A Modern Reader's Guide to Dante's the Divine Comedy

Rating:
Summary: Arguably the finest intro to Dante in English
Review: For the reader tackling Dante for the very first time, this might be the best book currently available. Though targeted at first time readers, this can also be helpful for those who need to review all the seemingly endless names the permeated the COMEDY on a second reading. There are three primary reasons that I so strongly recommend Gallagher's guide. First, it is geared to make Dante as accessible as possible without in any way trivializing or tritely popularizing the text. Second, for Gallagher reading Dante is not merely a question of spiritual devotion or literary adoration, but flat out fun. Reading Dante is and ought to be recognized as above all else flat out fun. Gallagher's enthusiasm and enjoyment of Dante pours out at every point. Third, although not geared to scholars, the book nonetheless was obviously written with an exceptional knowledge of the scholarly studies of the work, which is to say: the book is academically quite solid.

The book is arranged both simply and logically. First, after a foreword recommending the work by the most recent dean of Dante studies in the United States, John Freccero, and a preface by the author himself, Gallagher starts off with a series of questions that he anticipates any novice reader might have in approaching the text for the first time. By eliminating the connecting narrative and structure that this information would need if presented in essay form, Gallagher is able to compress a significant amount of helpful information in a very small amount of space. He then proceeds to provide a canto-by-canto commentary for each part of the COMEDY. He first discusses the action of each canto, and then makes a series of random comments on various aspects of the canto. The book concludes with a brief but helpful discussion of Dante's other surviving works and a bibliography.

For anyone wanting to read Dante for the first time, I recommend Gallagher's reader's guide above all other beginner's tools. Dante is not, as is often supposed, an especially difficult writer (with the caveat that there is much in Dante that remains impenetrable or mysterious for even lifelong scholars), but there are many mistakes that one starting off in Dante can easily make that can complicate reading him. There is also a confusing array of political characters, and while this in the long run is less of a problem than a beginner might imagine, Gallagher will serve as a reliable guide who will help the neophyte avoid many hazards and will point out many of the glories of Dante's great work.

Rating:
Summary: Tour Guide Available for Trip "To Hell and Back"
Review: Joseph Gallagher, a retired Catholic priest and professor, who has taught at such venerable institutions as John Hopkins, Notre Dame, Loyola, and Oxford presents on an easy-to-understand guide through the intricacies of Dante's imaginative work. Written in a conversational style that anyone can understand, this expert tutor of many students for over 50 years explains each of the characters canto by canto. The outline at the beginning is a great help. While it is not as analytical as that of Erich Auerbach's "Mimesis", this book is a valuable addition. It should prove indispensable for those who need a companion guide; the homeschooler's library should contain this erudite explanation.