once, bear it in mind till you can, so that what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts . I am pretty sure this sounded better in Italian.
All cats are grey in the dark
There once was a love lorn groom who fell into fits of passion over Theodelinda, the beautiful and intelligent Queen of Lombardy. Being but a humble groom posed something of a problem as it was very unlikely that the Queen would ever reciprocate his passions. So, feeling that he had very little option the groom did what he thought was best - he disguised himself as the king, gained admittance to her chambers and then raped her. The king realised that something was amiss but in order to preserver his honour (no one likes to wear a cuckolds horns) he doesn't make a fuss. And that is the nature of true love in Lombardy.
To Catch a Nightingale
For any of you out there who are a bit slow on the uptake, I'll clarify this immediately; nightingale in this case is slang for cock. Unusual and poetic slang at that and obviously puts you in mind of comedy singing members but remember, this is medieval love and it's not supposed to be funny so wipe those smirks off your faces immediately! Ricciardo and Caterina are trying to catch the nightingale. Caterina wants to hold it in her hand and Ricciardo is all too eager for it to be caged. Caterina awaits her love on the balcony (remind you of some other famous Italian lovers?) After repeated cagings and escapings, the sated pair fall asleep and in the morning are awoken by Caterina's parents who see her lying there holding the nightingale in her hand, begging one to question the value of one in the hand versus two in the bush at this inconvenient juncture.
Oh to be a Virgin
Truly, I think that no amount of wishing will do anything for me at this stage, but I digress. Oh to be a Virgin is an intercontinental sexathon for the medieval period (like inter-railing for the upper classes). Lovely virginal Ataliel is destined to make a good marriage and duly sets off from Alexandria to the Algarve with high hopes and hymen. Unfortunately the weather has other ideas and soon she's shipwrecked on the island of Majorca. A couple of bottles of Majorcan plonk later and Pericone, one of the local nobility is liberating Ataliel of her virgin state. He's the first but he is by no means the last. Stolen away from Pericone by his duplicitous brother Marato, Ataliel is soon rocking the boat with her latest captor (all this is described in a series of terrible puns). Unfortunately Ataliel is so beautiful that she's captured again and again and again by sailors on route to Corinth, princes and Dukes in Corinth and many others all of whom take more than a few liberties and by the end of the story, Ataliel has spent so much time hiding the sausage she must by now look like a hot-dog bun.
Thorns of Desire
Another take on Romeo and Juliet /or Heloise and Abelard/ Troilus and Cresyde/ Mariotta and Gianozza, where Guiscardo and Ghismondo enjoy a lovely time engaging in sexual gymnastics, as well as some actual gymnastics inappropriate to the gulf between their respective social and financial classes. All is well until Daddy finds out and promptly has Guiscardo dispatched. Cue one timely suicide and a duplex coffin to accommodate the star-crossed lovers.
Head in the Herbs
Young Lorenzo and Lisabetta are enjoying a bit of personal time together and this comes to the attention of her three brothers. Obviously since they're not married, bumping uglies is considered as sinful as murder or high treason because it's a slight on their honour. How very dare they! The three brothers lure frisky Lorenzo away from the house, kill him quick smart and stuff him into a shallow grave. Job done. Ghostly Lorenzo visits Lisabetta and grasses on the brothers Grim. Rather inexplicably, instead of exposing her brothers as murderous bastards, she digs up Lorenzo and cuts off his head and puts it into a pot and covers it with growing basil like a gruesome Chia Pet. Thus bringing a whole new meaning to the term "pot head".
The Eaten Heart
The eponymous and briefest tale from this collection. Two knights joust for the love of a queen. Insert lance/cock analogy here. In the blue corner is knight number one, a king and the husband of the queen. In the yellow corner is knight number two, the lover of said queen and the kings best friend. The cuckolded king shish-kebabs his best friend and takes the heart of defeated the knight, minces it, adds a pinch of garlic, some salt and a few herbs and serves it a la carte for the queen to unknowingly enjoy. The moral of this story is clearly that mince is not real food and if you can't tell what it once was, then you probably shouldn't be putting it in your mouth.
Finis
February 10, 2014
If your reading lately has been sorely lacking in a certain bawdy ribaldry, you need look no further than the fourteenth century when Giovanni Boccaccio presented his The Decameron,the classic work involving ten Florentines who have escaped their plaque-ridden city and are passing the time by telling stories.
