Reviews

Paradiso by Dorothy L. Sayers, Barbara Reynolds, Dante Alighieri

hakkun1's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

noahtato's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While not a consistently stronger work than Purgatorio, the final 5-10 cantos are by far the most exquisite of the Comedy's, the crown jewel being the final ascent to the Empyrean. Dante pulls heavily from Boethius's Lady Philosophy through a lens of specifically ecclesiastical imagery, which sacrifices purity of message for vividness of metaphor (from the modern perspective). The earlier cantos seem like an extension of Purgatorio but without the narrative stakes, though the moral obviously transcends the narrative functions that would have made those cantos more engaging to read. I will be exploring the references and intricacies further over many years, I am sure.

portlandcat's review against another edition

5.0

“Love that cannot comprehend darkness is not true love at all.”

kristenmtan's review against another edition

2.0

2/5
read excerpts for hum. boring as hell. actually significantly more boring than hell

henry_michael03's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

stewardii's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Got to admire the literalism required to land on ‘well if Hell is underground then Heaven must be in space.’ 

mmazelli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

amayakodi's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

danidep's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

rachaelpianist's review against another edition

5.0

Exquisitely beautiful, did Dante get dizzy with all the endless spinning and blinding?? Questions that need answering. Heaven being this glorious and wonderfully constructed needs to be taught as compulsory RE/catechesis, not just Inferno…

Also John Ciardi’s translation is great, lots of informative footnotes which made it much more enjoyable to read.