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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
Brilliant book. Loved the inter weaving of real people with fictional events. The use of literature and poetry in the form of Dante to further the plot along was great. It's cool to read fictional stories about real people at a real point of time and think: "This could have happened!"
Bought the paperback in Ireland and read it all on the plane back to the US. If I hadn't been stuck on a plane with only one book I wouldn't have finished this. It actually made me like the authors in this book less, when before I'd had a generally positive impression of Transcendentalism.
Dear God, my dear fellow readers! Dreadful dialogue choked all the promise out of the plot, historical elements and literary figures in this book.
This was a really hard read and took some time to get through; at least 3 weeks! I did actually like the book; but felt like it was assigned in english class.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very fun. Lots of twists and turns. And, while you start off thinking it’s just a clever construct for a historical murder mystery, the plot starts to pivot on important philosophical, intellectual questions. Pretty great all around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Murder
Creepy and brilliant, and inspires me to go pick up copies of [b:Purgatorio|19164|Purgatorio (The Divine Comedy, #2)|Dante Alighieri|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348687775s/19164.jpg|2377265] and [b:Paradiso|32812|Paradiso (The Divine Comedy, #3)|Dante Alighieri|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347467591s/32812.jpg|9771852].
I wonder if I had read this before I read the Lost Boockaneers by the same author if I would like it better.
Meh.
Meh.
Solid historical fiction with a love of mystery and impeccable detail. Liked all the interesting interactions between characters, their depth, and the literature analysis of Dante. But otherwise I felt everything was a little too bogged down in detail. Needed to move the plot faster to keep me wanting more.
dnf 20% i could not handle this many men being pretentious main characters