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challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this solely to prepare for the release of Katabasis, and I actually found myself enjoying it more than I’d anticipated. You can definitely tell how much Dante idolised Virgil from how he tried to emulate his writing style and how certain lines felt more like they belonged in a self insert fanfiction. I enjoyed identifying all the references to Classical mythology, but the other references were a lot more niche and specific to Dante’s own time (bro really wrote fanfic of all his opps in hell being punished in increasingly original ways - even the ones who are supposedly still alive at the time of writing, which is just cold).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Child death, Death, Incest, Cannibalism, Murder
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
Very out of my comfort zone book, but I made myself push through it and I’m glad I did. The last half is definitely a lot more visually descriptive and gore-filled than the first half which saved this book from being a 2 star in my opinion. My copy was also a very beautiful illustrated edition with lots of art which helped invoke the imagery Dante intended. I will probably never touch this book ever again unless I learn Italian and can enjoy it as it was intended to be read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder
Minor: Incest, Islamophobia
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was contemplating between believing that this was the greatest book I've ever read and burning it to crisps to spare anyone the read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Art, as it were, is the Grandchild of Creation."
How was this lowkey underrated? The Inferno has been hugely influential on our ideas of the afterlife, and yet it is so richly detailed and captivating I'm surprised a lot of the finer details get lost in other afterlife stories. It's the original self-insert fanfiction, and it weirdly reads like one in just how deeply personal it is. This also made it feel like a time capsule in how it presented medieval history and thought. Though I of course don't agree with Dante on a lot, I found the story's themes to be deeply thought-provoking.
I'd especially recommend fantasy writers read this as it's world building is still a golden standard. Despite being pretty quick to get through, it's a lush universe. The translation I read was John Ciardi's, and I greatly enjoyed how he kept the translation in rhyming verse and his notes provided context that made me appreciate the book even more.
TWs: as most classics, there are part of Inferno that haven't aged well. In particular, there's a bit of Islamophobia and homophobic implications. It's also pretty graphic with gore, violence, and torture.
How was this lowkey underrated? The Inferno has been hugely influential on our ideas of the afterlife, and yet it is so richly detailed and captivating I'm surprised a lot of the finer details get lost in other afterlife stories. It's the original self-insert fanfiction, and it weirdly reads like one in just how deeply personal it is. This also made it feel like a time capsule in how it presented medieval history and thought. Though I of course don't agree with Dante on a lot, I found the story's themes to be deeply thought-provoking.
I'd especially recommend fantasy writers read this as it's world building is still a golden standard. Despite being pretty quick to get through, it's a lush universe. The translation I read was John Ciardi's, and I greatly enjoyed how he kept the translation in rhyming verse and his notes provided context that made me appreciate the book even more.
TWs: as most classics, there are part of Inferno that haven't aged well. In particular, there's a bit of Islamophobia and homophobic implications. It's also pretty graphic with gore, violence, and torture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Islamophobia
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Second greatest self-insert FF ever written.
👏🏽
👏🏽
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Murder
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Cannibalism
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can appreciate a good classic but, I had the displeasure of reading this on my own (I love to suffer apparently), i feel like I'd like it much much more if i listened to the audiobook, my head hurts now
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this poem is essentially dante attacking the catholic church (which is so iconic, good for him!!) for the hypocrisy of its leaders. it gets tedious and exhaustive in parts, i think, but the imagery is really interesting and impressive. i liked how dante emphasised his sympathy for certain sinners, like francesca and paolo, and made an effort to understand the tragedies of their lives- especially the people who ended up in limbo for the awful, evil, treacherous crime of being born before christianity was invented :/. ”suppose the sovereign of the universe were still our friend, we'd pray he grant you peace.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore