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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
Heavyweight poets and literarty giants such as Longfellow, Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes and others try to solve a series of murders based on the works of Dante. It is interesting that there really such a group as the Dante Club. It was Clever to use this as a vehicle for the premise of the book.
adventurous
mysterious
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
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
A pretty decent mystery, with the highlights being a) set in Boston, my stomping grounds! b) real people as protagonists, I've always had a soft spot for Oliver Wendell Holmes c) the allusions to Dante's Inferno, which I adore.
The prose gets really pedantic after awhile though, and while I get that it was trying to stay in the style of the time, it gets really tedious. I've had to read actual books from that time period that are on the verbose and boring side, so why would I want to relive that in a modern work?
Also, I would have much rather seen that the killer was one of the Dante's Club's own, since it's very clearly stated that its members are the only ones in Boston who know enough Italian to study the Inferno. Betrayal and scandal! But I guess that's the problem with using historical figures as your heroes... unless you want to go with a complete alternate world, you can't take too many liberties.
I could have done with a decent female character, too. I got sick of reading about stuffed shirt upper class guys. I know the times were the times, blah blah, but even so, there has to be a clever girl somewhere who wanted to help with the mystery. Ah well.
I got it free from a friend's discard pile, so the price was right.
The prose gets really pedantic after awhile though, and while I get that it was trying to stay in the style of the time, it gets really tedious. I've had to read actual books from that time period that are on the verbose and boring side, so why would I want to relive that in a modern work?
Also, I would have much rather seen that the killer was one of the Dante's Club's own, since it's very clearly stated that its members are the only ones in Boston who know enough Italian to study the Inferno. Betrayal and scandal! But I guess that's the problem with using historical figures as your heroes... unless you want to go with a complete alternate world, you can't take too many liberties.
I could have done with a decent female character, too. I got sick of reading about stuffed shirt upper class guys. I know the times were the times, blah blah, but even so, there has to be a clever girl somewhere who wanted to help with the mystery. Ah well.
I got it free from a friend's discard pile, so the price was right.
I tried to read this when it first came out and didn't get past page 100. This time I made it to about 175. I put it down three weeks ago, planning to pick it up and finish it, and I just don't have any interest in touching it. It was interesting to learn about the real people involved in the first American translation of The Inferno. But the novel isn't at all compelling. It's grueling and takes dedication to plow through. Unfortunately, I just wasn't dedicated enough. Twice.
Although Pearl's historian tone and verbose style really do come through in certain parts of the book, I personally felt the characters tedious and pedantic. For all the research and study that has gone into this work, I expected much more character development. Several times I felt myself unaffected by putting down the book for days at a time with no regret. Pearl definitely has potential and I would probably read more of his later work.
A bit uneven and unbelievable at points, but holds attention
Tried reading it two times previous before finally listening to the Audible version. It’s average, nothing about it really grabbed me.