Penguin has collected eleven of the more, ahem, romantic stories here as part of their Great Loves series.
These gathered tales concern love and lots of s-e-x, though they are in no way remotely graphic enough to be considered "erotica." "After giving each other a rapturous greeting, they made their way into her chamber, where they spent a goodly portion of the day in transports of bliss." is about as steamy as this stuff gets. (Though there is a good deal to be said for using one's imagination...)
Some of the stories seem almost to be the origins of many popular dirty jokes - desire leads to a naughty game of "musical beds," and a group of young, attractive, and therefore, naturally horny, nuns needs a gardener to tend their bushes. I kept waiting for the one about the salesman and the farmer's daughter, but apparently it didn't make the cut.
Like those Grimm boys, Boccaccio has a hankering for the tragic, and some of the tales end rather gruesomely with lovesick maidens kissing the lifeless heads and hearts of their paramours. Apparently, the surest way to live happily ever after is to kill yourself in a fit of grief.
Oh, and I did get a chuckle out of this line - "...she possessed rather more intelligence than a woman needs."
Ha! We all know what kind of trouble THAT can lead to...
Penguin has collected eleven of the more, ahem, romantic stories here as part of their Great Loves series.
These gathered tales concern love and lots of s-e-x, though they are in no way remotely graphic enough to be considered "erotica." "After giving each other a rapturous greeting, they made their way into her chamber, where they spent a goodly portion of the day in transports of bliss." is about as steamy as this stuff gets. (Though there is a good deal to be said for using one's imagination...)
Some of the stories seem almost to be the origins of many popular dirty jokes - desire leads to a naughty game of "musical beds," and a group of young, attractive, and therefore, naturally horny, nuns needs a gardener to tend their bushes. I kept waiting for the one about the salesman and the farmer's daughter, but apparently it didn't make the cut.
Like those Grimm boys, Boccaccio has a hankering for the tragic, and some of the tales end rather gruesomely with lovesick maidens kissing the lifeless heads and hearts of their paramours. Apparently, the surest way to live happily ever after is to kill yourself in a fit of grief.
Oh, and I did get a chuckle out of this line - "...she possessed rather more intelligence than a woman needs."
Ha! We all know what kind of trouble THAT can lead to...
November 24, 2016
This is definitely my favourite of the Penguin Great Loves series that I have read so far. The Eaten Heart is a selection of 11 of the tales from Boccaccio's Decameron, a text that I previously knew nothing about, but this little selection has definitely piqued my interest to read the text in full some day!
The stories contained in this slim volume are surprisingly bawdy and silly, and a lot were very good fun. From a young peasant pretending to be deaf and dumb to seduce a whole nunnery, to a ridiculous Carry On-esque bed swapping tale, the first couple of stories were light and fun. However, a lot of the stories took an equally sexual but dark turn, and I did really enjoy that aspect.
Not all of the stories however were as interesting, and there was a degree of repetition amongst them - a young couple who want to sleep together find a subtle way, and something happens as a result. Also, there was one story in particular (the longest one unfortunately), that involved a fair amount of rape - I understand that this book is from a COMPLETELY different time period, and this was probably fairly normal, but it doesn't make it any more fun to read about.
Overall though this is a solid collection of short stories, and a surprisingly quick read.
The stories contained in this slim volume are surprisingly bawdy and silly, and a lot were very good fun. From a young peasant pretending to be deaf and dumb to seduce a whole nunnery, to a ridiculous Carry On-esque bed swapping tale, the first couple of stories were light and fun. However, a lot of the stories took an equally sexual but dark turn, and I did really enjoy that aspect.
Not all of the stories however were as interesting, and there was a degree of repetition amongst them - a young couple who want to sleep together find a subtle way, and something happens as a result. Also, there was one story in particular (the longest one unfortunately), that involved a fair amount of rape - I understand that this book is from a COMPLETELY different time period, and this was probably fairly normal, but it doesn't make it any more fun to read about.
Overall though this is a solid collection of short stories, and a surprisingly quick read.
June 30, 2017
I can't decide whether these tales are fables or soup-opera scripts. But they're great!
July 8, 2020
This little book showcases eleven stories that are in Boccaccio’s most famous work, the Decameron. They are all concerned with love, lust and the consequences of both for all those concerned be they tragic, humorous or a mix of the two.
What struck me about this collection is how fresh the writing is. It didn’t read dated or archaic in any way despite being written in fairly early Medieval times. All of the tales had resonance for today – which, I suppose, goes to prove that the nature of love and all the complications that arise, never really changes.
On the whole, the stories are quite humorous but in each, there tended to be a passage of writing, normally thoughts or a speech from one of the characters, that was so profound, it was exceptional. In Animal Passions the monologue from the ‘old bawd’ lamenting the fate of women as they grow old was so absolutely spell-binding that I read it a couple of times over. Not only was it so accurate, I don’t think it could be bettered – it was uncannily accurate for today’s society. The insight into how a woman feels from late middle-age onwards is even more uncanny when you realise the Author is a man. A really well-crafted, cleverly written collection of stories.
What struck me about this collection is how fresh the writing is. It didn’t read dated or archaic in any way despite being written in fairly early Medieval times. All of the tales had resonance for today – which, I suppose, goes to prove that the nature of love and all the complications that arise, never really changes.
On the whole, the stories are quite humorous but in each, there tended to be a passage of writing, normally thoughts or a speech from one of the characters, that was so profound, it was exceptional. In Animal Passions the monologue from the ‘old bawd’ lamenting the fate of women as they grow old was so absolutely spell-binding that I read it a couple of times over. Not only was it so accurate, I don’t think it could be bettered – it was uncannily accurate for today’s society. The insight into how a woman feels from late middle-age onwards is even more uncanny when you realise the Author is a man. A really well-crafted, cleverly written collection of stories.
August 12, 2025
This collection of ten short stories serves as a fine introduction to the classic ‘The Decameron' by Giovanni Boccaccio. You can find scattered references to the author's theory of love throughout it, as like this:
“There is nothing in the whole of Nature that is less susceptible to advice or interference than Love, whose qualities are such that it is far more likely to burn itself out of its own free will than be quenched by deliberate pressure."
“There is nothing in the whole of Nature that is less susceptible to advice or interference than Love, whose qualities are such that it is far more likely to burn itself out of its own free will than be quenched by deliberate pressure."
August 1, 2025
And thus it was that those whom Love had failed to join together in life were inseparably linked to each other in death.
A collection if very short fables. Some were funny, some were tragic and some were melodramatic.
I’m very interested in reading more from the Decameron, especially the ones not about romance.
A collection if very short fables. Some were funny, some were tragic and some were melodramatic.
I’m very interested in reading more from the Decameron, especially the ones not about romance.
May 14, 2024
Bawdy and ridiculous but I couldn't help but enjoy it. Tales From 1,001 Carry On Canterbury Nights.
May 9, 2022
4.5 rounded up
Boccaccio is SO SASSY! That mouth! In the 1300's! I'd love to be sitting next to him at church in the Renaissance times...with those sharp and dirty remarks, we'd have the best of times! Better yet if I ever learn to time travel I will time travel back to the 1300's to pick up Boccaccio and drop him into the 1800's with Oscar Wilde then I will sit back, relax and get ready to have the time of my life.
He was 200 years prior to fellow sass-master William Shakespeare yet still managed to be 200x as sassy.
Giovanni lives for the drama...
Giovanni IS the drama...
Anyways, can't you tell I loved this collection of stories. I'm convinced now that I DO in-fact need to read his 900 page book about the plague.
Boccaccio is SO SASSY! That mouth! In the 1300's! I'd love to be sitting next to him at church in the Renaissance times...with those sharp and dirty remarks, we'd have the best of times! Better yet if I ever learn to time travel I will time travel back to the 1300's to pick up Boccaccio and drop him into the 1800's with Oscar Wilde then I will sit back, relax and get ready to have the time of my life.
He was 200 years prior to fellow sass-master William Shakespeare yet still managed to be 200x as sassy.
Giovanni lives for the drama...
Giovanni IS the drama...
Anyways, can't you tell I loved this collection of stories. I'm convinced now that I DO in-fact need to read his 900 page book about the plague.
March 27, 2010
I love the idea that a group of people told these stories to each other in order to distract themselves from the Plague. What I don't love, however, is how... uninteresting these stories actually were. Even the title story, The Eaten Heart, was a let down. Here I am expecting the heart to be eaten right out of the lover's body, and instead it's just served to her on a plate. Disappointing.
