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Summary: A great translation and good edition of Dante's masterpiece
Review: There is nothing that can be said about the Divine Comedy that has not been said before, and certainly nothing I could say would be worthy of such a monumental achievement in Western Literature. Instead, I would like to focus on the translation and edition of this work. Allen Mandelbaum's translation of this great epic is marvelous. He does an excellent job of maintaining the rhythm and fluency of the original, and leaves the reader with the same feel that I believe Dante himself intended for the poem. Though I believe the notes in John Ciardi's translation more thorough, Mandelbaum nevertheless provides adequate documentation that helps understand the poem better. The Everyman's version of this work is great--it's inexpensive, hardbound, and attractive. The paper is not the best, but for the price, it is a great value. And this version contains a good introduction and also a number of illustrations, believed to have been done in the fifteenth century, that depict various scenes in the poem and reflect the midieval feel. While I am not an expert on Dante translations, I was very impressed by this version of Mandelbaum's, and would highly recommend this one-volume set (a great value) as an excellent addition to the library of anyone who wants to include such classics as these in his library but doesn't want to spend a fortune on them.
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Summary: Possibly the best one-volume edition of Dante in English
Review: This Everyman edition of Allen Mandelbaum's superb translation of Dante's DIVINE COMEDY is my favorite one-volume edition currently in print in English. There are many very, very good things to say about this translation and edition. First and perhaps foremost, it contains Mandelbaum's remarkable translation of Dante, a translation often noted for being the best compromise between poetic rhythm, beauty, and accuracy. Of recent translations, the only one that I like as much as Mandelbaum's is Pinsky's great translation of the INFERNO, but unfortunately he has not, as has Mandelbaum, gone on to translate the entirety of Dante's masterpiece. Though Pinsky's translation is renowned for following the terza rima rhyme pattern, it actually reads more like a prose translation, primarily because he observes no meter for each line (Dante's original has eleven syllables per line, precisely like Shakespeare's famous line, "To be or not to be, that is the question"). Mandelbaum observes neither meter nor rhyme, but I personally find more of a poetic concentration of language than one finds in Pinsky. Most of all, Mandelbaum's translation is, like Pinsky's, highly readable and extremely dynamic. Until and if Pinsky completes his translation, Mandelbaum is likely to remain my favorite translation of Dante in English (though happily there are a host of very good translations, including those by Huse, Sinclair, and Singleton).
The volume is remarkably attractive, with a lovely dust jacket (not shown in the Amazon book photo), covers wrapped in cloth, non-acidic, nonreflective paper, and a ribbon bookmark. Also, the volume features a large number of Botticelli's illustrations of Dante, which obviously adds immensely to its value and its attractiveness. Also enhancing the volume's value is the marvelous introductory essay by Eugenio Montale and the comprehensive notes by Peter Armour. The only conceivable criticism of this volume is the absence of the Italian original, but that is not to be too regretted since its presence would have required so many additional pages that it would have been an unwieldy and unusable volume. One can get the Mandelbaum translation in either mass market paperback or hardback editions featuring each part with facing Italian.
The final thing to note is that one gets all these features in what is a very reasonably priced volume. I think for most readers of Dante, this is going to be the single volume of choice. Indeed, unless one especially wants the Italian text facing the English, this might be the edition of choice under any circumstances. The one edition that is clearly the supreme edition of Dante in English, that of Charles Singleton published by Princeton, is simply too expensive for all but the most serious readers of Dante. I will merely add that this is probably one of my favorite editions of any classic in my personal library. Obviously, I strongly recommend this version to anyone contemplating either reading or rereading Dante.
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Summary: This Book is a Great form of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
Review: This is one of the greatest books I have ever read, a must have for anyone's Personal Library. Other books to this subject are: Paradise Lost: John Milton The Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer These are the two that come quickly to my mind...
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Summary: A book that cannot be surpassed.
Review: This particular version of "Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy" Is not only a fine hardcover book with a handy bookmark ribbon, but the literature itself cannot be matched. The english translation has been carefully written so the stanza's would still be in rhyme with Dante's own aba bcb cdc... pattern. The poems and descriptions by Dante show a clear message of hell, purgatory, and heaven; which cannot be matched. I believe everyone should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A book that cannot be surpassed.
Review: This particular version of "Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy" Is not only a fine hardcover book with a handy bookmark ribbon, but the literature itself cannot be matched. The english translation has been carefully written so the stanza's would still be in rhyme with Dante's own aba bcb cdc... pattern. The poems and descriptions by Dante show a clear message of hell, purgatory, and heaven; which cannot be matched. I believe everyone should read this book.
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Summary: An Amazing Translation of a Timeless Masterpiece
Review: This translation of Dante's famous masterpiece is breath-taking. Without being too superflous, the text keeps the drama flowing. Without any doubt - the greatest poem ever written.
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Summary: Beautiful, masterfully dark allegory
Review: this was one of many great classics i read in a lit survey class but it stands out in my memory for its complex and brilliant allegorical, symmetrical plot
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Summary: Innacurate...
Review: Yeah I read this book in the downtown Celestial Library. I have to say that I was quite offended. This Dante charachter said that I was listed among the denziens of hell. (cf Canto V) THAT IS A LIE. I am in the Primordial Cyber Cafe in heaven writing this review. I am NOT in hell. I would like to clear my name of all judgement. Are you thinking about reading the "Divine Comedy?" Well let me tell you this. I have been here amoung the denziens of Heaven for over 800 years. I have not ONCE seen this Dante character. You be the judge!
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