Reviews

The Decameron Project: 29 New Stories from the Pandemic by New York Times

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robotswithpersonality's review against another edition

The story behind the book (collaborative art in a time of crisis) is as compelling as the stories contained within. Covers not just various POVs of human experience during Covid lockdown/quarantine, including increase in Black Lives Matter activism after George Floyd's murder, but also stories that are a bit more esoteric/escapist. Glad to see diverse voices, not just Americans even though it's New York Times magazine. On an separate note, I can now say I'm a big fan of SHORT, short stories. Many of these are ten pages or less, and it allows me to sample a number of voices without getting too bogged down - if one isn't working for me - to continue the anthology.
Short list of faves below:
An Obliging Robber by Mia Couto
Line 19 Woodstock/Gildan by Karen Russell
A Time of Death, The Death of Time by Julían Fuks
Prudent Girls by Rivers Solomon

⚠️SA, child death

seabird1116's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

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Meh.

zoya_neela's review against another edition

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2.0

Of the last five stories, Rivers Solomon's in the one that flowed for me. This could be that I'm familiar with this author, and happen to enjoy their works.
There were some gems in this anthology of 29 stories. Some of the translations seemed uneven, but maybe that was how they were meant to be. This is, afterall, a collection of stories whose theme the pandemic and lockdown.
Few of the stories were fantastical, many seemed quite benal, pedestrian. There are many emotions that were experienced by the characters that I have experienced in the past 18 months.
Could it be that I read this book too soon? Would some time further away from the events of the illness, and all that has come with it, allow me to have a different perspective on these stories? Maybe.
Will I reread this collection? Maybe...

anothersarah's review against another edition

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5.0

I recently reread these stories and found them even more brilliant than when I first bought this collection. Time is a fascinating and ever changing lens to read through, and I look forward to revisiting this Decameron again in the future.