October 11, 2012
Fun, bawdy and occasionally a little disturbing. Semi adult fairy tales for the vaguely twisted. Part of the 'classic loves collection'.
July 13, 2024
I don't read a lot of romantic stories. I think I've read one romance novel in my entire life.
I think I read more action and adventure--and for some reason--books about war. There's just not a lot of romance in the books that I tend to select.
That's why it was sort of odd that I got it in my head that I should read, "The Eaten heart: Unlikely Tales of Love," by Giovanni Boccaccio, since I thought it would be a collection of normal love stories.
For some reason I managed to convince myself that I HAD to read this book. I tried to check the book out from the library and was surprised and disappointed that it wasn't a book they had available. So, I did what I had to do, and I ordered the book from Amazon.
And I'm glad I bought a copy of my own because this book is wild. Most of the stories are some kind of erotica, but from like the 1300s. So it's kind of flippant erotica in the way it is written
The book is supposed to be tales told by some guys who fled their city, running from the plague of course, and hiding out in the countryside entertaining themselves by swapping stories.
The stores they tell though are W-I-L-D. For example, with just a brief summery so there's no chance of ruining the story for anyone else, "Sowing the Seeds of Love," is about a young man who goes to work in a nunnery and basically becomes the nuns "pass around boy."
"Love Wanders in the Night," is about this guy who invites himself to sleep over at his girlfriends house. There are three beds in one room and a cradle for a baby. The guy sleeps in one bed with his friend who traveled there with him. His girlfriend is in her own bed, and her folks are in their bed with the baby in the cradle on the floor. The story documents how the couple moves around to have sexual relations and how the parents move in the night and how the friend is involved with certain sexual activities and its just a wild story.
The story that kind of made me feel a little weird was, "Oh, to be a Virgin," which is a story about a gorgeous princess who gets shipwrecked and then gets passed around by a bunch of guys who commit murder to get to her. They take turns murdering whoever is currently with her and then they kidnap and basically rape her.
The book doesn't make it sound that dramatic but if you read it as a modern day person would, the lady is raped by like 8 people.
"All Cats Are Grey in the Dark," is another story where a groom got dressed as the king and snuck into the queen’s bed chamber in the night and had sex with her. The queen never knew it had even happened and the king managed to find out and conducted a whole investigation gunning for the groom.
The story was another one that was kind of rape because you can't sneak into someone's bed chamber impersonating their husband, you know?
Another story called, "Animal Passions," was about a lady who got married and her husband refused to have sex with her so she started cheating on him with other guys. Well, the husband discovers one of his wife's lovers hiding under a chicken coop and long story short, basically rapes the guy because the whole time the husband was actually attracted to men.
I'm telling you, these stories are off the chain.
Even the stories that are not all about sex are scandalous. One story had a lady run around with her husband's best friend. When her husband finds out, he kills his friend, cuts out his heart and serves it to his wife for dinner. The wife finds out her lover is dead and that she's a cannibal since she ate his heart. Devastated by all that had occurred, the lady threw herself out the window.
To be honest, these stories are all practically perfect for me. I mean, they are a little rough around the edges and some of them could be updated for modern times, that's true. But the stories are all excellent at their core, and overall this book was a homerun.
I don't know how I intuitively selected this book, but Giovanni Boccaccio turned out to be an author after my own heart (hopefully not so he could eat it).
I would absolutely read this book again. I'm glad I bought it.
I think I read more action and adventure--and for some reason--books about war. There's just not a lot of romance in the books that I tend to select.
That's why it was sort of odd that I got it in my head that I should read, "The Eaten heart: Unlikely Tales of Love," by Giovanni Boccaccio, since I thought it would be a collection of normal love stories.
For some reason I managed to convince myself that I HAD to read this book. I tried to check the book out from the library and was surprised and disappointed that it wasn't a book they had available. So, I did what I had to do, and I ordered the book from Amazon.
And I'm glad I bought a copy of my own because this book is wild. Most of the stories are some kind of erotica, but from like the 1300s. So it's kind of flippant erotica in the way it is written
The book is supposed to be tales told by some guys who fled their city, running from the plague of course, and hiding out in the countryside entertaining themselves by swapping stories.
The stores they tell though are W-I-L-D. For example, with just a brief summery so there's no chance of ruining the story for anyone else, "Sowing the Seeds of Love," is about a young man who goes to work in a nunnery and basically becomes the nuns "pass around boy."
