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theseventhl's review
3.0
It was . . . okay? I think I would have been better off with the original stories, and the art is rather pedestrian at best. But it was a quick, entertaining read and a decent intro to the bawdy humour and colorful characters of Chaucer's tales. Probably best suited for an upper high school student looking for a lightweight Chaucer 101 in graphic novel form.
lifeand100books's review
4.0
If I remember correctly, the first time I was introduced to The Canterbury Tales was in high school. I remember instantly falling in love with Chaucer’s tongue-in-cheek humor and how he infused that humor with parables that left one with a lesson learned. When I was at the bookstore and found that a graphic novel version existed, I of course needed to buy it and see how creative Seymour Chwast was in his interpretation of Chaucer’s great work.
For those of you not familiar with The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer writes the tale of 30 pilgrims that are making their way to the Canterbury Cathedral. Chaucer originally intended for each pilgrim to tell a tale to and from the Cathedral, for a total of 60 works. Unfortunately, he died after completing 24 tales, of which we will never know the true order in which they are meant to be told. What is complete, however, are the funny, serious, intriguing, intelligent, and overall entertaining tales of these pilgrims. From the shockingly raunchy and funny tale of the Wife of Bath to the pious tale of the Prioress, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales cover the whole emotional spectrum and evoke both laughter and sorrow from the reader.
One thing that I think makes people frightened to read The Canterbury Tales or any other Medieval literature is the language barrier. When I first read the tales it was when I was still in school, and was therefore being taught how to translate the text. Once I was able to understand fully what each tale was about, why certain themes were important, and what made them funny, I developed a love of them. What’s great about the graphic novel version is that it’s written not in its original text but a hip, modernized version of today’s English language. Even the illustrations got in the “modern game”, depicting the pilgrims riding motorcycles instead of horses. In doing this Chwast has opened up The Canterbury Tales to not only a new generation of readers, but also a whole new audience in general.
My only critique of the graphic novel is that some of the tales’ adaptations weren’t written cohesively. The Canterbury Tales is a huge undertaking in its normal format, so to squeeze all of that into 144 pages of text and illustrations is definitely not a simple job. I felt that some of the stories could have used a little more tender loving care in their adaptation. Despite this, the humor and morality of the tales still shone through well enough for any newcomers to the tales.
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-Zm
For those of you not familiar with The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer writes the tale of 30 pilgrims that are making their way to the Canterbury Cathedral. Chaucer originally intended for each pilgrim to tell a tale to and from the Cathedral, for a total of 60 works. Unfortunately, he died after completing 24 tales, of which we will never know the true order in which they are meant to be told. What is complete, however, are the funny, serious, intriguing, intelligent, and overall entertaining tales of these pilgrims. From the shockingly raunchy and funny tale of the Wife of Bath to the pious tale of the Prioress, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales cover the whole emotional spectrum and evoke both laughter and sorrow from the reader.
One thing that I think makes people frightened to read The Canterbury Tales or any other Medieval literature is the language barrier. When I first read the tales it was when I was still in school, and was therefore being taught how to translate the text. Once I was able to understand fully what each tale was about, why certain themes were important, and what made them funny, I developed a love of them. What’s great about the graphic novel version is that it’s written not in its original text but a hip, modernized version of today’s English language. Even the illustrations got in the “modern game”, depicting the pilgrims riding motorcycles instead of horses. In doing this Chwast has opened up The Canterbury Tales to not only a new generation of readers, but also a whole new audience in general.
My only critique of the graphic novel is that some of the tales’ adaptations weren’t written cohesively. The Canterbury Tales is a huge undertaking in its normal format, so to squeeze all of that into 144 pages of text and illustrations is definitely not a simple job. I felt that some of the stories could have used a little more tender loving care in their adaptation. Despite this, the humor and morality of the tales still shone through well enough for any newcomers to the tales.
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-Zm
sizrobe's review
1.0
Awful art and the stories are poorly told. I think I made it 30 pages before giving up. Avoid.
djbagwell's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chelseamartinez's review
3.0
I can't decide who I'd recommend this to: old people who read the hard version decades ago, or kids in school who might not read it otherwise. I learned why crows are black.
mattstebbins's review
Great idea, less great execution. (Chaucer's sense of humor just seems missing here, for one...) Ah, well, it was worth a try.
jwmcoaching's review
2.0
A quick read that works more as a refresher for the Tales than an introduction to them, especially if you've never read them.
mlindner's review
1.0
This was not very good at all. If this is what "needs to be done" to make classic literature appealing to today's readers then please do not bother.
Most of the tales were so elided in this format as to barely make sense. Some didn't make any sense at all. The handlettered, san serif, font was quite hard to read in many places.
I am not at all against the idea of graphic novel adaptations of literature but they must include enough of the original as to actually make sense!
Most of the tales were so elided in this format as to barely make sense. Some didn't make any sense at all. The handlettered, san serif, font was quite hard to read in many places.
I am not at all against the idea of graphic novel adaptations of literature but they must include enough of the original as to actually make sense!
claudiaswisher's review
4.0
This is my second adaptation by Seymour Chwast...I applaud his ambitious desire to make classic literature more accessible, and I think this book worked better than the Dante book...He captured the playfulness and the profane elements of the original. The pilgrims are all on motorcycles, IN THEIR PERIOD CLOTHES, on their way to Canterbury.
What is missing is the wonderful ironic voice. Now, I'll admit, lots of the irony went right over my head the first...and second...time I read parts of this work...the first time in translation, the second in the original Middle English. But, when I reread the work to teach, I can remember giggling at the wry descriptions of the characters...this is gone.
But what IS here, I believe, is the entire piece. All the tales, the unfinished ones, the prologues. shortened, for sure, but it's all here. Including lots of the dirty jokes.
I would love to share this along with the original in class...Tasha Tudor did another graphic adaptation years ago that I still like better, I think, but this one was fun!
What is missing is the wonderful ironic voice. Now, I'll admit, lots of the irony went right over my head the first...and second...time I read parts of this work...the first time in translation, the second in the original Middle English. But, when I reread the work to teach, I can remember giggling at the wry descriptions of the characters...this is gone.
But what IS here, I believe, is the entire piece. All the tales, the unfinished ones, the prologues. shortened, for sure, but it's all here. Including lots of the dirty jokes.
I would love to share this along with the original in class...Tasha Tudor did another graphic adaptation years ago that I still like better, I think, but this one was fun!