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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
basically hate-fanfiction where Dante puts everyone he dislikes into hell.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I was reading this I was thinking how audacious and ironic it was. Surely if fraudulent behaviour is worthy of hell, then writing about your experiences of walking through hell that clearly never happened would indeed, send you to hell. And naming so many people like 'remember this guy? HELL. This guy? HELL. This guy?? SUPER HELL.' Just kinda nuts.
But then I read this other review just now about how there is debate on whether this is a theological work or a tragic work and honestly, it really has got me thinking and my appreciation for the whole thing has gone up immensely. Because yeah, a lot of these people did stuff wrong but it is under circumstances that they often couldn't control. So do they really deserve hell, or at least the /level of suffering/ they receive in hell for things like that?
IDK MAN.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
But then I read this other review just now about how there is debate on whether this is a theological work or a tragic work and honestly, it really has got me thinking and my appreciation for the whole thing has gone up immensely. Because yeah, a lot of these people did stuff wrong but it is under circumstances that they often couldn't control. So do they really deserve hell, or at least the /level of suffering/ they receive in hell for things like that?
IDK MAN.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Pinksy translation was so much better but the notes were all more
What people don't tell you about Inferno is that this is a riot! Dante is just out there self-inserting himself into the Bible, inventing a whole new system of eternal punishment solely so he can put all the people who have wronged him and who he believes have contributed to the degrading state of Florence in Hell. And he purposefully meets all of these people just so he can expound on their sins and revel in their imagined torment. He is the truest of haters. Now, reading Inferno did feel a bit like visiting my grandma on my father's side. She's of Italian descent from Southern Italy (Dante is from the North, for those who don't know), but much like listening to my grabdmother sit for literally 8 hours in a non-stop litany of all the people in her present and past who have wronged her or insulted her children or just generally annoyed her so to was it reading Dante's scenarios in which you're introduced to host of figures that you've never personally interacted with or have knowledge of but you're expected by Dante as by my grandma to approach these anecdotes with the same level of passion and outrage as they feel towards these individuals. Can't say it's not a little entertaining though.
I will say I find it interesting how accepted Dante's idea of the Nine Circles of Hell are. Like I do genuinely believe a good percent of the population thinks the Nine Circles are Biblical canon which speaks to the generational and societal impact of Dante's Inferno on popular culture. Moreover, Dante is a man who can convey a scene so acutely and initimately with so few words that you can fly through Inferno in less than a day while still feeling like you've watched all of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films (the extended cuts). The punishments are brutal and told in gruesome detail.
But Inferno isn't just blood and pain. Oh no. There is a world of lore. A zesty mizture of Catholic belief and ancient Roman and Greek tradition as Dante is guided by Virgil and meets Odysseus, hitches a ride on Geryon, and ebcounters Cerberus. Both real life and fictional figures are present in Hell. Now as an amateur Greco-Roman myth nerd, it did throw me when people like Odysseus were in Hell because how would that even work, they didn't operate under the same religious systems or god(s) and also they seem to be punished under Catholic law because there is no way the Greek gods would have sent Odysseus anywhere but Asphodel or Elysium (purgatory and heaven in a way). In addition to all this fantastic lore, Dante finds time to throw in poop and penis humor. Yes. The scholar and politician from 13th century Europe includes a penis joke in his poems and talks about sinners forced to mire in swamps of shit. Dante is a funny funny man and no one talks about that.
I also love his poetic rhythm which this translation attempts to recreate almost exactly. It flows so well, reading Inferno feels like a conversation.
There are plenty of Christian allegories throughout that I had to rely on Ciardi's notes to understand. Speaking of, Ciardi's translation and notes at the end of each canto are IMMENSELY helpful in understanding all the easter eggs and clever nuance Dante infuses into his writing. I would have missed so much meaning without those.
The ending is also epic and even beautiful as Dante and Virgil finally reach the end of Hell. One thing that's an interest of mine is Satan, which sounds very strange I know. But Dante's description and lore for Satan (or Dis) in Inferno is genuinely so neat! Like Dante's Satan has THREE heads (Ciardi notes to counterbalance the Holy Trinity). And Dante also promotes the belief the Satan is a fallen angel/heavenly being who once enjoyed the grace of paradise, which I always find to most interesting interpretation of Satan.
I will say I find it interesting how accepted Dante's idea of the Nine Circles of Hell are. Like I do genuinely believe a good percent of the population thinks the Nine Circles are Biblical canon which speaks to the generational and societal impact of Dante's Inferno on popular culture. Moreover, Dante is a man who can convey a scene so acutely and initimately with so few words that you can fly through Inferno in less than a day while still feeling like you've watched all of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films (the extended cuts). The punishments are brutal and told in gruesome detail.
But Inferno isn't just blood and pain. Oh no. There is a world of lore. A zesty mizture of Catholic belief and ancient Roman and Greek tradition as Dante is guided by Virgil and meets Odysseus, hitches a ride on Geryon, and ebcounters Cerberus. Both real life and fictional figures are present in Hell. Now as an amateur Greco-Roman myth nerd, it did throw me when people like Odysseus were in Hell because how would that even work, they didn't operate under the same religious systems or god(s) and also they seem to be punished under Catholic law because there is no way the Greek gods would have sent Odysseus anywhere but Asphodel or Elysium (purgatory and heaven in a way). In addition to all this fantastic lore, Dante finds time to throw in poop and penis humor. Yes. The scholar and politician from 13th century Europe includes a penis joke in his poems and talks about sinners forced to mire in swamps of shit. Dante is a funny funny man and no one talks about that.
I also love his poetic rhythm which this translation attempts to recreate almost exactly. It flows so well, reading Inferno feels like a conversation.
There are plenty of Christian allegories throughout that I had to rely on Ciardi's notes to understand. Speaking of, Ciardi's translation and notes at the end of each canto are IMMENSELY helpful in understanding all the easter eggs and clever nuance Dante infuses into his writing. I would have missed so much meaning without those.
The ending is also epic and even beautiful as Dante and Virgil finally reach the end of Hell. One thing that's an interest of mine is Satan, which sounds very strange I know. But Dante's description and lore for Satan (or Dis) in Inferno is genuinely so neat! Like Dante's Satan has THREE heads (Ciardi notes to counterbalance the Holy Trinity). And Dante also promotes the belief the Satan is a fallen angel/heavenly being who once enjoyed the grace of paradise, which I always find to most interesting interpretation of Satan.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes