A review by saucy_bookdragon
The Inferno by Dante Alighieri

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Art, as it were, is the Grandchild of Creation."

How was this lowkey underrated? The Inferno has been hugely influential on our ideas of the afterlife, and yet it is so richly detailed and captivating I'm surprised a lot of the finer details get lost in other afterlife stories. It's the original self-insert fanfiction, and it weirdly reads like one in just how deeply personal it is. This also made it feel like a time capsule in how it presented medieval history and thought. Though I of course don't agree with Dante on a lot, I found the story's themes to be deeply thought-provoking.

I'd especially recommend fantasy writers read this as it's world building is still a golden standard. Despite being pretty quick to get through, it's a lush universe. The translation I read was John Ciardi's, and I greatly enjoyed how he kept the translation in rhyming verse and his notes provided context that made me appreciate the book even more.

TWs: as most classics, there are part of Inferno that haven't aged well. In particular, there's a bit of Islamophobia and homophobic implications. It's also pretty graphic with gore, violence, and torture.
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