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The Dante Club #1
The Dante Club
In 1865 Boston, the members of the Dante Club -- poets and Harvard professors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J.T. Fields -- are finishing America's first translation of The Divine Comedy and preparing to unveil Dante's remarkable visions to the New World. The powerful Boston Brahmins at Harvard College are fighting to keep Dante in obscurity, believing that the infiltration of foreign superstitions onto American bookshelves will prove as corrupting as the immigrants living in Boston Harbor.
As they struggle to keep their sacred literary cause alive, the plans of the Dante Club are put in further jeopardy when a serial killer unleashes his terror on the city. Only the scholars realize that the gruesome murders are modeled on the descriptions from Dante's Inferno and its account of Hell's torturous punishments. With the lives of the Boston elite and Dante's literary future in America at stake, the Dante Club must find the killer before the authorities discover their secret.
The Dante Club is a magnificent blend of fact and fiction, a brilliantly realized paean to Dante, his mythic genius, and his continued grip on our imaginations.
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First published February 4, 2003
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About the author
Matthew Pearl
37 books1,403 followersNote from the author:Hi everyone. My newest novel is The Dante Chamber, out May 29, 2018. It's a follow-up to my debut novel, The Dante Club, but you do not have to read one before the other, each stands on its own two feet. Hope you'll enjoy any of books you choose to pick up.
Matthew Pearl's novels have been international and New York Times bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Atavist Magazine, and Slate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Matthew's books are part of "the growing genre of novel being written nowadays -- the learned, challenging kind that does not condescend." Globe and Mail declares him "a writer of rare talents," Library Journal calls Matthew "the reigning king of popular literary historical thrillers," and the New York Daily News raves "if the past is indeed a foreign country, Matthew Pearl has your passport." Matthew has been chosen Best Author for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.
In addition to Goodreads, you can keep in touch and learn more at my website, www.matthewpearl.com, and:
Twitter: @matthewpearl
Facebook: fb.me/matthewpearlauthor
Instagram: matthewpearlauthor
Matthew Pearl's novels have been international and New York Times bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Atavist Magazine, and Slate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Matthew's books are part of "the growing genre of novel being written nowadays -- the learned, challenging kind that does not condescend." Globe and Mail declares him "a writer of rare talents," Library Journal calls Matthew "the reigning king of popular literary historical thrillers," and the New York Daily News raves "if the past is indeed a foreign country, Matthew Pearl has your passport." Matthew has been chosen Best Author for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.
In addition to Goodreads, you can keep in touch and learn more at my website, www.matthewpearl.com, and:
Twitter: @matthewpearl
Facebook: fb.me/matthewpearlauthor
Instagram: matthewpearlauthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,866 reviews
December 6, 2007
This novel is the reason you should never buy a book just because the cover says it's a New York Times Bestseller. It's a badly-constructed murder mystery set in Boston, in which a group of famous poets bands together to stop a series of murders inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy -- think Da Vinci Code, but with elderly characters who have an overdeveloped sense of self-importance and who aren't even terribly likable. The story also jumps back and forth through time without any warning, making it confusing and difficult to follow.
February 24, 2008
Save yourself some time and read Dante's "Inferno" instead.
June 23, 2007
This marvelous book is a superlative example of numerous genres: historical fiction and mystery being two examples. While the premise of engaging famous historical figures in a mystery is intriguing, Pearl never allows this element to drive the narrative. His characterizations of Longfellow, Holmes and Lowell are so brilliant, the reader forgets that they are icons of literary history, and views them as intense and vivacious fictional characters.
This is not beach-reading, but instead an intellectual journey through Boston of the 1860s. Pearl is subtle but firm when he integrates statements about racial tension, academic politics, and even the neglect of soldiers suffering from the horrors of war.
While built on an intellectual premise, one needs not be familiar with Dante to enjoy this book. The author manages to introduce those unfamiliar with Dante to the thrill of the Inferno, without belittling those who may already know the great work. This is rarely accomplished with finesse, but Pearl manages to do it with literary aplomb.
This is not beach-reading, but instead an intellectual journey through Boston of the 1860s. Pearl is subtle but firm when he integrates statements about racial tension, academic politics, and even the neglect of soldiers suffering from the horrors of war.
While built on an intellectual premise, one needs not be familiar with Dante to enjoy this book. The author manages to introduce those unfamiliar with Dante to the thrill of the Inferno, without belittling those who may already know the great work. This is rarely accomplished with finesse, but Pearl manages to do it with literary aplomb.
April 19, 2016
LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! I have to be honest, since I teach high school English and cover and teach the classics day in and day out, my at-home reading pursuits are typically of the "get lost in an easy read" variety. I picked this book up at a garage sale for $1.. the best buck I ever spent! The book is definitely a little more "high brow" in the context of the literary scene and some of the language and took me about 60 pages to really get into it, but then I was hooked completely. The murder is the part that keeps you riveted. The fact that it's historical fiction is intriguing and fun to read. I honestly didn't have a working knowledge of Dante beyond the answer-a-few-Jeopardy-questions variety and found that my interest is sparked and I think I need to read Longfellow's translation. Darn you Matthew Pearl! LOL.. and here I was all geeked to get lost in a mindless novel and you make me THINK on my day off! GEEZ! : )
September 2, 2008
This author sure does name drop: "Dante", "Harvard", etc. Granted, I read this book because of that Dante name drop, even though I don't really like murder mystery type novels. (Consider that my disclaimer.) It's an attempt at an intelligent book that, despite the author's bio, I just don't feel quite accomplishes that. It deals entirely with the Inferno and nothing past that. The time period allowed for horse dysentry to cause a transportation meltdown and little girls to exclaim "oh, poppa!" (pretty much the only female characters, by the way), but the author didn't quite take me there. It attempts to deal with race and other such issues, but felt very superficial. The metaphors, though, were what killed me. I didn't find it lyrically poetic at all, though some are laugh out loud funny in the "he can't really be serious" sort of way. While I hope it encouraged some people to read Dante, I didn't really take anything from it. I give it one star because it is better than many other books out there, I suppose, but very close to being a complete waste of time.