"Love Wanders in the Night," is about this guy who invites himself to sleep over at his girlfriends house. There are three beds in one room and a cradle for a baby. The guy sleeps in one bed with his friend who traveled there with him. His girlfriend is in her own bed, and her folks are in their bed with the baby in the cradle on the floor. The story documents how the couple moves around to have sexual relations and how the parents move in the night and how the friend is involved with certain sexual activities and its just a wild story.
The story that kind of made me feel a little weird was, "Oh, to be a Virgin," which is a story about a gorgeous princess who gets shipwrecked and then gets passed around by a bunch of guys who commit murder to get to her. They take turns murdering whoever is currently with her and then they kidnap and basically rape her.
The book doesn't make it sound that dramatic but if you read it as a modern day person would, the lady is raped by like 8 people.
"All Cats Are Grey in the Dark," is another story where a groom got dressed as the king and snuck into the queen’s bed chamber in the night and had sex with her. The queen never knew it had even happened and the king managed to find out and conducted a whole investigation gunning for the groom.
The story was another one that was kind of rape because you can't sneak into someone's bed chamber impersonating their husband, you know?
Another story called, "Animal Passions," was about a lady who got married and her husband refused to have sex with her so she started cheating on him with other guys. Well, the husband discovers one of his wife's lovers hiding under a chicken coop and long story short, basically rapes the guy because the whole time the husband was actually attracted to men.
I'm telling you, these stories are off the chain.
Even the stories that are not all about sex are scandalous. One story had a lady run around with her husband's best friend. When her husband finds out, he kills his friend, cuts out his heart and serves it to his wife for dinner. The wife finds out her lover is dead and that she's a cannibal since she ate his heart. Devastated by all that had occurred, the lady threw herself out the window.
To be honest, these stories are all practically perfect for me. I mean, they are a little rough around the edges and some of them could be updated for modern times, that's true. But the stories are all excellent at their core, and overall this book was a homerun.
I don't know how I intuitively selected this book, but Giovanni Boccaccio turned out to be an author after my own heart (hopefully not so he could eat it).
I would absolutely read this book again. I'm glad I bought it.
August 31, 2022
This is a sort of Aesops Fables collection with sex which is a bit of an odd way to describe any story to be fair.
Considering the age of the age of the stories and the times that they are focused on, the writing doesn’t feel old or stuffy, it’s still remarkably fresh to read. Maybe it’s because the story matter is still something that speaks to us as modern readers but it definitely feels like something that you can read at any time.
It was also interesting to see how women were being written as it was and is still to this day quite accurate, which is amazing when you consider that the writer is a man from the Middle Ages.
Considering the age of the age of the stories and the times that they are focused on, the writing doesn’t feel old or stuffy, it’s still remarkably fresh to read. Maybe it’s because the story matter is still something that speaks to us as modern readers but it definitely feels like something that you can read at any time.
It was also interesting to see how women were being written as it was and is still to this day quite accurate, which is amazing when you consider that the writer is a man from the Middle Ages.
May 4, 2023
Book 3 in the Penguin Great Loves collection. This is my favourite of the collection so far. The Eaten Heart is an extract from Boccaccio's The Decameron which is a book of 100 stories told by a small group of people trying to escape the plague.
This collection contains 11 of those stories and they all centre around love, tragedy, lust, passion and death. As with all short story collections some were better than others but I really enjoyed the majority of these stories. They were full of melodrama and romance which was right up my street.
This book has inspired me to pick up The Decameron one day to read the rest of the stories that make up the original book.
This collection contains 11 of those stories and they all centre around love, tragedy, lust, passion and death. As with all short story collections some were better than others but I really enjoyed the majority of these stories. They were full of melodrama and romance which was right up my street.
This book has inspired me to pick up The Decameron one day to read the rest of the stories that make up the original book.
April 2, 2025
I had rather romantic hopes for this sweet little collection of short stories. What transpired was a lot of repetitive lustful stories of men and women romping all over the ancient worlds. To be honest, it was as if the only thing that really changed were the names of the people, their relationship to one of the male characters, and the places they were either imprisoned in or engaged in acts of endless love making.
And look, it’s a 700 year old translation so I can forgive the lack of depth but I wanted more magic and mystery. More tales of woe and caution and allegory. This wasn’t that. 3 starts because of its age.
