The Canterbury Tales

Recommended Reading

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer
Genre: Short Stories

Geoffrey Chaucer is world renowned not only for being one of the first authors to write in English, but for the morals and satire found within the Canterbury Tales. The short stories are linked together as a group of people are on a pilgrimage, a common happening back then, and they decide to tell stories on their long journey.

The tales themselves are all different in their own aspects and will at times make fun of sensitive subjects such as adultery, religious greed, and dishonorable acts. Although the stories are all set hundreds of years ago, they can be found to relate to current problems. The best part of these tales is that no matter where you come from, there’s a story in there for you if you can understand it (I think they make simpler versions for those with ‘softer’ vocabularies).

If you want a good challenging read or wish to expand your vocabulary, the Canterbury Tales offer both. Another positive is that you can read a tale, put the book down, find out what a word or phrase means and then pick up at the next tale without any fear of having to remember the earlier ones. I would recommend this book to those who truly love classics.

Reviewed by: [Ash]