Rating: 
Summary: A "Devine" Thriller
Review: Every few years a book is written that breaks the mold of the standard mystery/thriller fare. Umberto Eco's "Name of the Rose", Martin Cruz Smith's "Rose", more recently Boston Teran's "God is a Bullet", to name a few. "The Dante Club", the remarkable debut of writer Matthew Pearl, is another example that represents a bold, ambitious, and refreshing approach to the familiar serial killer "who-dunnit".I'll admit that at first I was somewhat leery of the concept: the Fireside Poets - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell cast as investigators of a string of horrific murders? An ambitious premise for a novel, for sure, but more aptly, bizarre and ripe with risk. Pearl, however, pulls this off with a curious combination of the poet's love of the language and the storyteller's knack for pace and action. The "Dante Club" refers to the group assembled by Longfellow - including Holmes and Lowell - to assist him in the first American translation of Dante's "Devine Comedy". As people in high places - a judge, a minister, a wealthy merchant - turn up tortured and murdered in scenes recreating those described in Dante's classic, the poets hit the streets of Boston and Cambridge in search of the killer. The result is an exceptionally well-researched book that is rich in historical detail while capturing the post-Civil War American psyche and culture. Pearl's description of the Civil War horrors and post-war trama is especially gripping. Not since "Silence of the Lambs" or "Se7en" have murders been so brutally and vividly portrayed, as the victims are variously eaten-alive by maggots, buried upside-down and set on fire, and (literally) cut in half. Yet despite the graphic butchery, this is a book that must not be rushed, but savored for the intricacy of the plot and the intensity of the prose. It is the rare book that draws the reader to revisit the poetry of Longfellow, US history in the wake of the Civil War, and the mystery of Dante in 19th century America. In summary, a stunning first novel from a writer destined to become a household name. Don't miss it!
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Summary: A Great Introduction to Dante
Review: If you're like me and have tried to tackle Dante's Inferno in the past and couldn't get past the first few Canto's then this book is for you. Mr. Pearl is a recognized scholar on Dante and a very good fiction writer. It gives a very nice overview of Inferno for the non-poetry reader. His story is a combination of fact and fiction that moves along very well (it took me about a day and half to read the entire novel). I am now enjoying the Longfeller translation of Dante's Inferno that was edited by Mr. Pearl. Give Dante a chance - it is definately worth it!
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Summary: The Dante Club
Review: Matt Pearl is the Vergil who guides the modern reader with suspense, wit and erudition through the literary lights of post-Civil War Boston. A great, page-turning read.
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Summary: Everyone is talking about it!
Review: If you crave a novel that is reminiscent of all the wonderful old American classics, then look no more!This book is written in a style the likes of which we have not seen in Amer.literature for decades! As the words flow effortlessly, the reader is treated to endless pages that are poetic and quotable. If you love and appreciate beautifully written old world American style, you will want to read and re-read this book!But even if your primary interest is not "style", you will not be able to put this book down as you eagerly anticipate the next turn of events. This suspensful, ingeniously presented mystery [based on
mid l9 century historical events]is destined to become a 2lst century CLASSIC! You will want to place it next to your treasured Hemingways! Lastly, I want to say that this book will appeal to EVERYONE, from twenty-somethings to eighty-somethings.(P.S. After I read the book I bought the audio which is great also!) Mr. Pearl also has a wonderful website you might also want to check out.
Susan Tannenbaum
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Summary: Cochliomyia hominivorax and Dante
Review: If, 'The Dante Club", is an indication of what readers may expect from future works by Mr. Matthew Pearl, a great new novelist has arrived. Mr. Pearl has not just taken a great setting and a great tale, but he has added notable historical figures as well as one of the most noted pieces of literature ever written, and molded them in to a wonderful mystery on the streets of Boston in 1865. He also has not hesitated to take venerable institutions to task, regardless of their presumed august positions when they stoop to hypocrisy or other unsavory acts. The work of Dante was virtually unknown in this period of Boston's history except by the very few and equally few well educated. It was considered modern, controversial, and an affront to the classics that were taught at institutions like Harvard University. And then there is The Dante club whose members include Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Russell Lowell who are in the process of bringing out the first English translation of Dante's work for American readers. Powerful forces such as Harvard, amongst others, are against it, nevertheless the group proceeds week by week and level by level through the world of Dante as they prepare their publication. The process is closely guarded with their publisher knowing the full contents of their progress and other confidants having only the knowledge that their work proceeds. But prior to publication meticulous Dantean murders occur, but knowledge of the translation is not well known, it is not even complete, and yet the murders are carried out with an exactitude that only a scholar of Dante's work would have access to. And just as Dante fits his punishments to a crime of specificity, this murderer too follows the famous work in the most exacting detail. These are the circumstances that author Matthew Pearl arranges in his debut work, "The Dante Club", and the tour he takes readers upon is literate, well-constructed and erudite. The author was honored in 1998 when he was awarded The Dante Prize for his scholarly work by The Dante Club of America. This is a novelist that has the credentials to effectively combine his formal education in Dante with great skill as a writer of fiction. There are many new authors that debut every year. There are far fewer who will return a second time, or even if they do will have their subsequent work noticed. I believe Matthew Pearl will be the exception. He is no one trick wonder, and no sophomore jinx awaits him either. He is very bright, as his accomplishments at Harvard and Yale have demonstrated, and he is most capable with a pen as, "The Dante Club" has shown. Read this young man's first work, you will have the experience of excellent writing, a wonderful use of your reading time, and the pleasure of having discovered this young author on his first venture in to the eye of the public.
