A Version of Dante's "Inferno"
355653
This is a telling of Dante's "Inferno" with its levels of hell from the prospective of a different culture is illuminating to say the least.
4259597
The second of three books that compose the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri's "Purgatorio" is a continuation of his epic Cantos.  Having seen Satan with their own eyes, Dante and Virgil once again breathe fresh air as they surface through an opening in a cliff.  Their adventure then carries them to the mountain island of Purgatory where Dante hears tales of woe and sees some familiar faces, all the while drawing nearer to his beloved Beatrice.

Often overlooked as the middle story, Purgatorio is, in its own rights, a classic.  It would be my recommendation, however, to read it in order so as not to confuse yourself and to miss out on any of the important events that occur.

What makes this edition so special is the wonderful translation done by Allen Mandelbaum.  The notes that are provided make understanding not only the language but the plot and its nuances much easier and consequently much more enjoyable.  This is easily the best version on the market today for the casual reader.
699457
Nice edition, and John Card's translation is good for a group of adults who have not read Dante before and who want a text that's lively and fairly easy reading. Notes are helpful.
3644762
Our book club read it and were familiar with Dante's work. It is a sad torturous journey for Mr. Dreher and his family. We all felt his story at many points is our story. We forget just how complex and unique we are from birth. We are thrust into an established family unit not of our making and expected to grow in their likeness. Life continues to bes a difficult road and after thousands of years since we began to walk upright the battle for belonging and retaining our personal identity continues. Mr. Dreher intertwined Dante's Inferno in his story with three levels: Dante's work, his own perception of events and his reflections on them. Well done and very interesting. For those interested in philosophy and the human condition it is well-worth the read. Our take on the author personally... he is impetuous by nature and will probably suffer the consequences of it for life. It's a good thing, however, that he took the time to assess his journey. We gained a better understanding of Dante's Inferno reading this very interesting book.
3231249
This is no standard commentary on Dantes Divine Comedy, but rather a way of enriching ones understanding of that masterpiece, or even to be introduced to it and excited by it to the point of wanting to read it next. Instead of organizing things sequentially (going from the cantos of Inferno to those of Purgatory to Paradise), Shaw structures her analysis around themes: friendship, power, life, love, time, numbers and words. The reader is then treated to a complex interweaving of different stanzas of the Comedy, drawn from the entire poem, and presented in a way that provides us with insights on Dantes character and times, on why and how he wrote one of the all time masterpieces of worlds literature, and especially why the work still resonates so powerfully these many centuries after its composition. A must read for anyone interested in art, literature, poetry, language, the Middle Ages, and a whole host of other topics.
4457343
This translation was recommended to me by a friend.  He was not wrong.  Pope is much more the poet than the others I have.  From what I have read since then, this version is truer to Homer's Greek original as the sounds of the text are closer to the original rather than a more accurate translation.  I think that helps us put our minds around the images and feelings Homer is delivering.
772966
This could very well be a freely adapted allegory of Dante's The Divine Comedy blended quite masterfully with a few dashes of well-hatched insanity. Truth or Dare in a living, breathing document. And to think I read this in the dark. Whoa, but Bravo indeed!
4854451
The Inferno translated incredibly well.  It has English/Italian side by side.  The english reading is translated using the same verse structure and as close a translation as possible.  Excellent explanation of the verse and character references in the story.  I would highly recomment this work and translation.  Hopefully, Mr. Hollander will also offer a translation of the Purgatorio and Paradisio.
856580
Since it is given that Dante's Divine Comedy is one of the most important works of Western Literature, my review will focus on the translation rather than the original.  Mandelbaum's translation was good, but not great.  His greatest strength is that he maitains a strong sense of readability throughout most of the text.  Although he does occasionally lapse into confusing gramatical structures in order to maintain the form of the poem, these are rare and do not detract from the reading to too great of an extent.  However, what is lost in this translation at times, is the sense of poetry and pacing that are so crucial to Dante.  This is not entirely his fault, however.  In this edition of his work, there is no white space between each triplet of the poem.  This, coupled with Mandelbaum's not having made any attempt to reflect terza rima in his translation, disrupts the flow of the original.  While this is a small complaint, it does keep Mandelbaum's translation from achieving the brilliance of Pinsky and Merwin.  However, Mandelbaum does have one advantage over those other two translators: he does the entire Comedy.  While Pinsky's Inferno and Merwin's Purgatorio are superior to the same works in Mandelbaum's hands, Mandelbaum's translation is, in my opinion, the finest complete translation available.
The glossing of the book is also strong, but, like the translation, does contain a few flaws.  The notes are very thorough, but sometimes gloss the obvious, which can be quite tedious.
Also, I would have preffered a higher quality of paper and print.  While I realize that this series of books is intended to be inexpensive, a work with the length and depth of the Comedy warrants the extra expense necessary to make the reading experience less ardous.
So, while I would recommend this edition to anyone just getting started on Dante (it was my first), serious Dante scholars might want to look elsewhere.  The strengths of this volume (not the least of which is that it has the entire Comedy, rather than just a third) make it a worthwhile addition to the body of Dante translations, but it lacks any one tremendous strength to set it apart from the others.
4631907
I don't usually buy original books, i'm not a native english speaker. Often my books are translated to Portuguese. Also, I had never bought a book from outside Brasil, but now "Inferno" is here and it's awesome. I haven't read it yet (just a few parts), but having the brazillian Inferno besides it, we can crearly see the diference: the paper quality and the cover and the jacket and everything! hahaha
And sure it was well packed and without no damages. Yes, I'll buy in Amazon more often soon.
4490855
This will be the briefest review I have ever written for Amazon Books. But it need not be longer. Mr Neff renders Dante's famous opening verse as "my life," thus irreperably viciating the poet's intent. "Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita" translates, even in so-called modern English, as 'In the middle of our life's journey.'  The word "our" is absolutely crucial because it thus includes the reader in the comedic drama that is to follow. By reducing this to "my life" nothing that follows can repair the damage the translator has done. "Peccato" (What a shame), as Dante might have said.
2723110
I simply devoured this book!  I didn't guess the murderer

