Read The Great Books

Gargantua and Pantagruel was written by Francois Rabelais. Rabelais was not only a writer but also a monk, doctor, and all around scholar.

The story revolves around two giants and actually spans five novels of their lives. The stories are told with a certain amount of wit and crassness which allowed them to span audiences and time. It is similar in the way of Chaucer’s writing in the way of using humor to show it’s meaning.

Penguin’s version of this text is quite impressive and is definitely the one you should keep an eye out for. Dr. M. A. Screech took the lead on this translation. He is a well known author and scholar and it definitely shows in his translation. He makes this work enter the modern world with relative ease. There’s also a good amount of additional information to help the reader understand. This is definitely a must buy for anyone interested.