The Divine Comedy

Excellent

Came in perfect condition, Thank you so much!!

A great read.

Firstly -the physical book: It's hardback, with crisp, clean paper and a bookmark sewn into the spine. Good production. Secondly -the story: Before boring you with how much I treasure this book (and the epic twin visions of the march of history and life in the afterlife it constructs) I want to look at some of the things that other reviewers might miss. This book will lead you to other classical works. It is heavily referential i.e. it refers to the works of other writers before Dante, many of them writing thousands of years before Dante wrote. Virgil, Homer, Augustine, Cicero -the author refers to the theories and mythologies laid down by these earlier writers, so that a close read will bring you on a mini-tour of classical and pre-classical writing. Some is scientific, some is mythological, some religious, some historical -the breadth of literature that Dante draws upon to construct his own epic is vast. I found that by the time I had finished, I had resolved to read a half dozen or so other books which I thought would interest me. It has cemented my interest in the classics. Also, though Dante sets out a very precise blueprint for what the afterlife is like, the state of religion etc.: That does not mean that the reader cannot interact with the story to play with these questions today. Dante's story demands that the reader reflect on the great questions -Dante offers some answers, poses some questions, but most importantly is engaged with the key issues. His vision of the development of the world is at times absurd and parochial, and at other times majestic, but at least he did not back away from the big questions. Finally, I want to simply state that I find the vast struggle with competing ideas of science, religion, history etc to be a rousing read. This is one man's vision of what underpins the world -it is not mine, it is probably not yours, but it is Dante's answer to the questions we all ask.

This is an excellent poetic translation into English but I feel that it needs to be read bearing in mind the Italianate expressiveness of the original. This book is a very accessible size, and it is wonderful to have 42 of the illustrations by Sandro Botticelli commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici reproduced here. The exquisite draughtsmanship is a pure joy to behold, but some of works have printed with a heavy tone which is not visible on the originals. There are very interesting chronological charts of political and religious events which influenced the life of Dante, and later Botticelli, and a very good explanatory introduction. On the whole this compacted masterpiece of illustration and verse is excellent value for money and deserves a place in anyone's collection.

A good hard-bound edition of a modern translation by Mandelbaum with notes. A pleasure to hold & read.... what's more, for some reason it was cheaper than the paperback on Amazon

Excellent translation of classic text, with illustrations. Readable.