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A review by ruhhnay
The Divine Comedy: Volume 3: Paradise by Dante Alighieri
3.0
Okay, now this one hurt my brain. After I really enjoyed Inferno and then really, really unexpectedly enjoyed Purgatorio, I had hope that Paradiso would surprise me as well! It did, but not in a good way. This book was heaaaavyyyyy and just felt a whole lot different than the other two for me. This was heavy astrology, theology, and politics, and while like... of course it was... I guess I was hoping it wouldn't feel as dense as it did. Heaven is supposed to be something you look forward to, right?
Let's talk about the good: My copy of the book had commentary after every Canto and that was extremely helpful for me. I also thought the MAP that folded out from the back of the book was a very awesome surprise and absolutely necessary for me to understand the structure of Paradise. The idea of Heaven connecting to the planets is cool.
The not-so-good: Beatrice is not as fun of a guide as Virgil and that was a disappointing change. She was kind of a lot and a bit condescending, which got annoying. Their journey through the spheres wasn't as easy or interesting to follow and I think maybe it's just because I don't know enough about anything they were talking about to make connections, whereas in Inferno and Purgatorio, the vices and punishments all made sense to me.
It seems to me like instead of the boring, overly complicated view of Heaven in Paradiso, we'd all be better off hanging out in the absolutely gorgeous paradise at the top of Purgatorio.
Let's talk about the good: My copy of the book had commentary after every Canto and that was extremely helpful for me. I also thought the MAP that folded out from the back of the book was a very awesome surprise and absolutely necessary for me to understand the structure of Paradise. The idea of Heaven connecting to the planets is cool.
The not-so-good: Beatrice is not as fun of a guide as Virgil and that was a disappointing change. She was kind of a lot and a bit condescending, which got annoying. Their journey through the spheres wasn't as easy or interesting to follow and I think maybe it's just because I don't know enough about anything they were talking about to make connections, whereas in Inferno and Purgatorio, the vices and punishments all made sense to me.
It seems to me like instead of the boring, overly complicated view of Heaven in Paradiso, we'd all be better off hanging out in the absolutely gorgeous paradise at the top of Purgatorio.