Rating: 
Summary: Sublime!
Review: A robust, earthy, pungent rendering. I bought it at an airport bookshop thinking (as I often do in my own shallow way) that it would be a prestige addition to my on-board image (casually leaving the book, cover-up, on your seat as you head back-cabin to the lavatories, so as to impress your fellow passengers with your erudition). Instead, I found that I couldn't put it down. It was so gripping. I laughed out loud several times (thereby totally destroying the veneer of sophistication I was trying to cultivate). But it was well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a mastery in language style and plot
Review: After i read this book, I truly believes that this is one of the greatest epic poems of all time. The great story plot addressed was further enhanced by Robert Pinsky's traslation. Even though this book may be a bit hard to understand (i recommend you to buy cliff's notes), the language style of this great author truly leaves a literary mark in the history of literatures.
Rating:
Summary: Give 'em Hell, Dante!
Review: An amusing recent article on Dante in the New Yorker, by Tim Parks, inspired me to finally take the plunge into this cruel old poem. At first glance, there's a lot to dislike here. Dante, under the protection of his buddy Virgil, comes across as rather petty and mean, with a superior, I-told-you-so attitude. His piddling local concerns inform most of the cantos. Why should readers of this or any age give a flying *foccaccia* about the political feuds of medieval Florence? The population of Hell is also distributed with no regard to history, geography, or demographics: most of the people we encounter are either figures from antiquity or Dante's Italian contemporaries. Dante's practice of putting his enemies in Hell is certainly mean-spirited and smug, although good for a few laughs. Also, the sinner-sorting mechanism used by the monster Minos (who assigns all new arrivals to their proper circle &/or ditch according to the sin by which they've distinguished themselves) is simplistic and illogical. What does Minos do with a truly outstanding sinner who has excelled in all the fields of larceny, fraud, murder and treason, thereby becoming eligible for residence in a variety of circles? We never find out. But if we read the "Inferno" not as a guided tour of Hell but as an act of self-examination and self-accusation by Dante, the details snap into place and make sense. The poem becomes the haunting and poignant story of the pilgrimage of a soul who, "Midway on our life's journey," finds himself despondent and confused, a man worn down by exile, lost love, and the cruelties of political infighting. The lurid carnival of torments invented by Dante seems to me more a reflection of the turmoil of his inner self--with all its negativity and pettiness--than anything else. In any case, it's the execution, the details, that stay with you. Souls torn apart by beasts, boiling in blood, covered with scabs and excrement, transformed into talking trees, merging with demons to form grotesque new hybrids: it all anticipates the worlds of horror and science fiction centuries into the future. The final cantos, with the awesome deadness of the frozen lake and the gruesome depiction of Satan himself, are a true *tour de force*. Oh, the translation? It puts you right there, all the blood & guts up front and in-yer-face. Translating a poem so strictly constructed is bound to be something of a losing battle, but my hat's off to Pinsky. I hope he gets around to the two succeeding volumes.
Rating:
Summary: Review of Dante's Inferno
Review: At first, one may find The Inferno hard to understand, but with careful reading the reader will discover the book to be full of wonderful, descriptive, and gory detail. As Dante and his faithful leader, Virgil, voyage though the nine circles of hell, they encounter great poets, priests, enemies, friends, and heroes, and the two characters learn of their stories and punishments. Dante faints more than once due to being astonished by sympathy: "...my pity/ Overwhelmed me and I felt myself go slack: / Swooning as in death, I fell like a dying body." (Page 43). By Canto VIII, Dante finally realizes the souls should not be pitied, as they belong in hell for they have sinned. Virgil's reaction to Dante's first step of maturity and learning was kissing Dante to show his pride and joy: "...and then my guide/ Embraced me on the neck and kissed me..." (page 63). Throughout the epic poem, all of one's senses are alerted with the fabulous description of each circle, the beasts, giants, and the terrible punishments of the souls. As the two characters descend further into hell, the reader's knowledge is expanded by the many stories told by the souls and Dante himself (the author). Many Florentines were introduced and references made to tales and myths of Dante's time, which I did not understand at first; however, after discovering the notes on each chapter in the back of the book, I was able to grasp the meaning. With careful reading, one will find the book highly interesting and adventurous, filled with fabulous detail and wonderful information and stories of that time.
Rating: 
Summary: You've read the book; stay clear of the cassette
Review: Beware, Beware!! Pinksy's classic translation of Inferno has been badly served here. The worst villain -- I leave it to others to assign him a level in Hell -- is the producer. The cantos are separated from one another not only by an announcer announcing the beginning of the next canto, but by wierd computer generated or enhanced sounds: a wordless "singing" voice, something that sounds like crashing metal, something that could be bells or a steam heating system starting up. Worse is that these uselesss and distracting effects are recorded at a much higher volume level than the poetry so that if you've turned your sound way up to be able to hear, for example, Louise Gluck's little-girl-talking-in-her-sleep voice (more about this later), you are likely to find your speakers, your car windows (if you're driving) or the top of your head being blown off by this meaningless noise. And you get to figure out that, with Dantesque remorselessness, this noise or one of its truly infernal companions will pounce on you 30-odd times as you make your way through this tape set. And that it will be waiting for you like a wolf or a lion, or perhaps a leopard, each time that you play it.
