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rosienreads 's review for:
The Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri
This is a book I have always thought I should read – it’s been brought up in a number of books, movies and tv shows, and the concept sounds quite interesting. Unfortunately, reading it was near impossible for me.
The main problem I found was that it was written in verse. I don’t often read verse, so this was quite difficult in itself. But, unlike Shakespeare, for example, the tale being told just seemed to go on and on. I just could not get into it: the language was complicated, nothing really happened and I just ended up bored and confused. A vast number of passages focused on Dante name-dropping people he knew, or historical figures from Italy, many of whom I did not know, so they meant nothing to me. In the end, I just ended up skimming the pages and forcing myself through to the end.
Personally, if you do want to read this, I think a background in Italian history and/or Christianity is probably useful. As I don’t have either of these, I really struggled with this book. Indeed, most of what I was reading it for – Dante’s concept of heaven and hell, could have just been looked up on Wikipedia.
The main problem I found was that it was written in verse. I don’t often read verse, so this was quite difficult in itself. But, unlike Shakespeare, for example, the tale being told just seemed to go on and on. I just could not get into it: the language was complicated, nothing really happened and I just ended up bored and confused. A vast number of passages focused on Dante name-dropping people he knew, or historical figures from Italy, many of whom I did not know, so they meant nothing to me. In the end, I just ended up skimming the pages and forcing myself through to the end.
Personally, if you do want to read this, I think a background in Italian history and/or Christianity is probably useful. As I don’t have either of these, I really struggled with this book. Indeed, most of what I was reading it for – Dante’s concept of heaven and hell, could have just been looked up on Wikipedia.