BOOK: Slimme Vrouwen (Smart Women) - Ten stories from Decamerone

Title: Slimme Vrouwen (Smart Women) - Ten stories from Decamerone
Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
Genre: short stories
Publisher: Salamander Klassiek
Pages: 108
Language: Dutch (translated from Italian)
Rating: 6/10
Summary: A selection of stories from Decamerone (1350 AD), a classic book from the Middle Ages known for its depiction of strong women, which is quite remarkable since in that time in history women were not very important. These stories show where the real power lay.

Review
While the summary sounds promising, the way these women show their supposed strength is quite despicable. Apparently the only way a woman can have some sort of leverage over a man, is by cheating on him and then rubbing it in his face to get her way after all. Charming. It would have been nice to see some variations in the plots, but most of the stories start and end exactly the same with only different names and surroundings in between. It's very noble the translator wants us to believe these stories were written to teach about equality in relationships, but I suspect they were not so much meant to educate as to titillate. If you like the kind of set ups with a rich lady, her drunk husband, the farm hand and the occasional priest added for a bit of spice, this might be the collection for you. I like my stories and women with a little more depth.