The readings are a variable lot. Pinsky sounds as if he is chewing each of his words. Any word with "s"'s in it is an adventure, but his delivery is okay, if surprisingly inexpressive. Heaney is a little more expressive although it takes a while to get used to his Hibernian pronunciation. Bidart, who has a light, high-pitched voice, is the most interesting reader. He is responsive to the pulse of the lines and to the drama of their content. Gluck is simply horrible. She drones everything in a kind of monotone as if she were drugged or hypnotized. She swallows her consonants and might as well be reading recipes or phone listings for all the effect the words have on her delivery. She is also recorded at a low level or speaks very softly so that you find yourself straining to hear...and then some sort of overamplified BOOM crashes in on you. Not amusing after a few times.
I had looked forward to hearing this set both because I know Pinksy's translation and because I thought it would be instructive to hear real poets reading it. How wrong I was! Give me a reading by a trained actor or a poet with demonstrated reading skill any time. Of course, this one could have been read by Richard Burton and Vanessa Redgrave and would still be a trial because of the idiotic noises. What could the producer have been thinking?
Rating:
Summary: Superb translation -- horrible production
Review: Beware, Beware!! Pinksy's classic translation of Inferno has been badly served here. The worst villain -- I leave it to others to assign him a level in Hell -- is the producer. The cantos are separated from one another not only by an announcer announcing the beginning of the next canto, but by wierd computer generated or enhanced sounds: a wordless "singing" voice, something that sounds like crashing metal, something that could be bells or a steam heating system starting up. Worse is that these uselesss and distracting effects are recorded at a much higher volume level than the poetry so that if you've turned your sound way up to be able to hear, for example, Louise Gluck's little-girl-talking-in-her-sleep voice (more about this later), you are likely to find your speakers, your car windows (if you're driving) or the top of your head being blown off by this meaningless noise. And you get to figure out that, with Dantesque remorselessness, this noise or one of its truly infernal companions will pounce on you 30-odd times as you make your way through this tape set. And that it will be waiting for you like a wolf or a lion, or perhaps a leopard, each time that you play it.
The readings are a variable lot. Pinsky sounds as if he is chewing each of his words. Any word with "s"'s in it is an adventure, but his delivery is okay, if surprisingly inexpressive. Heaney is a little more expressive although it takes a while to get used to his Hibernian pronunciation. Bidart, who has a light, high-pitched voice, is the most interesting reader. He is responsive to the pulse of the lines and to the drama of their content. Gluck is simply horrible. She drones everything in a kind of monotone as if she were drugged or hypnotized. She swallows her consonants and might as well be reading recipes or phone listings for all the effect the words have on her delivery. She is also recorded at a low level or speaks very softly so that you find yourself straining to hear...and then some sort of overamplified BOOM crashes in on you. Not amusing after a few times.
I had looked forward to hearing this set both because I know Pinksy's translation and because I thought it would be instructive to hear real poets reading it. How wrong I was! Give me a reading by a trained actor or a poet with demonstrated reading skill any time. Of course, this one could have been read by Richard Burton and Vanessa Redgrave and would still be a trial because of the idiotic noises. What could the producer have been thinking?
Rating:
Summary: THE INFERNO OF DANTE TRANSLATED BY ROBERT PINSKY
Review: CONTENTS OF THE TEXTE FROM THE TRANSLATION OF THE INFERNO OF DANTE RELATED BY ROBERT PINSKY
Rating:
Summary: extremely readable, horrifying
Review: coupled with mazur's chilling, dark illustrations, this travelogue of the "point zero in the scale of cosmic love" should find many of a modern audience. pinsky's translation is fast, graceful and filled with pity, horror and the terrible beauty of the worst place in the universe.
Rating:
Summary: Pinsky brings Dante into the 20th century
Review: Dante is finally easy to read and not only that, but exciting, scary, and powerfully moving. Pinsky's translation places you at Dante's side as he travels through the dark abyss. This is such a sensual, earthy translation that at times I felt suffocated by the dark air of hell, cringed at the fate of a sinner, and nearly swooned at the harsh justice being played out before me. The action and excitement of the story occasionally sent shivers down my spine. The scene where Dante and Virgil are escorted through one of hell's circles by a pack of vicious demons, then must flee those demons had me on the edge of my seat! This book is for anyone who found Dante difficult or never understood what all the fuss was about. Pinsky does a great job of making the poem come alive. I found it read more like a movie than a book. Take a chance and read this book. It will be an experience you won't easily forget. As you leave hell with Dante, you will hear the screams of agony fading into the distance, feel the cool night breeze caress your face, and, once again, you will see the stars
Rating: 
Summary: Summary of the Inferno
Review: Dante's Inferno grips the reader throughout the journey to Inferno, or hell. With Virgil as his guide, Dante the author stars himself as the main character: a timid, curious man traveling among spirits through the nine levels of hell. On his journey he comes across every imaginable type of sinner, from the unbaptized to barrators to betrayers. He makes it through beasts, monsters, rivers, fires, and taunting spirits with the help of his master. Dante, as author, combines ancient mythological references with Christian beliefs to form a background and adventures for his Inferno; which reflect the lifestyle in Italy during a time of political and secular corruption. Pinsky translated this superb piece of literature with grace, transforming the Italian rhyme into a pleasing English translation with a terza rima scheme. A marvelous job indeed.
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