In the annus horribilis of 2020, as COVID-19 ravaged the world, a generation that had yet to experience a cataclysm of precisely this scale turned to art for insight into how we might survive it. Contemporary speculative fiction about lethal pathogens, from Ling Ma's novel Severance to Steven Soderbergh's movie Contagion, surged in popularity. Readers also turned to tales of pestilence past: Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year, Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. But no dusty tome got a bigger boost than Giovanni Boccaccio's early-Renaissance classic The Decameron. Virtual book clubs sprung up to dissect it. The New York Times commissioned stories from Margaret Atwood and Tommy Orange for its own Decameron Project. "Six Centuries Later, The Decameron Is Suddenly the Book of the Moment," Vogue reported.
Denne historien er fra August 05, 2024-utgaven av Time.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 05, 2024-utgaven av Time.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Justin Theroux The Emmy-winning actor, writer, and producer on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, his roles in cult classics, and the enduring love for The Leftovers
I was absolutely a fan.
An adaptation of Three Women makes four a crowd
FOR A WORK OF LITERARY NONFICTION TO thrill readers the way Lisa Taddeo's 2019 best seller Three Women has done, it must offer more than just rich subject matter.
3 sisters and one empty recliner
DEATH CAN BOTH TEAR FAMILY MEMBERS apart and bind them closer-often simultaneously.
NATASHA ROTHWELL OUT FRONT
The creator-performer moves from beloved supporting roles to center stage in a deeply personal new comedy series
STILL PROCESSING
Not all ultra-processed foods are the same. Or, some argue, even unhealthy
IRON FIST
A crackdown on El Salvador’s gangs made Nayib Bukele one of the world’s most popular leaders. Is he going too far?
Long-distance relationships aren't just for romance
NURTURING LONG-DISTANCE friendships takes work, but the payoff is worth it-and even small gestures can keep bonds alive.
HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR DYNAMIC IS TOXIC AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Friends can be great-until they're not.
It's never too late to make new friends
CHRIS DUFFY ISN'T GOING TO SUGARcoat it: making friends as an adult is hard.
Polaris Dawn opens a new chapter in space
IT WAS A VERY BIG DEAL ON SEPT. 14, 1966, WHEN ASTROnauts Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon flew their Gemini 11 spacecraft to a record altitude of 850 miles. It has remained a big deal for 58 years, while that benchmark for a crewed spacecraft in Earth orbit remained.