challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Just read this for the sake of reading and finishing it.

What do I expect? Timeless. Classic.
challenging dark reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Not really anything here for the non Christian. Dante was clearly a gifted writer but this is just soaked in so much catholic theology that trying to enjoy the book from a secular perspective is just difficult, especially Paradiso

Dante wrote a Wattpad fanfiction about himself.

The actors for the radio dramatization of the story were good, but there was a lack of description of one's surroundings that robbed a lot of the impact, especially when Dante is in Purgatory and Paradise. Since I have not read the poem, I don't know if this is systemic to the work itself or just to the medium it was adapted for.

The story itself left me feeling irritated because the reward and punishments meted out seemed so arbitrary. Even if Paradise there is a hierarchy of goodness and a sense of passivity that got under my skin, and not in a good way.

SPOILER ALERT:

For example, in Hell, Dante meets a pair of lovers in one of the upper circles who are in Hell because they gave into the sin of Lust. The woman cheated on her husband, who found out and killed both of the lovers and now they are doomed to be tossed about in whirlwinds for eternity. In Heaven, Dante meets an older woman who apparently had numerous lovers and husbands, but she got into Heaven because she repented/gave glory to God at the end of her life... so she got into Heaven. Oh, and Hell has a special circle called Limbo where the souls of those who died before Christ's birth get sent. Because screw you for being born at the wrong time (an unfair decision that Dante points out, but is never fully answered.)

I do want to read the poem now to see if there is more description and better justification given for these events, but so far I am not impressed.

انتهيت من ملحمة الكوميديا الإلهية

كتب دانتي الملحمة متهكماً عن البابوات والكنيسة الكاثوليكية والسياسات الأوروبية، بطريقة التريقة وسط السطور، باستخدام ميثولوحيات وإسقاطات كتير

الملحمة مقسمة لثلاث أجزاء
الأول : الججيم
يبدأ دانتي رحلته نحو الجحيم من غباة مظلمة برفقة فيرجيل، شاعر قديم، في كل مرة ينزل في الجحيم يرى انواع العذاب المختلفة، اللطيف في الامر إن دانتي جعل لكل خطيئة عذاب مرتبط بيها، واتبع " الجزاء من جنس العمل
الثاني : المطهر
وهو المكان - وفقاً المعتقد المسيحي الكاثوليكي- يتلقى فيه الخاطئون التائبون جزءا من العذاب
الثالث : الفردوس
حيث الملائكة والصالحون

الملحمة لطيفة، لكنها مش أروع شيء كنت منبهرة جدا بجزء الجحيم، منبهرة باللوحات المستلهمة منه، انا باقي الأجزاء فكانت مملة شوية بصراحة
في كتب بتقول ان دانتي تأثر بالثقافة الإسلامية أثناء كتابته للملحمة، والحقيقة ده ظاهر في بعض المواضع

ان ذهب الدنيا كله لا يستطيع أن يريح نفساً واحدة من العناء، اللي بتفكرنا بالآية " ‏فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِم مِّلْءُ الْأَرْضِ ذَهَبًا وَلَوِ افْتَدَىٰ بِهِ ۗ "
و ‏ليس من المنطقي ان يثمر حلو التين بين حامض الغبيراء.
واللي بتفكرنا بالآية " وَالَّذِي خَبُثَ لَا يَخْرُجُ إِلَّا نَكِدًا ۚ "

ومنطقي نظراً لقوة وانتشار الثقافة الاسلامية في القرن الثالث عشر
زي مثلا استخدامه للجملة الآتية في جزء الجحيم.
محبتش شخصية دانتي بذاته، لكني اعتقد اني حبيت جحيم دانتي.
challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

This poem is truly a work of art! Much of its intricacies are lost in translation, but I feel good about making up for some of that loss by reading analyses online alongside each Canto at https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/, so in essence, I actually read 2 books.

The imagery throughout and the complex ideas explored left my mind turning long after I closed the cover every time I sat down to read, and I have a feeling I'll always be pondering some of the ideas presented.