May 4, 2010
Pearl is a good writer and the theme is engrossing for those familiar with Dante's magnum opus. However, the author's smug tone and obvious conviction of his own brilliance married my enjoyment of what could have been a perfectly acceptable literary mystery. I could also have done without the cheap-horror graphics of victims being eaten by insects etc regarding the various colorful murders, but I suppose Pearl was trying to convey some of the feeling of revulsion invoked by the torments described in Inferno. Also, despite the many hypothetically-interesting factors (murder! Dante! Victorian scholarship!) it was somehow a bit dull. Rather, I suppose, as many undergrads seem to find the Comedy, which I love.
February 24, 2008
I was at a show (as in indie rock, guitar and drums and beer) in a faraway city [this did not happen in Seattle, although you would expect it to, since this town is so flippin' small], it was past midnight, I think it was the 8th or 9th band we had seen that day, and a person who had joined our group, who I had never met before, was wearing a tee shirt that said "So many books, Not enough time" or something like that, and we were waiting for the band to start so I said, so, what book are your reading now, and he told me, then I told him I had read this great book called "The Dante Club" and went on about it for a bit, and this woman standing next to us interrupted and said, "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation -- I'm Matthew Pearl's agent!" (or whatever it is they are called in the publishing business). What a great story. And what a great book!
November 5, 2008
The Dante Club is a wonderful debut novel from Matthew Pearl. It is the story of the Fireside Poets - Henry Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell - who initially form the Dante Club to assist Longfellow in finishing the first American translation of Dante Alighieri's Commedia Divina.
The book starts off with the gruesome murder of Judge Healy, probably the most intense beginning to any book I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The reader finds Healy left out in his own back yard, naked, his clothes folded neatly and left to the side, his head nearly eaten out by maggots... it is a scene to behold.
And one that seems oddly familiar to the Dante Club. Was it not Dante himself who saw the Opportunists in the Inferno with a white flag next to them and maggots and wasps constantly picking at their flesh? With more people in high places dying, the Dante Club notices the pattern and begins an investigation to find their "Lucifer."
In conjunction to their hunt for "Lucifer," the Dante Club faces the dastardly Harvard School who is hell-bent on making sure that the Dante Club's dream of publishing the translated poem never becomes realized.
Pearl creates a well-researched book with rich historical details that perfectly capture post Civil War America. Having read the above description, you can tell that the book is extremely graphic, so it is not recommended for the light of heart. And as far as mysteries go, this one will keep you on your toes up until the very end.
(Overall, I give it a 9 out of 10 and only because once we did find out who Lucifer was there was an entire chapter of expository writing explaining why this was so and how this person got so screwed up - I kind of wanted that left to the imagination).
The book starts off with the gruesome murder of Judge Healy, probably the most intense beginning to any book I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The reader finds Healy left out in his own back yard, naked, his clothes folded neatly and left to the side, his head nearly eaten out by maggots... it is a scene to behold.
And one that seems oddly familiar to the Dante Club. Was it not Dante himself who saw the Opportunists in the Inferno with a white flag next to them and maggots and wasps constantly picking at their flesh? With more people in high places dying, the Dante Club notices the pattern and begins an investigation to find their "Lucifer."
In conjunction to their hunt for "Lucifer," the Dante Club faces the dastardly Harvard School who is hell-bent on making sure that the Dante Club's dream of publishing the translated poem never becomes realized.
Pearl creates a well-researched book with rich historical details that perfectly capture post Civil War America. Having read the above description, you can tell that the book is extremely graphic, so it is not recommended for the light of heart. And as far as mysteries go, this one will keep you on your toes up until the very end.
(Overall, I give it a 9 out of 10 and only because once we did find out who Lucifer was there was an entire chapter of expository writing explaining why this was so and how this person got so screwed up - I kind of wanted that left to the imagination).
January 26, 2009
A cool premise mired in humdrumery and bludgemongering. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell and their publisher J.T. Fields comprise the Dante Club, a group of Harvard scholars who are attempting to birth the first American translation of Dante's Divine Comedy. As they near completion of their work, a serial killer is on the loose in Boston, copying scenes from the Inferno into grisly murders of some of the city's most notable citizens. The Dante Club, then, attempts to discover the identity of the killer before he murders again and spoils their version of Dante's masterpiece by associating it with his vile crimes. Like I said, it is a cool premise; the setting is the early winter of 1865 in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, and the main characters, all based on American literary legends, are well done. But I had trouble focusing on this book for an extended period of time; it was just kind of boring sometimes. A more specific complaint: a couple of the book's minor characters, street criminals specifically, have dialogue that, while it may be authentic to the time and setting, is so bafflingly nonsensical and includes such obscure slang and verbiage that it made me want to chuck this mediocre tome into some roaring hearth on the next wet and bracing New England night that I live to see.
January 14, 2025
“He was outwardly calm but inwardly bleeding to death.”
Historical fiction mixed with fact. The kind of thing I really like. This one is a bit like the film SEVEN, but here the madman is using Dante’s Inferno instead of the seven deadly sins as a template to carry out a series of quite horrific murders. Enter the Dante Club. Holmes, Lowell, Fields and Longfellow (real historical figures). It’s up to them to solve this insane mystery before more people are slain.
