Reviews - The Divine Comedy

1.47k reviews for:

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri

3.89 AVERAGE

libraryofmariah's review against another edition

5.0

a wonderful re-read, last read in 2015

eesebasis's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Ich muss zugeben, dass ich massivst enttäuscht wurde. Ich habe einiges mehr als eine bloße "Self insert fan fiction" erwartet. Prinzipiell kann man sagen, dass das Buch pro Abschnitt dröger und langatmiger wird; die Hölle ist tatsächlich noch der "beste" Abschnitt. Zudem folgt nahezu jedes Kapitel dem Schema: 2 - 5 Seelen werden aufgetroffen und nach ihrem Leid befragt, von Dante abgeurteilt und die Reise geht weiter. Das wiederholt sich bis zum Ende. Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass ich das sage, aber ich bin froh fertig zu sein und kann mich jetzt schon an das Wenigste erinnern. Eine Zusammenfassung reicht definitiv aus.

marcos_rv's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

vectorwolf's review against another edition

4.0

"Miłość, co wprawia w ruch słońce i gwiazdy".

studaslop's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is my second full readthrough of Sayers’ translation of Inferno—and it reaffirmed to me the great strengths and weaknesses of her approach. Her introduction and commentary, though outdated, are insightful and intriguing. She takes Dante’s perspectives—however similar or different from her own or our own today—very seriously. I love her approximation of the terza rima so much. Though it sometimes doesn’t add to the narrative, and often makes it more opaque, when it works, it’s like the story is singing; the rhythm and rhyme come together beautifully. It’s engrossing, and makes me understand why the story has had the influence and longevity it has. And that’s to say nothing of the story. Witty, endearing, sad, sometimes scary. Dante is so human, frail and frightened, but full of love and determination. His relationship with Virgil blooms through the text, and Sayers’ translation augments these moments (“his old, sweet smile”). This can be a tough read, and takes patience, but I think Sayers’ translation is incredibly underappreciated.