Chaucer: Ackroyd's Brief Lives Audiobook

" My 23rd Great Grandfather told these tales.....It should be made into a film...or 23 1hour episodes....great stuff....but of course....he had a great genes... "

" Wonderfully re-written in novel format and not so much poetry, which one might think would make the book less than it's original version-- uh, no, this was done increibly well and the prose reads as a poem. Brilliant. "

" interesting, I hadn't read this before and see the influence it's had on a lot of other literature I've enjoyed. Not a sit down read for me- more of periodically enjoying one story at a time. Also the only time I've ever seen the word cunt used to describe the female anatomy versus a human being as a whole. funny. "

" If this helps to introduce more people to Chaucer, that's fine. But you really don't have to be Peter Ackroyd to concoct a "Chaucer for Dummies" book like this one. Yes, it's an easy read - so is anything written in short, simple sentences. But it's missing both the music of Chaucer's verse and the elegance of Ackroyd's prose. Were it not for the indiscriminate use of modern english profanities, this'd be a great present for a fifth-grader - it's that kind of "readable book". "

" Picked this copy of the Canterbury Tales up to get at the stories, which it does quite adequately, but it is done in prose and so something of this classic is lost. I will take the time with the poetry. "

" Do not waste your time proving your literary mettle with ye olde translationse. This one is as funny as it was ever meant to be and includes 90 better boner jokes. "

" The best version/translation of Chaucer I've ever read...it flows smoothly, and keeps the flavour of the period...get it for your shelf, read a chapter, then put it back on the shelf and savor the moment... "

" This retelling of Chaucer's famous work is a joy to read. I have never tried to read the original piece, but imagine it's as funny, dirty and seedy as this work. "

" I remember this book being hilarious, albeit after much classwork and homework trying to understand it. "

" I am giving this 3 stars, basically if you want to read The Canterbury Tales, read a translation of the original. On the other hand, for younger people or those that are not ready to read Chaucer this is a great introduction to this classic. Well written and true to the original tales. "

" By far this is the best retelling of the famed Canterbury Tales. "

" It was so fun reading this book! I'd picked this up last Christmas at home (my dad's copy). I remember reading some of these stories in an illustrated children's book, so it was fun reading the adult version. :) "

" A fabulous re-telling, faithful and enjoyable. A Canterbury Tales for everyone, not just English majors. "

" What a fabulous surprise this book has been! I picked it up from the "New Releases" section at the library on a whim, not knowing whether or not I'd actually read it, but knowing I was never exposed to Chaucer's original in college. I'm loving it! "

" I'm glad I finally read some version of the Canterbury Tales but I didn't think this was particulary well written or interesting. "

" Mr. Ackroyd did a very good job translating the story. It was very easy to read and I understood exactly what was happening. However, I'm not a big fan of the Tales themselves. Some of them were boring, others had graphic sex scenes, and a couple were just plain strange. "

" A quick and enjoyable read--there's not a whole lot of extant detail to build a life of Chaucer around, but Ackroyd does a nice job mixing history, literary criticism, biography, and some conjecture in a highly engaging prose style. I'll look for others in this "Brief Lives" series. "

" An excellent little biography and examination of the poet and storyteller. "