Overall, this was just ok. I think I enjoyed this learning experience more than the story itself. The highlight for me was the dialogue between the main characters which was excellent, puts you right in the room with the books, cigars, the fantastical beards and various other forms of facial hair. I gave this a 4, it’s quite a generous score tbf but I did feel like a learnt something. Those first 50 pages though..... like someone dangling live eels in your face, not very nice.
Historical fiction mixed with fact. The kind of thing I really like. This one is a bit like the film SEVEN, but here the madman is using Dante’s Inferno instead of the seven deadly sins as a template to carry out a series of quite horrific murders. Enter the Dante Club. Holmes, Lowell, Fields and Longfellow (real historical figures). It’s up to them to solve this insane mystery before more people are slain.
Overall, this was just ok. I think I enjoyed this learning experience more than the story itself. The highlight for me was the dialogue between the main characters which was excellent, puts you right in the room with the books, cigars, the fantastical beards and various other forms of facial hair. I gave this a 4, it’s quite a generous score tbf but I did feel like a learnt something. Those first 50 pages though..... like someone dangling live eels in your face, not very nice.
March 28, 2020
Surprinzator, "Clubul Dante" reprezinta cartea de debut a lui Matthew Pearl. Acesta avea doar 24 de ani cand a fost publicat de o editura mare din America si a devenit bestseller mondial. Iata asadar ca desi multa lume considera tineretea ca un impediment, autorul demonstreaza ca in ceea ce priveste succesul, poate fi un avantaj. Asadar, de fiecare data cand cineva ne spune "esti prea tanar pentru asta", trebuie sa ne vedem in continuare de drumul nostru.
Romanul este foarte interesant, un adevarat thriller istoric in care dam peste niste asasinate savarsite intr-un mod ciudat chiar socant, cu o naratiune inchegata si cu anumite imagini macabre asemanatoare Divinei Comedii a lui Dante Alighieri. Aceste scene s-ar putea ca la un moment dat sa fie prea mult pentru unii cititori mai sensibili, cum este cea in care un judecator celebru este gasit plin de larve ale unor muste de mult disparute ca specie. Trecand peste aceasta imagine destul de respingatoare, descoperim personaje erudite, simpatice si cu mult caracter.
Lectura nu este chiar usoara, abundand in detalii si evenimente cu multe fire epice, astfel incat cititorului i se poate parea greu sa le urmareasca pe toate mai ales ca se vrea descoperirea identitatii unui asasin.
In incheiere, consider ca romanul este un must-read pentru fanii marelui poet italian si nu trebuie omis pentru ca merita citit.
Romanul este foarte interesant, un adevarat thriller istoric in care dam peste niste asasinate savarsite intr-un mod ciudat chiar socant, cu o naratiune inchegata si cu anumite imagini macabre asemanatoare Divinei Comedii a lui Dante Alighieri. Aceste scene s-ar putea ca la un moment dat sa fie prea mult pentru unii cititori mai sensibili, cum este cea in care un judecator celebru este gasit plin de larve ale unor muste de mult disparute ca specie. Trecand peste aceasta imagine destul de respingatoare, descoperim personaje erudite, simpatice si cu mult caracter.
Lectura nu este chiar usoara, abundand in detalii si evenimente cu multe fire epice, astfel incat cititorului i se poate parea greu sa le urmareasca pe toate mai ales ca se vrea descoperirea identitatii unui asasin.
In incheiere, consider ca romanul este un must-read pentru fanii marelui poet italian si nu trebuie omis pentru ca merita citit.
July 30, 2024
i didn't realise it was about old men, and i don't want to read about old men.
October 17, 2017
I would call Matthew Pearl's style the fictional counterpart to "historian" Erik Larson's. I put historian in quotes because much of what Larson writes is either made up, or written in such a novelized way as to seem preposterous to people who actually read history books. Both writers pad their tomes with layers of bloat. The plots move forward, but only in slow motion, because they are dragging so much unnecessary ballast. I was on p. 125 or so of Pearl's novel before I started to feel like the book might have a destination. It wasn't really worth getting there.
There are four prominently featured members of the Dante Club: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., poet James Russell Lowell, and publisher J.T. Fields. Only Longfellow seems distinguishable from the rest. Holmes, Lowell, and Fields merge into a barely differentiated mass. Much of the novel consists of these three twittering like sparrows in a bush and traipsing meaninglessly around Boston and Cambridge. Pearl gives Ralph Waldo Emerson a tiny cameo role, and somehow manages to make him the most interesting person in the novel:
Watching Emerson's facial gestures while he spoke was like watching a grown man cross a brook on stepping-stones, and the cautious selfishness in this image distracted Holmes from his anxieties.
And, "But you once said to me that Dante's introduction to America would be one of the most significant achievements of our century!" Holmes insisted.
"Yes." Emerson considered this. He liked to take all sides of an issue whenever possible.
Read
January 24, 2024À medida que ia lendo, comecei a reconhecer a história e acabei por me lembrar que afinal já li este livro, só que na versão original. Foi através do Bookcrossing e há bastantes anos, em 9 de Janeiro de 2007. Na altura gostei bastante, e o facto de não ter lido Dante não foi um problema.
February 12, 2020
This is my third attempt to finish this. I kept getting pulled away from it and as it was so complicated, I could not just pick up where I left off. So, had to go back to the beginning.
The setting is post-Civil War Boston. Popular 19th Century writers, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Lowell, along with their publisher, Henry Fielding, are translating Dante's Inferno into English. At the same time, murders start occurring which mimic the punishments from the descending levels of Dante's hell. Concerned about their own reputations, the fate of the translation, not to mention future victims, draws our intrepid writers into the investigation.