And look, it’s a 700 year old translation so I can forgive the lack of depth but I wanted more magic and mystery. More tales of woe and caution and allegory. This wasn’t that. 3 starts because of its age.
August 19, 2025
I’m slowly making my way through the Penguin Great Loves collection, and this has been my favorite so far. G.H. McWilliams did a great job with the translation—it’s very digestible and easy to read. My favorite stories were Thorns of Desire, Head in the Herbs, and The Loving Corpse. Each one felt strange and compelling in its own way. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone looking to dip their toe into classic literature. It’s short, readable, and weird in all the right ways. Definitely one I’ll be recommending.
January 13, 2022
Highly entertaining selection of stories that show how love transgresses all boundaries (including death) and how much more relaxed people were in those times in regard to matters of transgression in love. There is a sort of optimism infused in these stories that makes it for a very good read especially when you are feeling down since the story-tellers make sure to provide the characters with a happy ending, although this happy ending might be in the afterlife.
July 4, 2017
This was a very good book; I enjoyed it. You have to come to the book knowing the stories are a bit risqué, but it is overall very interesting.
March 24, 2022
way, way better than the other two i've read from the collection so far!
Read
November 2, 2024Love some medieval messiness x
January 4, 2025
Highlights:
Sowing the Seeds of Love
Love Wanders in the Night
Oh, to be a Virgin
Head in the Herbs
Sowing the Seeds of Love
Love Wanders in the Night
Oh, to be a Virgin
Head in the Herbs
Read
March 28, 2025the italians are quite something..
November 9, 2025
Freaky ass little sex fantasy book. Definitely feels like this dude was writing out his horny day dreams back in 14th Century Florence or whatever.
Obviously there is a lot of historical context and significance I am completely missing but life is really busy and I cant be bothered to research it. I only read it because it said he was a contemporary of Petrarch and I liked the cover.
Yeah the stories are poor. Really lacking any sort of depth or even basic narrative structure. At times it literally goes And then and then and then. I guess the concept of sharing these fault in our stars legends that exist in every country is cool and I didn't take it so seriously so it was just a bit of fun, but yeah wouldn't bother reading this if you haven't.
That said I did enjoy the story where he pretends to be deaf dumb and blind so that the hot nuns use him as a sex toy.
Obviously there is a lot of historical context and significance I am completely missing but life is really busy and I cant be bothered to research it. I only read it because it said he was a contemporary of Petrarch and I liked the cover.
Yeah the stories are poor. Really lacking any sort of depth or even basic narrative structure. At times it literally goes And then and then and then. I guess the concept of sharing these fault in our stars legends that exist in every country is cool and I didn't take it so seriously so it was just a bit of fun, but yeah wouldn't bother reading this if you haven't.
That said I did enjoy the story where he pretends to be deaf dumb and blind so that the hot nuns use him as a sex toy.
February 19, 2023
very entertaining. the second story was my favorite
June 22, 2025
Quite entertaining. One story in particular had major Don Quixote vibes.
February 14, 2015
While these stories were mostly fun and entertaining, there was not a lot of variety between them. The characters were essentially the same (the highly sexual yet unsatisfied female, the sexual male who can sate her desires, and the cuckholded male) in different scenarios, but the stories were short and generally amusing. My favourite was probably the first one; who DOESN'T want to read about a bunch nuns conspiring to have have sex with the sexy gardener.... as I type this, I feel like I am pitching a porno.
The one interesting, if troubling, aspect I found in this collection was the representation of female sexuality. I'm not very familiar with the attitude towards women in the early Renaissance period, but I did find it surprising to see Boccaccio repeatedly tell his readers that women crave sex as much as men, and are even harder to satisfy (what was the phrase he used? that one woman might satisfy ten men but it would take ten men to satisfy one woman?); if only his reasoning for this assertion wasn't simply that women are made for sex and babies. That aside, what was most disappointing was probably that my excitement to see a classical text portraying normal women (not evil temptresses) as having sexual desire was so quickly diminished as I realised that, despite the many stories in this collection, there was no variety in female sexuality. Or male sexuality. Perhaps I ask too much of older texts.
