Rating: 
Summary: Classic Chaucer!!
Review: Having tried to wade through a "non-modern english" version of The Canterbury Tales, I appreciate this book. It brings out Chaucer's playful language in a way that's more entertaining, because it's easier to understand. Re-reading some of the stories in this book, I was surprised by beautiful statements, amusing turns of phrase, and the sheer bawdiness of his writing.However, I gave this book three stars first becuase I don't put Chaucer on a level with Spenser or Malory, and second because this is a standard Penguin book, which means it's more stripped down than I like. I prefer footnotes to explain references that I might not be able to take in context. In something as heavily alligorical as Chaucer's work, I believe this is very important.
Rating: 
Summary: He writes with ink and parchment...
Review: I bought this book after reading the Pardoner's tale in my High School English class. It's wonderful, and the translation is great, not to mention that Chaucer is one of the best writers of all time. I think that I may slightly prefer Shakespeare, but not by much.. and many of the tales have things in them that I didn't think people even would dare talk about hundreds of years ago.. that was really cool. I will definitely read this book again, when I'm in the mood for it. ^_^
Rating:
Summary: easy to fallow!
Review: I remember reading this book my soph. yer in high school and sruggling a lot with the translation. But with this addition it is so much easier to fallow. His stories represent one of the motliest crews in English literature: the Wife of Bath who has put away five husbands and is looking for a sixth; the pardoner, the reeve, the clerk, and the knight. THe Millers tale is absolutely histerical and will crack you up. Hope you enkoy reading this book as much as i did.
Rating:
Summary: 700 years old and still going strong
Review: I remember slogging through The Canterbury Tales in Middle English when I was in high school and although the language is beautiful, having to take time to decipher it all did diminish somewhat the enjoyment of a terrific collection of stories. Since most of us are more comfortable with modern English, a good translation makes all the difference, and Nevill Coghill's excellent translation does full version to Chaucer's book. Reading this version takes the work out of it and makes "The Canterbury Tales" a pure pleasure. Chaucer writes about everyman and his stories represent one of the motliest crews in English literature: the Wife of Bath who has put away five husbands and is looking for a sixth; the pardoner, the reeve, the clerk, the knight, and a host of others from all walks of life. There is something in here for everyone; my three favorite stories are the Pardoner's Tale; the Miller's Tale (reading this in Coghill's translation, I could see why it has been excised from the bowdlerized versions used in high school English classes; it's rude, crude and downright lewd, but it's so hysterical they had to sew my sides up again when I finally stopped laughing), and the Franklin's tale of the knight, the squire and the magician who outdo each other in chivalry. Antisemitism was commonplace in medieval Europe and Chaucer is no more free of it than anyone else of his time; but to say that The Canterbury Tales is not worth reading because Chaucer was true to his time is overstatement. One must accept that Chaucer was as human and imperfect as most of his peers; without compromising the fact that Chaucer was a literary genius who had a profound effect on English language and English literature.
Rating:
Summary: Poetry for the ages.
Review: If you haven't read the Canterbury Tales in their native language than you are missing out. It isn't very hard, once you get in the flow of things it becomes just like reading anything else. The Bantam edition allows you to read the translated or the native version. I was disapointed at the amount of tales in this edition though. I was looking for a fuller picture of the tales, yet the translaters picked the tales that they fealt were the most important and I did enjoy it very much. For any of you out there that want to read the full Canterbury Tales in Middle-English I would suggest the Norton Anthology of Middle English Literature. That is Volume 1A of their English literature Anthology. It shows the full story without any translations. It is very exstensively annotated though, so you can decipher the Middle-English vocabulary.
No matter what edition you read though, your in for a genuine literary treat.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read
Review: In addition to its literary importance, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are an enchanting reading experience. The Bantam Classic edition presents the tales in Modern English translation alongside the Middle English so that one can fully appreciate the tales as Chaucer composed them, or if you're just in the mood for a fun romp you can speedily read the translation. The tales themselves move at a quick pace, so beginners will probably enjoy the modern version much more. The Canterbury Tales revolve around a group of 29 on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral to pay homage to the martyred St. Thomas a'Becket. The members of the pilgrimage come from all walks of life, including a Knight, Prioress, Merchant, Miller, the ever-entertaining Wife of Bath, and many others. The Canterbury Tales are the pilgrims' stories and each one reflects the individual character's personality beautifully. One can't help but feel a part of this lively group. Whether you like a bawdy, raucous tale or a morally sound fable you will definitely find something entertaining in this book. I laughed out loud several times and found Chaucer's use of symbolism, wit, wisdom, and the glimpse into 14th Century life absolutely fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer inform us of what is was like to live in the Middle Ages and experience a real pilgrimage. This does not read like a novel, rather it is a frame-story that includes a collection of short stories for each character. A Knight's Tale is the classic court romance with chivalry and contempt, although a bit long, it is one of the better tales in this compilation. Chaucer emits his satire exceedingly well through the tale of the Pardoner, sure to entertain the witty reader. Other tales consist of just plain humor, as in the Carpenter's Tale and Reeve's Tale. Do not let the Middle English prohibit you from reading this, for this edition includes both the Middle English, which not exceedinly difficult to read once you get into the rhythm, and modern English. The Canterbury Tales is an absolutely wonderful collection of stories that has something to offer each reader.
Rating:
Summary: Chaucer is simply sumblime !
Review: There have been few writers and poets with the same vigor, fortiude and knowledge like that of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is verily in the same league as Sidney, Shakespeare, Donne and Dante. He is writing is as I wrote in the title sublime; it is like he was touched by the hand of God himself and with that pen his writing came to life. Alas, this is an art that is mostly lost these days and most writers of the last 100 years are mediocre to bad compared to the old masters.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious reading
Review: When I read this, back in high school, my English teacher pumped it up so much beforehand, I was expecting a hilarious, rollicking fun read.
Boy was I disappointed. We read the maybe slightly updated version from the 'olde english' and the main part of the struggle was figuring what the hell was going on. Then, when you finally figured it out, it was something maybe KIND OF funny, in a satirical yet also juvenile way. It basically takes you an hour to decode that once again, some miller is cheating on his wife, with, oh, say a goat.
If you want a 'difficult read,' I would say read existentialism. The payoff at the end of the road, which is usually some "biting" social commentary like 'anti-semitism is bad' isn't worth the pain of ploughing through all the weird spellings and antique words.
Rating:
Summary: Stories are good, but syntax is lacking
Review: While the 'Tales' in this volume are no less amusing and relevant, I would have preferred for it to have been read in Middle English, maintaining the original flow and meter (which is not that hard to understand after hearing it for a while).
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