This is a very violent book which is why it only gets three stars from me, despite its literary premise and heroes. It made me want to read more works by the above-listed American writers.
The setting is post-Civil War Boston. Popular 19th Century writers, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Lowell, along with their publisher, Henry Fielding, are translating Dante's Inferno into English. At the same time, murders start occurring which mimic the punishments from the descending levels of Dante's hell. Concerned about their own reputations, the fate of the translation, not to mention future victims, draws our intrepid writers into the investigation.
This is a very violent book which is why it only gets three stars from me, despite its literary premise and heroes. It made me want to read more works by the above-listed American writers.
February 4, 2019
The Dante Club is a good historical mystery written by Matthew Pearl.
In 1865, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with the help of few other literary giants is at the task of translating Dante's Divine Comedy. Resistance arises from many corners to stop the "foreign literature" becoming part of the American literary culture. Then the crimes happen. The methods employed in the killings resemble the punishments described in Dante’s Inferno. Is this another attempt to discredit the efforts of the Longfellow's Dante Club? Or is there any other motive? The Dante Club must find the answers or they and Dante's Divine Comedy will face terrible consequences.
The book is a mixture of real historical facts and a well-crafted fictitious story. Most of the characters were real persons and the main ones are celebrated poets. This is one of the most interesting features that I have found in Pearl books. He chooses characters from well-loved authors and poets (at least in the three I have read). This feature gives realism to the story. And in this story, the poets of the Dante Club assumes the role of detectives in their attempt to find the serial killer who is lurking around ready to strike again bringing punishment from Dante's Hell.
It was an interesting read. There were many surprising twist and turns. The historical facts relating to the time of Dante translation were quite intriguing. Having read this after reading Dante's The Divine Comedy, the story had more appeal. However, I found the flow of the story not smooth and the pace, slow. There was suspense, but it was build up very slowly and only towards the end.
Overall, despite the little flows, I enjoyed the read. How can you otherwise, when Dante is involved?
In 1865, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with the help of few other literary giants is at the task of translating Dante's Divine Comedy. Resistance arises from many corners to stop the "foreign literature" becoming part of the American literary culture. Then the crimes happen. The methods employed in the killings resemble the punishments described in Dante’s Inferno. Is this another attempt to discredit the efforts of the Longfellow's Dante Club? Or is there any other motive? The Dante Club must find the answers or they and Dante's Divine Comedy will face terrible consequences.
The book is a mixture of real historical facts and a well-crafted fictitious story. Most of the characters were real persons and the main ones are celebrated poets. This is one of the most interesting features that I have found in Pearl books. He chooses characters from well-loved authors and poets (at least in the three I have read). This feature gives realism to the story. And in this story, the poets of the Dante Club assumes the role of detectives in their attempt to find the serial killer who is lurking around ready to strike again bringing punishment from Dante's Hell.
It was an interesting read. There were many surprising twist and turns. The historical facts relating to the time of Dante translation were quite intriguing. Having read this after reading Dante's The Divine Comedy, the story had more appeal. However, I found the flow of the story not smooth and the pace, slow. There was suspense, but it was build up very slowly and only towards the end.
Overall, despite the little flows, I enjoyed the read. How can you otherwise, when Dante is involved?
February 9, 2017
I don't know why I've even read this book. What I expected ?
Well, let's count: Dante, it's obvious. And some great american poets solving mystery crimes in Boston. Oh, and 19th-century Boston itself. Sounds good, isn't it ? Such a good topic and what ? Nothing. Boredom, overwhelming boredom and some disgust. To paraphrase Poe boredom there and nothing more . Agreed, only Boston emerged unscathed from it. I'd better re-read Divine Comedy instead of this rubbish. I read somewhere about similarity to Eco's The name of the rose. You must be kidding me !
It's awful to think what the author could do with Poe and good old Dickens. Those two stars are for an idea. I appreciate author's effort but the final effect was unsatisfying .
Well, let's count: Dante, it's obvious. And some great american poets solving mystery crimes in Boston. Oh, and 19th-century Boston itself. Sounds good, isn't it ? Such a good topic and what ? Nothing. Boredom, overwhelming boredom and some disgust. To paraphrase Poe boredom there and nothing more . Agreed, only Boston emerged unscathed from it. I'd better re-read Divine Comedy instead of this rubbish. I read somewhere about similarity to Eco's The name of the rose. You must be kidding me !
It's awful to think what the author could do with Poe and good old Dickens. Those two stars are for an idea. I appreciate author's effort but the final effect was unsatisfying .
April 24, 2019
Combining a host of literary figures with a well known literary work such as Dante’s Comedy, and a murder mystery, seems like a sure shot way to entertain, educate and enlighten via the novel. Also a guarantee of best-seller status.
Matthew Pearl has hit on this formula and his first three books cover Dante, Poe and Dickens mixed in with the dark shadows of a whodunit in each. In The Dante Club, his debut, we are introduced to literary luminaries such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J.T. Fields, all stalwart members of the Dante Club, a loose association of intellectuals connected with Harvard University. Led by Longfellow, the club is intent on translating the works of Dante into English for publication in America, much against the desires of the Harvard Corporation and other Boston Brahmins (local aristocracy) who want to maintain their Unitarian and Presbyterian beliefs and do not wish to be polluted by Catholic and sinful Italian literature.
