the human drama; unquestionably a masterpiece, read at least the InfernoOne needs to read a couple translations with footnotes to get the sense of this great novel.
This is one of the most poetic and beautifully translated work of the Divine Comedy. John Ciardi is a genius, and his use of semi-terza rima clearly requires great literary talent, especially with a translation in English. Reading this translation gives me a sense of not only what the content of the book is like, but also how it would have artistically sounded and felt. It's so well done that sometimes it's hard to believe that this is only a translation of the masterpiece. Ciardi also provides a summary page before each cantos, and very extensive and helpful notes. I wholeheartedly recommend this translation.
GO TO PAGE 1 of LITERATURE REVIEWS (Modern: Marquez, Rand, Helprin)
GO TO PAGE 2 of LITERATURE REVIEWS (German: Hesse, Rilke)
GO TO PAGE 4 of LITERATURE REVIEWS (Tolstoy)
GO TO PAGE 5 of LITERATURE REVIEWS (Classics, Dante)
GO TO MYTH & PHILOSOPHY BOOK REVIEWS
GO TO the INTRODUCTION to my LITERATURE REVIEWS (intro)