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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
This book was so hard to get into. It's super dry at the beginning, and doesn't really pick up and get interesting about three quarters of the way in. The story jumps around to different characters and times which makes it extremely confusing at first. I understand that this book is really about the individuals who helped publish the first Americanized translation of Dante's Divine Comedy, but I wish the author had integrated more Dante into his story. I feel like I should have just read Dante's Inferno instead.
Too much going on. Writing is very old fashioned, which I did like, but there just seemed to be too much going on, especially for the beginning of a book. Also, I get the time period but the slurs are a bit much. I've read many period pieces that don't use slurs, so it can be done.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs
Book club that only reads one book solves murder mystery.
Very enjoyable. Inspiring me to read Dante, which somehow I never have.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Decent dialogue, occasionally very good prose, scattered among some very mediocre-to-bland writing.
Pearl uses his expertise as a scholar to create a mystery set around Longfellow's translation of The Inferno. Longfellow runs around with historical figures Holmes, Green and Lowell in an attempt to discover who is killing some of Boston's elite by staging the bodies to reflect various contrapasso tortures as depicted in Dante's Inferno.
As someone who taught college writing and literature for a couple of decades, I was enchanted by the novel's ability to make literary criticism a matter of life and death. Pearl also gives us a peak into some of the practical and political challenges faced by editors, scholars, and writers during the Civil War Era. Other characters include pastors, a judge, policemen, a Pinkerton detective, street criminals, socialites, and soldiers. Also look for cameo appearances or mentions of Emerson, Thoreau, and Howells.
This book was fun and informative. When I finished, I wanted to ask my teacher for some extra credit points based on what I learned.
As someone who taught college writing and literature for a couple of decades, I was enchanted by the novel's ability to make literary criticism a matter of life and death. Pearl also gives us a peak into some of the practical and political challenges faced by editors, scholars, and writers during the Civil War Era. Other characters include pastors, a judge, policemen, a Pinkerton detective, street criminals, socialites, and soldiers. Also look for cameo appearances or mentions of Emerson, Thoreau, and Howells.
This book was fun and informative. When I finished, I wanted to ask my teacher for some extra credit points based on what I learned.