The earlier part of the book dwells on the political and literary challenges facing the translation and gives us a glimpse into the lives of the principle characters, mainly into the life of Dante, a man exiled from his beloved Florence, who wrote his masterpiece while under banishment, and who was never allowed to reunite with his lover Beatrice. “Dante writes like Rembrandt, with a brush dipped in darkness and a gleam of hellfire as his light.” We also get a good depiction of post-civil war Boston, with its demobilized and discarded union soldiers struggling to survive, it’s intelligencia, it’s academic hegemony, its divided police force, and its rivalry with New York for supremacy in publishing. We learn that black police officers were not allowed to wear uniforms or arrest a white person without another officer being present! We even get some choice period words like “lushington” and “delirious tremendous,” uttered by the inebriated lower classes. Pearl, being a Dante scholar, spares no pains in painting this period thickly in a clunky vintage narrative style. A bit too thickly I thought, if the other side of this book—the murder mystery—was going to quickly engage into gear and take us at a faster clip.
And when we do finally engage, people start dying, in ways that resemble Dante’s journey through Hell. The deadly contrapasso falls upon each of the victims based on some bad deed they had committed during their lives. Whether being eaten by maggots while alive, or being buried headfirst with feet afire, or being sliced up and left to die, or being buried alive in ice, the killings are brutal and is the work of a maniac. The victims are all opponents of the Dante Club’s project, and its core members who are men of letters and not of action are soon bumbling along head over heels in search of this elusive killer who is able to pre-empt the next chapter of their translation and kill according to its narrative.
That’s when the plot deteriorates into contrivance. The killer’s ability to listen in on key conversations of the Dante Club and the Harvard Corporation, and his ability to be everywhere at once is a bit of a stretch. So is the sudden attack of hoof and mouth disease that conveniently (or inconveniently) lands all the city’s horses in quarantine. I also wondered how Dr. Holmes, an asthmatic, was able to outrun his attacker and crawl into narrow underground spaces with little or no air. The author also has some difficulty with stagecraft when it comes to actions scenes, especially when many players are on stage and many voices are talking in the same scene. I am hoping that his later books tackle this element better, for it is not an easy skill to master.
Of course, all is revealed at the end, and the literary luminaries of the Dante Club go on to greatness as the history books will attest, and this little episode will be conveniently excised so that it remains only in the annals of fiction. I found this novel an engaging spotlight on the lives of Longfellow and Co., a good primer on the interesting bits of Dante, and a revelation on the conditions of the American North at the conclusion of the civil war. It appears that America had its own Inferno during that disastrous war, and that the poets of the Dante Club, with access to the survivors still proudly wearing their uniforms if nothing else, could have written a “Made in America” version of the Divine Comedy to rival the original.
Matthew Pearl has hit on this formula and his first three books cover Dante, Poe and Dickens mixed in with the dark shadows of a whodunit in each. In The Dante Club, his debut, we are introduced to literary luminaries such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J.T. Fields, all stalwart members of the Dante Club, a loose association of intellectuals connected with Harvard University. Led by Longfellow, the club is intent on translating the works of Dante into English for publication in America, much against the desires of the Harvard Corporation and other Boston Brahmins (local aristocracy) who want to maintain their Unitarian and Presbyterian beliefs and do not wish to be polluted by Catholic and sinful Italian literature.
The earlier part of the book dwells on the political and literary challenges facing the translation and gives us a glimpse into the lives of the principle characters, mainly into the life of Dante, a man exiled from his beloved Florence, who wrote his masterpiece while under banishment, and who was never allowed to reunite with his lover Beatrice. “Dante writes like Rembrandt, with a brush dipped in darkness and a gleam of hellfire as his light.” We also get a good depiction of post-civil war Boston, with its demobilized and discarded union soldiers struggling to survive, it’s intelligencia, it’s academic hegemony, its divided police force, and its rivalry with New York for supremacy in publishing. We learn that black police officers were not allowed to wear uniforms or arrest a white person without another officer being present! We even get some choice period words like “lushington” and “delirious tremendous,” uttered by the inebriated lower classes. Pearl, being a Dante scholar, spares no pains in painting this period thickly in a clunky vintage narrative style. A bit too thickly I thought, if the other side of this book—the murder mystery—was going to quickly engage into gear and take us at a faster clip.
And when we do finally engage, people start dying, in ways that resemble Dante’s journey through Hell. The deadly contrapasso falls upon each of the victims based on some bad deed they had committed during their lives. Whether being eaten by maggots while alive, or being buried headfirst with feet afire, or being sliced up and left to die, or being buried alive in ice, the killings are brutal and is the work of a maniac. The victims are all opponents of the Dante Club’s project, and its core members who are men of letters and not of action are soon bumbling along head over heels in search of this elusive killer who is able to pre-empt the next chapter of their translation and kill according to its narrative.
That’s when the plot deteriorates into contrivance. The killer’s ability to listen in on key conversations of the Dante Club and the Harvard Corporation, and his ability to be everywhere at once is a bit of a stretch. So is the sudden attack of hoof and mouth disease that conveniently (or inconveniently) lands all the city’s horses in quarantine. I also wondered how Dr. Holmes, an asthmatic, was able to outrun his attacker and crawl into narrow underground spaces with little or no air. The author also has some difficulty with stagecraft when it comes to actions scenes, especially when many players are on stage and many voices are talking in the same scene. I am hoping that his later books tackle this element better, for it is not an easy skill to master.
Of course, all is revealed at the end, and the literary luminaries of the Dante Club go on to greatness as the history books will attest, and this little episode will be conveniently excised so that it remains only in the annals of fiction. I found this novel an engaging spotlight on the lives of Longfellow and Co., a good primer on the interesting bits of Dante, and a revelation on the conditions of the American North at the conclusion of the civil war. It appears that America had its own Inferno during that disastrous war, and that the poets of the Dante Club, with access to the survivors still proudly wearing their uniforms if nothing else, could have written a “Made in America” version of the Divine Comedy to rival the original.
