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Liked It “I read excerpts of Inferno when I was in 9th grade, and so, remembering having enjoyed those two or three cantos, I decided to read the full Divine Comedy. I chose the Ciardi translation for pretty superficial reasons; I like Signet Classics becuase their books fit in my pocket and they look nice...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “In my honest opinion this was a terrible book. The whole book consisted of the author himself going on this journey and basically pitying all the souls that he met, which doesnt make any sense to me because if they're are in his hell he obviously wanted them there and if he honestly wanted them...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“ Personally I hated this book, it was one of the dumbest things I have ever read for school. First of all, I believe this book is a “love it or hate it”, it isn’t a book where you can be in-between. I didn’t even believe in the over all theme of the book so I found it very contradicting to my beliefs. Also, the book had a horrible ending, it just ended flat out, although it is one of the trilogy, the author could have created a better ending if he already put so much work into it. As I expected, The Inferno was particularly complex and hard to understand so I couldn't get the greatest effect of his ideas, which I will admit were bold and imaginative. Since he was a devout Catholic, his Hell was heavily based off of Christian principles so I don’t necessarily agree with every single sin/circle/person he placed in Hell. Then again Dante's personal beliefs were evident in his writing based on his reactions to specific sinners.
NICOLE H wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The book mainly revolves around how the Main character, Dante Alighieri strays off the right road and travels through Hell to face himself and repent for his sins in advance. He is guided by Virgil, a poet whom he holds to be the greatest Greek poet ever. Virgil represents Human reason to Dante because he believes one needs reason to make it through Hell. His goal, who is also his true love, Beatrice represents divine love. Dante’s Hell is formed into a cone shape, getting thinner towards the bottom since the sins become worse and worse. The carnal sins are at the top, and then come the bestial sins and the worst of all, sinners who have betrayed others. Dante is given a chance to walk through all of the circles of Hell and interact wit the sinners in order for him to gain his repentance. Dante matures and also regresses a great deal as the story progresses.
I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to go in over their heads. Also, someone is has the same believe system as Dante, (Devout Catholicism) would appreciate the book a lot more than someone of a different religion. Although the book is very complicated and irritating to read, it is interesting what other people’s thoughts about Hell and afterlife are. If someone with different beliefs reads the book, I would recommend this to be like a learning experience instead of a entertainment experience.
”“I read excerpts of Inferno when I was in 9th grade, and so, remembering having enjoyed those two or three cantos, I decided to read the full Divine Comedy. I chose the Ciardi translation for pretty superficial reasons; I like Signet Classics becuase their books fit in my pocket and they look nice when I have all my Signet Classics in a row on my shelf. However, I think Ciardi did a good job. The set up of all the cantos is helpful: summary, poetry, notes. The summary allowed me to read the poetry and focus on the words and sounds rather than skipping through it quickly to find out "what happens next". The notes explained the allusions and poltical references I would never have understood otherwise (I'm not an expert on the warring parties of medieval Florentine). All in all, the translation was able to make the work enjoyable and understandable.”
Chase H wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“As expected, The Inferno was extremely complex and hard to understand (as usual) so I couldn't get the optimal effect of his ideas, which were very bold and imaginative, but it was very interesting. Because he was a devout Catholic, his Hell was heavily based on Christian ethics so I couldn't necessarily agree with every single sin/circle/person he deemed deserving of their placement in Hell. Still, Dante's personal beliefs were also apparent in his writing based on his reactions to certain sinners and they way he portrayed them. I also agreed with a lot of his beliefs like how sins of incontinence were less severe than those of continence. Also, reason (symbolized by Virgil) is crucial in the conquering of life's obstacles. However, I don't think the people who rejected God and believed in science deserved to be in Hell and punished for eternity because that is their belief and they are free to believe what they want. And people who weren't baptized or lived before the time of Christ shouldn't be punished either because it's not their fault they died before Christ lived. Besides these aspects, Dante's punishments were very imaginative and unpredictable, mostly because they were so far-fetched, and it was fun to read about the sinners being punished (not that I'm a sadist). His ideas about the structure and content of Hell greatly influenced my thoughts about Hell so I'll give him props for that. The Inferno was an overall good book but I'd never want to read it again. ”
Anna Saw wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I was required to read this book for school this quarter. This book is Dante Aligheri's journey through Hell, guided by Virgil, the famous poet. Dante wrote this book after being exiled from his beloved Florence, yet he wrote it prior to this expulsion. Many of the characters in the book gave creepy premonitions as to Dante's soon demise, which was an example of dramatic irony. In addition, Dante seemed very possessed throughout the book, seeing that the book was mostly used as a way to get back at those who snubbed him prior in life, by claiming them to be in Hell. this was almost like a catty version of a teenager girl's burn book. Even though this book was interesting, particularly to look at the cultural differences from then to now, I was surprised at Dante's complete insanity. The fact that he belatedly took the position of sending people to Hell shows that he thought himself better then the Almighty himself, which is quite actually a sin in his book. This book really made me think about Dante's state of mind, as I have come to the conclusion that he obviously was not all there when he wrote it. The book simply seems like a bitter, immature man's attempt at getting back at all the kids on the playground who were mean to him. I do credit Dante, however, for the insane amount of thought put into this book and the borderline obsession obvious in every single terza rima stanza. ”
