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260 ratings, 3.70 average rating, 16 reviews
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published
by Livre De Poche French
binding
Paperback
isbn
225305271X
(isbn13: 9782253052715)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 339)
one of the most gorgeous books i've ever had the good fortune to read. a true treasure.
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recommended to Antiabecedarian by:
advice-givers and troubadors
This lady is succinct. I like these stories in their abbreviated, warped charm. They are what they are. I don't understand people who grade writing this old and enduring. Reading the one selection in old french was interesting, too, since it's half english and reads like Chaucer, which makes it more peculiar. It belongs to a certain time, that's all. Nobody should be looking for love advice from Marie de France, but she comes across as a most practical woman and the stories are worth taki...more
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read this over the course of a quiet evening alone with a glass of wine. wonderful. i love sensualists, even if they get religious. reminds me of that one pessoa heteronym, i forget his name, who spends all his poems singing out about how knowing what a blade of grass or a rock IS has nothing to do with words or meaning or anything but just being, and its being being near his own. people who sing about that are essential for me...
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Read in December, 2007
The epic poems are wonderful tales that continue to be re-written again and again and are often retold within our television shows and movies. The literary criticism adds a layer of insight into the many translations and alternate versions that have occurred throughout the ages. If you are a fan of Chaucer I think these tales are a great addition into the world of middle ages literature.
Read in January, 1995
These crazy stories of forbidden love and sometimes grisly retribution are always prefaced or concluded with the hilarious assertion that the story is absolutely true. This is a prose translation, which loses some of the sing-song trippiness of the original versions, but throws the absurdity of the tales into high relief.
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Read in January, 1995
Marie took over my dissertation (and my life) for several months. Even after dissertation (AD) I'm able to love her! Each lai is a gem. She was post-modern in the Middle Ages. Her voice rings clear and true. Her stories are magical.
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Read in January, 2008
A readable translation of Medieval French poems which are essentially fairy tales for grown-ups. Not bedtime stories for your kid, but a delightful collection of adventures which may leave you with a few burning ethical questions.
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Read in September, 2005
recommends it for:
rapunzel wannabes
The romantic tales in this book are better than any watered down fairytale we've got around these days. If you like stories of magical princesses and noble knights, these are the best around.
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Read in January, 2001
"Whoever has good material for a story is grieved if the tale is not well told. Hear, my lords, the words of Marie, who, when she has the opportunity, does not squander her talents." Indeed.
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Read in January, 2007
The translator's work here is very well done. The translation isn't versified, but the prose lends itself to clarity and a brisk narrative.
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Read it for a Medieval History course and I was pleasantly surprised. A great collection of poems.
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Read in January, 1993
Marie de France gives us the Arthurian Romance. A must for any Arthurian scholar's bookshelf.
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It's an easy and fun read. Written in verse (translation not rhyming, though)
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for English 156
"Bonds of Blood: Literature of Chivalry"
"Bonds of Blood: Literature of Chivalry"
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