December 21, 2013
I wish I had spent my time reading Dante's "Inferno" rather than wasting my precious hours on "The Dante Club." I usually give a book 50 pages and if it doesn't grab me by then, I stop reading it. In spite of the fact that this one failed my 50 page test miserably, I was determined to finish it because it was a book club pick, so I forced myself to read one chapter every day--a grueling chore from beginning to end.
Matthew Pearl writes what is part murder mystery and part historical fiction about a series of murders taking place in the 19th century Boston of Lowell, Longfellow, and Holmes--major characters here--who are in the process of translating Dante's "Inferno" when the murders take place. What a great premise for a book, right? That's what I thought when I started reading "The Dante Club," but Matthew Pearl failed in his execution. For one, he failed to breathe life into these historical figures as characters. A telltale sign was that my mind wandered whenever I started reading, and the characters kept merging in my mind because they were not well drawn or defined. So while it failed for me in this regard as historical fiction, it also failed as a murder mystery.
While I am not a fan of murder mysteries in general, I have read enough of them to know that clues should be given along the way that invite readers to play along and try to solve the puzzle (as is done well in Orhan Pamuk's "My Name is Red," for example). No such clues were given here. The best parts of this book were the literary minutiae about the attitudes Lowell and Longfellow had about Emerson, Poe, and Whitman (whom they disparage on more than one occasion), which made me laugh a little in recognition. It turns out the joke was on Lowell, Longfellow, and Holmes, since people today actually still read and study Poe, Whitman, and Emerson. Was Pearl trying to be humorous there? It wasn't clear (since the book seems to take itself so seriously), and that was another weakness of the book for me. Moreover, none of the minutiae Pearl provided was new to me since my area of specialization in graduate school was 19th and 20th century American literature, which makes it even more puzzling just what audience Pearl is writing to if even I could barely get through "The Dante Club." When Pearl finally does start to delve into the psychology of the killer (which was intriguing), it was too little, too late.
Besides these failures, Pearl's writing was clumsy and uneven. He needs to use pronouns once in a while to avoid repetition of the characters' names, but then again, maybe if he had done that, it would have emphasized the poor character development even more. "The Dante Club" was not my kind of book, and I wouldn't recommend it, but at least it made me want to revisit Dante's "Inferno," so I guess it wasn't a complete waste of time.
Matthew Pearl writes what is part murder mystery and part historical fiction about a series of murders taking place in the 19th century Boston of Lowell, Longfellow, and Holmes--major characters here--who are in the process of translating Dante's "Inferno" when the murders take place. What a great premise for a book, right? That's what I thought when I started reading "The Dante Club," but Matthew Pearl failed in his execution. For one, he failed to breathe life into these historical figures as characters. A telltale sign was that my mind wandered whenever I started reading, and the characters kept merging in my mind because they were not well drawn or defined. So while it failed for me in this regard as historical fiction, it also failed as a murder mystery.
While I am not a fan of murder mysteries in general, I have read enough of them to know that clues should be given along the way that invite readers to play along and try to solve the puzzle (as is done well in Orhan Pamuk's "My Name is Red," for example). No such clues were given here. The best parts of this book were the literary minutiae about the attitudes Lowell and Longfellow had about Emerson, Poe, and Whitman (whom they disparage on more than one occasion), which made me laugh a little in recognition. It turns out the joke was on Lowell, Longfellow, and Holmes, since people today actually still read and study Poe, Whitman, and Emerson. Was Pearl trying to be humorous there? It wasn't clear (since the book seems to take itself so seriously), and that was another weakness of the book for me. Moreover, none of the minutiae Pearl provided was new to me since my area of specialization in graduate school was 19th and 20th century American literature, which makes it even more puzzling just what audience Pearl is writing to if even I could barely get through "The Dante Club." When Pearl finally does start to delve into the psychology of the killer (which was intriguing), it was too little, too late.
Besides these failures, Pearl's writing was clumsy and uneven. He needs to use pronouns once in a while to avoid repetition of the characters' names, but then again, maybe if he had done that, it would have emphasized the poor character development even more. "The Dante Club" was not my kind of book, and I wouldn't recommend it, but at least it made me want to revisit Dante's "Inferno," so I guess it wasn't a complete waste of time.
October 29, 2018
This is not a long book, but it often felt that way. Verbose, densely-written, with constant references to the state of literature - and publishing - in Boston just after the end of the Civil War. It really helps if the reader has some knowledge of the history, location, and the social and political complexities of the time. Seriously, it often assumed we all know who Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes and a few others are. Now I do know, but I still mixed them up.
I'd be reading about one of them dashing off somewhere and then the scene would change to the study of a house where another was sitting, reading, perusing - and I'd think, wasn't he just running down the road? No, no, no! Get your famous, mid-nineteenth century New England, literary figures straight!
The story: there are a series of gruesome murders going on in Boston which mimic some of the deaths in Dante Alighieri's famous 'Divine Comedy,' specifically from the 'Inferno.' (The three men mentioned above, along with publisher James Field, are involved in studying and translating Dante's famous work.) They become bedeviled and bewildered by how the murders and book are connected. There's also a subplot which weaves its way in and out of the story concerning the Harvard Corporation, a group which wants to restrict or ban Dante's work, viewing it as too vulgar - and too Catholic - for consumption by both the young men at the university and the public in general.
