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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
This edition has gorgeous illustrations! This was my first time reading the complete book, and I really enjoyed it.
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
the tuscan mushroom business was definitely thriving in the 14th century no cap
I’m currently slogging my way through The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. I’m not really sure why, except that it was on my shelf and it seemed like a good idea at the time. I was stuck in hell for AGES, and now it feels as though I’ve been in purgatory for just as long. So far I am supremely unimpressed and a little bit aghast at how seriously we take this guy’s ideas about the afterlife. Basically he just stuck all the folks he didn’t get along with in hell and gave them bizarre punishments; my copy has extensive footnotes about how so-and-so was a student with Dante and they didn’t hit it off. Then, once we got to purgatory, it’s all about Dante’s friends who have died, and he’s all, “Dude, how’d you get this far along? I thought you’d still be stuck way down on the lower levels, considering you were kind of a jerk.” And the dead guy is all, “Naw, man, my awesome wife has been praying for me.” And Dante’s thinks, “Huh, yeah, your wife is pretty awesome.” At the same time, Virgil’s trying his darndest to get Dante to hurry UP already. Every few pages he says, “Dante, seriously, man up and climb the stupid hill. No, you can’t rest. I don’t care if you’re tired. I’m DEAD, don’t be complaining to me about how rough you have it!” Every few pages Dante also rhapsodizes over his paralyzing fear and how he is basically a wuss. I am displeased. But it seems a shame not to finish it, at this stage.
Update: I finished up Alighieri’s book, and maybe I don’t have the right to be so flippant as I was earlier. The Divine Comedy is undeniably a classic, influential in so much that came after it. There’s something of worth there, or it wouldn’t have endured for so long and affected so many writers. Maybe I’m not enough of the intellectual to see it. Still, I have remarkably little tolerance for it when I compare it to, say, Milton’s Paradise Lost. Both make me uneasy for the same reason: I don’t see that anyone has any business writing about God, the afterlife, etc. as if the author’s biblically inspired fiction is as true as its inspiration. Many people know more about Dante’s idea of hell than they do the biblical idea—they have the fiction confused with the truth, probably because Dante’s idea has infiltrated popular culture far more than the biblical one. The same could probably be said of Milton’s Satan versus the biblical portrayal of Satan.
But Milton–arrogant, insufferable, and scripturally inaccurate though he may be–doesn’t rub me the wrong way quite how Dante does. For one thing, the misconceptions his works have fostered regarding religious themes seem less destructive than Dante’s in terms of religious doctrine. Not a lot of Christians know their Bibles well enough to either refute or prove Dante’s points, but his ideas have infiltrated Christian belief. Milton didn’t insinuate that Paradise Lost was a direct vision from God; rather he openly stated that it was his goal to “justify the ways of God to man” through an epic poem. He very nearly chose to write about King Arthur instead, because he felt it would also have afforded him the scope he desired. He needed a big canvas for his art, but it didn’t have to be the Bible. I would also argue that Milton’s images are more vivid and his language more arresting and poetic than Dante’s, though perhaps some of that is a function of translation (I wasn’t fond of the Dante translation I had).
Maybe it does all boil down to personal preference, in the end. I enjoy Milton’s cutting wit, fearsome intellectuality, and utter impatience with foolishness. I loved Areopagitica, and his essays and pamphlets, and I read Paradise Lost under the tutelage of a professor who loved Milton as well and was brilliant at instilling that love in his students. If I’d had something similar for Dante…maybe this review would be shorter and a lot more positive. :P
Update: I finished up Alighieri’s book, and maybe I don’t have the right to be so flippant as I was earlier. The Divine Comedy is undeniably a classic, influential in so much that came after it. There’s something of worth there, or it wouldn’t have endured for so long and affected so many writers. Maybe I’m not enough of the intellectual to see it. Still, I have remarkably little tolerance for it when I compare it to, say, Milton’s Paradise Lost. Both make me uneasy for the same reason: I don’t see that anyone has any business writing about God, the afterlife, etc. as if the author’s biblically inspired fiction is as true as its inspiration. Many people know more about Dante’s idea of hell than they do the biblical idea—they have the fiction confused with the truth, probably because Dante’s idea has infiltrated popular culture far more than the biblical one. The same could probably be said of Milton’s Satan versus the biblical portrayal of Satan.