until it was revealed and I felt just as Holmes did, when I found out.  This was just the incentive I needed to read Dante's Divine Comedy.  I only dabbled in literature until reading this book.

I think I know why it was eventually called the Divine Comedy: it's divine intervention that inspired Dante to write such a poem and its comical that he had the imagination to categorize sins so carefully as to determine such outlandish punishments for each one.  I wonder who Dante would see in Hell if he were to take that same journey today.
3106494
Professor Robert Langdon is back, sharper than ever!  Dan Brown's Inferno begins with Zobrist, a psychotic, wealthy genius who plans on changing the world by decreasing the population before it's too late.  According to Zobrist and his transhuman movement, the world will soon be unable to sustain the exponentially growing population which in turn will cause mass riots, violence, and disease. He creates a virus that will solve mass population, cleansing the earth of too many people.  Zobrist is also a Dante fanatic, leaving behind a trail of clues that only the esteemed Harvard professor can figure out.
The chase begins in Florence, Dante Alighieri''s home where he was exiled and the location of his one true love, Beatrice.  Dante wrote Divine Comedy in the 1300's.  Inferno was one of three parts to the book.  His work is how many view Hell today.  All of the clues in Brown's Inferno are linked with Dante's life and work.

The chase begins with Langdon waking up with amnesia after someone tried to kill him.  One of the doctors gets shot while treating him in the hospital room and another doctor, Sienna Brooks, saves him by sneaking him out of the hospital.  Soon there is more than a shooter after him.  He finds an ancient artifact in his jacket which was a roller stamp of Satan's three heads.  The device has a projector inside that displays a painting of Botticelli's map of the Inferno.  Upon further inspection, the map is jumbled which leads Langdon and the doctor who saved him to the next clue, the Palazzo Vecchio.  Langdon is most interested in Vasari's mural on the ceiling, but then stops to check out Dante's death mask which ends up missing.  And so it goes, clue after clue leading throughout Florence and then Venice and then Turkey, winding up at the Hagia Sophia.  The World Health Organization gets involved.  Without spoiling the ending, Langdon uses history to make things right.