There are other elements in the book, too, including the intense racial prejudice directed at former slaves who have moved north. This includes one who is biracial and has been hired as the state's first black police officer. (However, he can't arrest white citizens and has to wear civilian clothes.) Women are present, but usually in the background, being the frail, helpless creatures they are, and there's concern about the new influx of immigrants, mostly Irish and Italian. (Both groups are hated equally.) There's the state of the church, mostly Unitarian, and commentaries on public morals and expectations, politics and crime, the rise of a somewhat coordinated police force, and so forth. In fact, the book often did my head in and I'd think...
I need to look that up in Wikipedia!
But I seldom did. I went with the flow, whether confused or not, and found the entire novel to be mostly entertaining. I also read much of it in a rather 'sleepy state' as the World Series (2018) was going on. I'd read before, after, and sometimes during the games, setting it aside to cheer or scream at the TV.
But it held my interest and I'll probably read the sequel.
Four stars
I'd be reading about one of them dashing off somewhere and then the scene would change to the study of a house where another was sitting, reading, perusing - and I'd think, wasn't he just running down the road? No, no, no! Get your famous, mid-nineteenth century New England, literary figures straight!
The story: there are a series of gruesome murders going on in Boston which mimic some of the deaths in Dante Alighieri's famous 'Divine Comedy,' specifically from the 'Inferno.' (The three men mentioned above, along with publisher James Field, are involved in studying and translating Dante's famous work.) They become bedeviled and bewildered by how the murders and book are connected. There's also a subplot which weaves its way in and out of the story concerning the Harvard Corporation, a group which wants to restrict or ban Dante's work, viewing it as too vulgar - and too Catholic - for consumption by both the young men at the university and the public in general.
There are other elements in the book, too, including the intense racial prejudice directed at former slaves who have moved north. This includes one who is biracial and has been hired as the state's first black police officer. (However, he can't arrest white citizens and has to wear civilian clothes.) Women are present, but usually in the background, being the frail, helpless creatures they are, and there's concern about the new influx of immigrants, mostly Irish and Italian. (Both groups are hated equally.) There's the state of the church, mostly Unitarian, and commentaries on public morals and expectations, politics and crime, the rise of a somewhat coordinated police force, and so forth. In fact, the book often did my head in and I'd think...
I need to look that up in Wikipedia!
But I seldom did. I went with the flow, whether confused or not, and found the entire novel to be mostly entertaining. I also read much of it in a rather 'sleepy state' as the World Series (2018) was going on. I'd read before, after, and sometimes during the games, setting it aside to cheer or scream at the TV.
But it held my interest and I'll probably read the sequel.
Four stars
September 4, 2010
As a very self centered principle, I despise coffee that is not too strong or gone cold for it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This book gave me similar feelings. Built on a foundation of Boston in the 1850's, the lushly fertile literary backdrop of Harvard, historical figures of the like of Emerson, Henry Longfellow, Dante's Divine Comedy that develops into a string of murders....but all this combined brings a very dull thriller to the reading table.
The author tries dropping a lot of heavy names into the plot : Dante, Emerson,Harvard,the Civil War, Racial Bigotry all in the hope of making an erudite thriller but I must say Mr. Pearl, the closing chapters were a literal hogwash. All these characters who instead of saying a simple "damn it" utter "By the lord in heaven, I will be thrown to the deepest abyss of hell" and the climax made them all seem like blundering idiots.
Enough of stone throwing, I don't want to keep on writing words on words about a book which I did not like. Keeping the plot aside, there were some parts I did like, the ambiance being but one of them.
P.S : I should have run away from this book when I saw Dan Brown wrote that this book was amazing...my bad, I should never listen to this guy again...
The author tries dropping a lot of heavy names into the plot : Dante, Emerson,Harvard,the Civil War, Racial Bigotry all in the hope of making an erudite thriller but I must say Mr. Pearl, the closing chapters were a literal hogwash. All these characters who instead of saying a simple "damn it" utter "By the lord in heaven, I will be thrown to the deepest abyss of hell" and the climax made them all seem like blundering idiots.
Enough of stone throwing, I don't want to keep on writing words on words about a book which I did not like. Keeping the plot aside, there were some parts I did like, the ambiance being but one of them.
P.S : I should have run away from this book when I saw Dan Brown wrote that this book was amazing...my bad, I should never listen to this guy again...
May 15, 2011
It is 1865 and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow works on finishing his translation of Dante Alleghieri's Divine Comedy with the help of four of his friends, some of New Endland's brightest literary stars, when Boston becomes the scene of the most gruesome murders they've ever heard of. The police are baffled and only the members of the Dante Club know that the killer has taken a few pages out of the Divine Comedy itself and it is up to them to stop him.
"John Kurtz, the chief of the Boston police, breathed in some of his heft for a better fit between the two chambermaids." This is the first sentence of this book and it gives us a glimpse into the style of Matthew Pearl's writing. It's clever and witty but not simplistic and at a time when majority of books are written in such a conversational language it's a pleasant change of pace. It also fits the period and serves to create the atmosphere of the formality common in the higher levels of the 19th century society even in familiar company. And what a company it is! Longfellow, Holmes and Lowell were the rock stars of their time and yet Pearl paints such intimate and vivid portraits of them that by the time I turned the last page I felt like I knew them and their doting families. Of course this wasn't accidental - the author perused the poets' personal archives as part of his research for the novel. It still is delightful to see historical figures come to life the way they do here.
With amateurs acting as investigators it would be easy to categorize the book as a cozy mystery but I would say it falls somewhere between that and a hold-on-to-your-seat thriller, thanks to the fast pace and the gruesomeness of the murders, which are described in rather graphic detail. Of course this is 19th century poets being detectives so they were more horrified than majority of us readers would be, what with TV being what it is nowadays.