But Milton–arrogant, insufferable, and scripturally inaccurate though he may be–doesn’t rub me the wrong way quite how Dante does. For one thing, the misconceptions his works have fostered regarding religious themes seem less destructive than Dante’s in terms of religious doctrine. Not a lot of Christians know their Bibles well enough to either refute or prove Dante’s points, but his ideas have infiltrated Christian belief. Milton didn’t insinuate that Paradise Lost was a direct vision from God; rather he openly stated that it was his goal to “justify the ways of God to man” through an epic poem. He very nearly chose to write about King Arthur instead, because he felt it would also have afforded him the scope he desired. He needed a big canvas for his art, but it didn’t have to be the Bible. I would also argue that Milton’s images are more vivid and his language more arresting and poetic than Dante’s, though perhaps some of that is a function of translation (I wasn’t fond of the Dante translation I had).
Maybe it does all boil down to personal preference, in the end. I enjoy Milton’s cutting wit, fearsome intellectuality, and utter impatience with foolishness. I loved Areopagitica, and his essays and pamphlets, and I read Paradise Lost under the tutelage of a professor who loved Milton as well and was brilliant at instilling that love in his students. If I’d had something similar for Dante…maybe this review would be shorter and a lot more positive. :P
So elaborate. While I do appreciate Dores illustrations and the world building Dante creates the flowery prose that Longfellow translate the verses too were hard to comprehend in the beginning till the end I had to look up many historical and scholastic references and yet I still see how important this work is digesting christian doctrine and how ot shapes both Divine grace and justice in terms of not just personal devotion but that of grace given by others
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In trying to begin this review, I would love to state that I have actually read Inferno when I was in high school. It was so long ago that I cannot seem to recall any details aside from the morbid torturous parts—yeah, it kinda says a lot about me, I know.
Listening to the audiobook, though, made me realize how important it is to first digest this story in written form. It may be true that the older times offered stories in similar fashion and not in paper, but the poetry is such a complicated style of writing that it requires—at least for me—strong attention. A large portion of the story was lost in my train of thoughts as my mind tried to fight at grasping the lyrical narration over the mundane task that I was doing while listening.
It could have been a whole different experience if I sat there and listened to the audiobook exclusively—really processing the moments, taking pausing to get a grip on the nuances of the events. But no, I went through it in such a breeze that I felt like I got ahead of Dante to Paradiso without him even noticing.
The narration, I believe, is sublime. It took me to a whole different world and it was effective in delivering the story with great emotion and vigor. There were parts that I would have liked to be different, but it was a good experience in general.
I would like for you to take my review with a grain of salt, as I have already stated, it took so much to keep everything intact—and yet, everything fell apart still. There will, surely, come a time when I will pick up the book themselves and provide a more concrete review of the writing and the story. But for now, this is my experience with the audiobook version of The Divine Comedy.
See this and other reviews in my blog.
In trying to begin this review, I would love to state that I have actually read Inferno when I was in high school. It was so long ago that I cannot seem to recall any details aside from the morbid torturous parts—yeah, it kinda says a lot about me, I know.
Listening to the audiobook, though, made me realize how important it is to first digest this story in written form. It may be true that the older times offered stories in similar fashion and not in paper, but the poetry is such a complicated style of writing that it requires—at least for me—strong attention. A large portion of the story was lost in my train of thoughts as my mind tried to fight at grasping the lyrical narration over the mundane task that I was doing while listening.
It could have been a whole different experience if I sat there and listened to the audiobook exclusively—really processing the moments, taking pausing to get a grip on the nuances of the events. But no, I went through it in such a breeze that I felt like I got ahead of Dante to Paradiso without him even noticing.
The narration, I believe, is sublime. It took me to a whole different world and it was effective in delivering the story with great emotion and vigor. There were parts that I would have liked to be different, but it was a good experience in general.
I would like for you to take my review with a grain of salt, as I have already stated, it took so much to keep everything intact—and yet, everything fell apart still. There will, surely, come a time when I will pick up the book themselves and provide a more concrete review of the writing and the story. But for now, this is my experience with the audiobook version of The Divine Comedy.
See this and other reviews in my blog.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
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:
No
This journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven is fascinating. I think that much of it could be an enhancement of Italian history (lots of name dropping) and might even serve as a catechism of sorts. I was thankful that I have a familiarity with Greek and Roman mythology and also with Christianity. Without that, this would have been tough to follow. Dante’s very careful creation of these imagined worlds and their various levels was very carefully crafted. I think a study of a few Cantos at a time might be quite insightful, but all the worship of Mary got a little wearying for this Protestant.
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Divine Comedy is a incredibly well written Triology. I basically ate this book up and I'm not even religious. The way Dante writes about the journey through hell, purgatory and paradise makes me feel like I'm actually there with him. It's also exciting to recognize names (like Achilles etc.) from other books that you've read. So yourself a favour and read the Divine Comedy, because Dante's writing is amazing and I loved the stanzas.