The one interesting, if troubling, aspect I found in this collection was the representation of female sexuality. I'm not very familiar with the attitude towards women in the early Renaissance period, but I did find it surprising to see Boccaccio repeatedly tell his readers that women crave sex as much as men, and are even harder to satisfy (what was the phrase he used? that one woman might satisfy ten men but it would take ten men to satisfy one woman?); if only his reasoning for this assertion wasn't simply that women are made for sex and babies. That aside, what was most disappointing was probably that my excitement to see a classical text portraying normal women (not evil temptresses) as having sexual desire was so quickly diminished as I realised that, despite the many stories in this collection, there was no variety in female sexuality. Or male sexuality. Perhaps I ask too much of older texts.
May 16, 2012
These were a lot of fun to read. Short and funny, and I love the idea of a bunch of Florentines hiding in a cave from the Black Death telling each other risque stories. It was nice to take a break from the modern short story where you don't get the whole story and enjoy a bunch of stand-alone stories - I guess where tales differ from short stories is how they are always complete.
Although on the surface many of the tales seem trivial (quite a few run along the lines of boy meets girl, girl and boy have sex, girl's parents are not impressed) they range over a wide variety of different types of love - erotic love and parental love are both represented in both positive and negative way. Above all, love is presented as natural, irrepressible and chaotic, and Boccaccio is clearly in favour of allowing it to run its course. It was a pleasure to read such a refreshingly simple approach to something so often picked apart, criticised and regarded with cynicism - Boccaccio isn't interested in promoting one group's rights over another. The tales are entertaining in their depiction of love in all its forms, and certainly worth more than one read.
Although on the surface many of the tales seem trivial (quite a few run along the lines of boy meets girl, girl and boy have sex, girl's parents are not impressed) they range over a wide variety of different types of love - erotic love and parental love are both represented in both positive and negative way. Above all, love is presented as natural, irrepressible and chaotic, and Boccaccio is clearly in favour of allowing it to run its course. It was a pleasure to read such a refreshingly simple approach to something so often picked apart, criticised and regarded with cynicism - Boccaccio isn't interested in promoting one group's rights over another. The tales are entertaining in their depiction of love in all its forms, and certainly worth more than one read.
January 8, 2009
I wanted to add more stars to this book because I love the object of this book. Part of Penguin's series of classics with a very hand-made feel. (Many books in the series have embossings and blind printing on the cover.) But the content only rated 3 stars.
The 3rd in Penguin's "Great Loves" series, this one contains 11 stories from Boccaccio's Decameron. Some the later stories in the book are quite nice—little tragedies similar to Romeo and Juliet where women keep their lover's head in a pot of basil (watered with tears) or the one where the husband feeds his wife a mince pie made of her lover's heart. But other stories come off as little more than dirty jokes. (e.g., Once, this guy, went to work at a nunnery, and he ended up sleeping with every nun. Ha!)
Still, it was a nice little book, and I'd be more than happy to read other books in this handsome series.
The 3rd in Penguin's "Great Loves" series, this one contains 11 stories from Boccaccio's Decameron. Some the later stories in the book are quite nice—little tragedies similar to Romeo and Juliet where women keep their lover's head in a pot of basil (watered with tears) or the one where the husband feeds his wife a mince pie made of her lover's heart. But other stories come off as little more than dirty jokes. (e.g., Once, this guy, went to work at a nunnery, and he ended up sleeping with every nun. Ha!)
Still, it was a nice little book, and I'd be more than happy to read other books in this handsome series.
March 1, 2008
What an amazing little book, part of Penguin's Great Loves series, which in itself is a thing of wonder - oh, how i love thee Penguin :o)
These (mostly bawdy) selected tales out of Boccaccio's Decameron are a delight, surprising me with their frankness and candor. And they were written in the 1300s! Quite funny as well. I'll definitely be grabbing myself a copy of the Decameron at some point, to dig more into it, now that i've had such a lovely taste.
These (mostly bawdy) selected tales out of Boccaccio's Decameron are a delight, surprising me with their frankness and candor. And they were written in the 1300s! Quite funny as well. I'll definitely be grabbing myself a copy of the Decameron at some point, to dig more into it, now that i've had such a lovely taste.
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February 25, 2014
Crude and humorous in a strange way, these are for people who didn't think their fairytales were raunchy enough. There are a lot of problems with them, or I found there were a lot of problems with them, but considering the time that they were produced that can be overlooked. The first story starts your right off in the ribald feeling with a man seducing nuns in a convent. The title talks about love, but a better one would be "Unlikely tales of sex" as that's what most stories revolve around.
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