My first nomination will be
The Decameron: Selected Tales by Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by J.M. Rigg and edited by Bob Blaisdell (and this is the Dover Thrift edition).
This one fits the topic on so many levels. X is of course the Roman numeral for ten, and this was written by someone living in the ruins of the Roman Empire and still using Roman numerals everywhere. 'Deca' is also a prefix meaning 'ten of'. This book is about a group of ten people trying to escape the Black Death by fleeing to the remote countryside, and passing the time by telling ten tales to each other per day for a total of ten days. So many tens!
I've opted to nominate an abridged version of the book, as it originally runs closer to a thousand pages. This one still spans all ten days, but only gives certain tales from each day. I am generally not a fan of abridgements, but when it comes to a very lengthy world classic I'd love to read like this, that I haven't got around to and don't know when I'll ever get around to reading it in its entirety, I think an abridgement makes sense to be able to experience at least a part of it. I was careful to choose a version that is available and cheap on ebook in the U.S., U.K. and Australia Kindle stores (the links are:
U.S. .
U.K. .
Australia). Of course if it wins we can each read whichever version or edition we want (even if in its entirety if anyone is feeling courageous!), but this is the recommended version for the nomination to keep the selection more compact and available.
Goodreads,
Preview, 192 pages, 1348, Italy (Republic of Florence)
Quote:
While the Black Death rages through fourteenth-century Florence, a group of young people retreat to the healthful air of the countryside and amuse themselves by telling tales of romance and adventure. This is the premise of Boccaccio's Decameron, a landmark of early Renaissance literature and one of the world's great story collections.
Vast in scope, teeming with colorful characters, and rich in worldly wisdom, these 25 tales from the original 100 encompass a variety of genres — folktales, ancient myths, fables, and anecdotes ranging from earthy satires of hypocritical clergy to gripping tales of murder and revenge and stories of passionate love. Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Keats drew upon Boccaccio's masterpiece for inspiration, and the grand old storyteller’s fables continue to captivate modern readers.
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[edit- This version seems to only include the selected tales and does not seem to include the frame story which would've been nice, but the only two good versions I can find as ebooks are this one and the Penguin abridged one titled 'Tales from the Decameron'; the Penguin one does seem to include frame story but the Penguin version is twice as long (approaching 400 pages) and costs more, so I'll keep this Dover version as the nomination though people can decide which version they prefer to read of these two or any others (and note if looking around that there are at least two Penguin versions: 'Tales from the Decameron' which is the one available in ebook, and the shorter 'Ten Tales from the Decameron' which is not.]