EVE T wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“In my honest opinion this was a terrible book. The whole book consisted of the author himself going on this journey and basically pitying all the souls that he met, which doesnt make any sense to me because if they're are in his hell he obviously wanted them there and if he honestly wanted them there then why on earth would he cry and pity for them? I think if you put someone in hell you should at least hate them or hold some sort of grudge against them. If I had to recommend this book to someone I wouldn't. I wouldn't recommend it because even despite that fact that I hate it, chances are that you'll have to read it either in high school or college and by reading it and going over it with your class is an easier way of understanding it then if you read it on your own. ”
ADRIANCE B wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“the Inferno is a book about Hell and and The 9 circles in Hell. It describes the journey of a guy named Dante and his boyfriend Virgil. Virgil was also his guide through hell because he lived in Limbo the first circle of hell. The people in the first circle did not get baptized. Dante takes this journey through hell because his life sucks and as he was about to commit suicide, God told him to go to hell and virgil was there to take him on a guided tour. Dantes experiences in Hell change him and as a result he is allowed to go into heaven. I recommend this terrible book to anyone who doesn't like to read in English or some type of Satanic worshipper. ”
RYAN H wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is a book about Dante who is the main character and about his expieriences in Hell. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes to read classics or anyone that likes to read books that tell you how to read virtuously. However because this was a book for a class assignment, we read it as fiction, mainly because Dante thought of this Hell himself by his belief system. He has a guide, Virgil that guides him along the path. The story starts with Dante realizing that he has strayed from the virtuous path and then he meets Virgil who takes him into Hell which is structured into 9 circles. After visiting this Hell, he comes out by coming out through the last circle, cirlcle 9 by climbing through the devil and later coming out the earth. ”
MARIUSZ G wrote this review Thursday, November 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“ We had to read this book for class. At first we were warned that in the book there would be some dark and scary scenes and as i read the book i realized that this was true. It was about a guy named Dante who meets his guide Virgil and together they travel down the nine circles of hell.
MOLLIE W wrote this review Thursday, November 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
With each circle that the two travel down there is a completely different environment and a different group of sinners. For example, in one of the circles the souls that in their lives abused themselves are now incased inside trees and the cannot talk unless they are bleeding. This is also an example of how gruesome this story was.However in the end Dante completes the journey.
Surprisingly i actually grew to like this book. However one thing that i found to be difficult about it was that it was written in stanzas. At times this made things easier it was difficult.”
“In this powerful and dark tale of fantasy, Dante goes astray in a dark forest until he runs into Virgil, his mentor and guide. Virgil takes Dante on a journey through Hell to show Dante what would happen if he continued along a dark path. After walking for a long time, they arrive at the vestibule of Hell where there is a sign that reads "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here." We are shown there are nine circles of Hell, each circle has its own sin and punishment. Some circles are divided into numerous sections to account for many sins under one big sin. Along this journey, Dante encounters familiar faces from his home town of Florence, Italy which surprises him because he thought that people in his town were friendly and not sinful. Some of the things Dante sees make him scared or depressed or even angry. When he and Virgil arrive in the center of the last circle of Hell, Dante becomes horrified and frightened by the sight of Satan, a three-headed fallen angel who is also known as Lucifer. As the final part of moral redemption, Dante and Vrigil climb up the back of Satan into a small tunnel of light. They arrive on Earth safe and sound gazing at the stars.
Harry Brownstein wrote this review Thursday, November 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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“inferno is a book based off of one mans imagination. he uses himself, dante, to travel through hell with his guide, virgil, and he witnesses sins along the way. the journey through hell is very symbolic. dante goes through hell, from the very top all the way to the bottom where satan lies, and he climbs over him, defeating him and all of those terrible sins. dante later passes onto pugatory which continues his trilogy of the after life.
AIDAN S wrote this review Thursday, November 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
i didn't really like this book. the style it was written in was somewhat annoying and it was boring. there were too many things to think about in the book, like find _____ and think about ____ to really enjoy the book. there wasn't really any action of adventure or humor throughout the book, although it is an adventure. it seemed very boring to me and was too much of a lesson than a book to read for fun. i most likely would not recommend this book to someone unless they were a religious fanatic or felt "lost" in life and needed somethign to guide them.”