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Summary: How many people do I know who didnt finish this book???
Review: Everyone I lent it to...including myself. Growing up my father taught me to always finish the book because sometimes the end makes it all worth it and you shouldnt get into a habit of just quitting a book. Well since I've been reading this is only the third book I've never finished. I struggled to read this and finally couldnt force myself anymore. There were times I would read a page and it was so dull i realized that i didnt really even read it and had to go back and try it again. The best thing about this book was the description on the back of it. The story dragged on and I didnt find it really took me anywhere. I really suggest going to the book store and reading the fist two or three chapters before wasting your money on this book. I think the average reader wont enjoy this book. You really need to love history which I dont mind reading but this was simply overkill. I think the book doesnt deserve all the hype!
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Summary: Poetry+ History+Mystery =An intelligent & exciting thriller!
Review: I know that I was required to read Dante's "Divine Comedy" as a college freshman, but, 16 years later, this novel has made me interested in pursuing Dante's masterpiece with a whole new outlook. ...Because, as the title suggests, this book is about the the historical collaboration of such great poets as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell and Oliver Wendell Holmes, who created an American translation of Dante's work. This novel, however, went beyond this basic premise when Matthew Pearl transformed this into a thriller/mystery in which Dante's Inferno is used as a vehicle for several brutal murders. I enjoyed this on so many levels: 1. The mystery itself was suspenseful and skillfully written;
2. The social commentary was thought-provoking, especially the issue of censorship, freedom of press, academic freedom, etc. This was touched upon in the discussion of how the Harvard Corporation attempted to stop the American translation of Dante;
3. The historical accounts of mid-19th-century Boston as well as the realistic descriptions of Civil War battlefields;
4.The discussions of Dante's "Divine Comedy" as well as the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell and Oliver Wendell Holmes. So, this novel served the multiple purpose of awakening me to the poetic genius of Dante, Longfellow, Lowell and Holmes while entertaining me with a suspenseful, well-written thriller! A great first novel by this young author!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, if a bit long
Review: This is one of those books that you want to like, if you're interested in historical mysteries (which I am). The book is set at the end of the Civil War, and has a series of murders occurring, each replicating a punishment from Dante's Inferno. Into the breach step Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his "Dante Club," which is helping him translate the Inferno into English for the American audience, for the first time.
This leads to various plot twists and turns, and the story is quite entertaining, but there are problems, too. Some have criticized the story's authenticity, especially of the Civil War aspect of things, but the events described aren't historical per se in the first place, and while they're something of a stretch, they're certainly not impossible. More troubling, though, is the pacing of the book. Apparently, a novel, to be thought meaty these days, must be 300-400 pages. This book feels 175 or so, stretched to more than twice that. As a result, it sags considerably in the middle, and you wonder where the author is taking the plot as he plods through 40-page chapters where the action is rather slow. Towards the end, the chapters get shorter (8 pages or so) and the action more crisp, and you become engaged again.
So, while this is a good book, the editing could have been more crisp, the whole story shorter, and I think the book better as a result. In spite of this, however, I did enjoy it, and would recommend it, especially to those who have a literary bent.
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Summary: This book inspired me to start reading poetry again!
Review: If you want to visit Boston in the 1800's and become intimately familiar with the likes of Longfellow, Homes, and others.....Read this book! The author combines a deep, crafty murder mystery and a literary education all in one.
Excellent!
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Summary: A Great Read on the Importance of Male Friendship
Review: First, as an avid Civil War enthusiast, it was great fun to take a break from my usual diet of non-fiction to read a really good story with characters and events from the Civil War era. A few people have complained about mistakes in fact, as far as the War goes - I did find a few as well, but i don't think they detract from the story and certainly wouldn't be caught by the general public.
Most important, I really appreciated the importance Pearl seemed to place on male friendship - especially among the members of "The Club" - it really seems to be lacking in today's society and in today's writing. Whether the emphasis was purposeful or not, it was a nice departure from the post-modern sensibility of individualism that seems to crowd most of today's works.
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