My Review:

First of all, Dan Brown is one of my favorite writers.  No one can match him on research.  This book is filled with art, museums, history, classic literature, legend, religion, science-especially viral outbreaks, philosophy, specific street maps of the setting, and even protocol in intercontinental flights.  The man does his homework like no other.  Sometimes he doesn't need to delve so deep.  He'll describe the streets that Langdon walks on with such detail-a park on one side, a street light on the other, a museum to the left-I feel it's got too much of a travel guide feel to it.  Otherwise, the man is brilliant.  I don't know whether to call him a novelist or history professor because that's sometimes how the book reads.  He is Langdon and Langdon is him.  History lovers will eat this stuff up.  Those looking for more in-depth characters will be disappointed.  Brown isn't famous because of his poignant prose and moving scenes either.
Like all of his books, Brown had me on Google half the time looking up all of the art and places that he describes.  The clues fall perfectly together and Langdon gets the opportunity to educate Sienna, the helpful doctor, or other characters on each relic they stumble upon.  Another fascinating part of the book is the transhumanism movement that wants population controlled.  A mathematical theory (Malthusian) and world population chart back up the villain's point.  On a personal note, this made me wonder if the inner circles of New World Order have this ready to go as their excuse for globalization.  Another angle that I loved was the whole idea of a secret business that misinforms the world on major events to cause riots, wars, elections, etc. Lots to work with on the conspiracy front.  Inferno is typical Brown and I loved it, but wouldn't recommend it for everyone.  At times, the story could be confusing along with being an information dump about art and museums.  However, if conspiracy is your thing, this is an excellent read.  [...] 5/5 Stars
4279205
Music is as close to perfect as one can get...but to quote Dali, don't be afraid of perfection, cause you will never reach it, but I am glad there are still people out there striving for  it in their art.  The end will be unintelligible to most, and not surprisingly, the opera goer will prefer the Met's version, but the Met's Parzifal with their neat little resolution of symbols does not ring completely true ...it might be relatively true, but not what the legend of Parzifal was pushing towards.  One has to go through a lot of modern art and thought and be able to grasp the whole space time relationship as well as had the so called 'holy grail' already established within to be able to understand the final representation.
4394771
This is the second translation of Dante's Vita Nuova I've read and was far better than the first! I would recommend reading the translators notes before starting, as Mark Musa is not only an expert at translation but the intricacies and depth of Dante's work.
This is a great piece of literature- it tackles love, death, and the life of an artist. I would recommend it to absolutely anyone!
3404449
This is a treasure! It is a facsimile of the original in almost exactly the same size.  If one thinks about the significance of this little volume, it is very pleasing to hold it in one's hand (as there are only 3 copies of the original still in existence today!)

It's not very readable, because the Black letter font of the original wasn't very readable. But you can see and feel just what an early merchant or plough-boy of the new Reformed persuasion would have seen and felt as he read this forbidden work by candlelight c. 1526 AD.

There is another edition - of almost identical size - which uses Roman Font. Get that if you need to work closely with the content.

But as a little piece of the history of the English Bible, this is a gem!
4112566
This tale, told primarily from the point of view of  the mage Dante, cannot fail to please those who have read and enjoyed the first two books.  Dante has aided the quiet but effective Portier in the first book, gone on to help the kingdom in the second book, while remaining an intriguing, enigmatic and complex character who is not all that likable.  He's left blinded, alone, and as irascible as ever when his student Anne, leaves to tend to her ailing father.  But a soldier troubled by dreams that make his life unlivable seeks out Dante as the only one who might be able to help him, and that send the plot rolling with greater and greater speed into dangers that threaten the world, both the living and the dead, and Dante's own soul and sanity.

The troubles are rooted in the problems of the first two books, but they are new plots and new horrors.  Magic has been dying, through the rise of science and religion and the abuses of magic that have made people despise it.  Dante has enemies everywhere.  All the worst rumors imaginable are laid at his feet.  A zealot in the church seeks to capture him, try him, and burn him, despite the king's pardon.  The aristocracy and the conventional mages despise him for his low birth and rough manners and his non-collegia learning.  Or, at least some of them do, because several of Dante's very few friends are aristocratic and collegia-trained.  Dante's worst enemy is often Dante himself, and he knows it.  And, as he seeks to find a mysterious woman who can control dreams and claims to have a jewel that will grant great power that she will give to the one that frees her, his actions lead him to believe that he might have a dark role to play in the destruction he seeks to prevent.

It is worth reading the three books in order.  Ends are tied up that and events unfold that will have greater meaning for those who know the characters' whole story.  I would highly recommend the trilogy and this final book to any lover of good fantasy.