I appreciated that Mr. Pearl included some information on the plot and characters of Inferno as part of the story - I haven't read Dante yet and this saved me from having to put down the book to look things up online or wonder whether I've possibly missed something. It may seem a bit odd that Longfellow would need to explain what happened in the poem and why to his colleagues, all Dante efficionados, but it kept me reading so I'm not complaining.
What also kept me reading is the elusiveness of the killer's identity. I like to guess who the culprit is as more clues are revealed and here there were plenty of candidates yet the real murder managed to hide in plain sight until the very end. Bonus points to Mr. Pearl for keeping up the suspense.
This books is not just about Dante and murder though, it is also about the effects of war. The events take place after the Civil War and the effect it has on the American people as a whole and the separate individuals is very similar to what is happening in our country now with the veterans of the war in the Middle East coming home scarred for life, them and their families dealing with the consequences of their experiences every day. The gravity of this subject creates a stark contrast with the rest of the story. Granted, there are the horrors of the murders but the fact that it goes much deeper than the effects of literature on an unstable mind I think is as much a startling revelation for Holmes and the rest as it was for me, the reader. It helps demonstrate just how little their daily lives as litterateurs prepared them for the realities life outside of their gloved circle, the realities of hunting a killer.
I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction who appreciate a suspenseful mystery, intelligent storytelling, compelling characters and a villain you can't believe you missed.
Read more of my reviews at Bibliophile's Corner
"John Kurtz, the chief of the Boston police, breathed in some of his heft for a better fit between the two chambermaids." This is the first sentence of this book and it gives us a glimpse into the style of Matthew Pearl's writing. It's clever and witty but not simplistic and at a time when majority of books are written in such a conversational language it's a pleasant change of pace. It also fits the period and serves to create the atmosphere of the formality common in the higher levels of the 19th century society even in familiar company. And what a company it is! Longfellow, Holmes and Lowell were the rock stars of their time and yet Pearl paints such intimate and vivid portraits of them that by the time I turned the last page I felt like I knew them and their doting families. Of course this wasn't accidental - the author perused the poets' personal archives as part of his research for the novel. It still is delightful to see historical figures come to life the way they do here.
With amateurs acting as investigators it would be easy to categorize the book as a cozy mystery but I would say it falls somewhere between that and a hold-on-to-your-seat thriller, thanks to the fast pace and the gruesomeness of the murders, which are described in rather graphic detail. Of course this is 19th century poets being detectives so they were more horrified than majority of us readers would be, what with TV being what it is nowadays.
I appreciated that Mr. Pearl included some information on the plot and characters of Inferno as part of the story - I haven't read Dante yet and this saved me from having to put down the book to look things up online or wonder whether I've possibly missed something. It may seem a bit odd that Longfellow would need to explain what happened in the poem and why to his colleagues, all Dante efficionados, but it kept me reading so I'm not complaining.
What also kept me reading is the elusiveness of the killer's identity. I like to guess who the culprit is as more clues are revealed and here there were plenty of candidates yet the real murder managed to hide in plain sight until the very end. Bonus points to Mr. Pearl for keeping up the suspense.
This books is not just about Dante and murder though, it is also about the effects of war. The events take place after the Civil War and the effect it has on the American people as a whole and the separate individuals is very similar to what is happening in our country now with the veterans of the war in the Middle East coming home scarred for life, them and their families dealing with the consequences of their experiences every day. The gravity of this subject creates a stark contrast with the rest of the story. Granted, there are the horrors of the murders but the fact that it goes much deeper than the effects of literature on an unstable mind I think is as much a startling revelation for Holmes and the rest as it was for me, the reader. It helps demonstrate just how little their daily lives as litterateurs prepared them for the realities life outside of their gloved circle, the realities of hunting a killer.
I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction who appreciate a suspenseful mystery, intelligent storytelling, compelling characters and a villain you can't believe you missed.
Read more of my reviews at Bibliophile's Corner
July 13, 2019
I've had a couple of Matthew Pearl's historical mysteries on my book shelf for awhile now. I'm glad that I finally dusted off The Dante Club and read it. In some ways it reminded me of Caleb Carr's The Alienist.
The book is set in the mid 1800's. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and a select group of friends, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russel Lowell and J.T. Fields get together once a week to translate Dante's Inferno into English. This is not popular with the corporation that runs Harvard University led by Victor Manning, who feels it a heretical activity, and he is trying to do everything in his power to ruin their reputations and to stop their activity. Into this mix is a horrendous murder. The four gradually realize that the murder is related to their translations; the type of murder similar to the tortures suffered in the various levels of Hell by those people.
They begin an investigation into the murder (soon to become a series of murders) and are assisted by a black police officer, the first in Boston, Nicholas Rey. Each murder is related to a different level of Hell.
The concept is very interesting and the characters are as well. I also liked the setting, 1960's Boston, after the Civil War. You have a city peopled with veterans of the Civil War, many suffering from PTSD, a strong criminal element (even among the police force) and the winter climate. It was such a neat concept. The story did wander at times but that didn't really matter. The crimes are a bit gruesome but they aren't belabored.
I enjoyed the story and look forward to trying another of Pearl's books. If you'd like a different mystery, give it a try. (3.5 stars)
The book is set in the mid 1800's. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and a select group of friends, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russel Lowell and J.T. Fields get together once a week to translate Dante's Inferno into English. This is not popular with the corporation that runs Harvard University led by Victor Manning, who feels it a heretical activity, and he is trying to do everything in his power to ruin their reputations and to stop their activity. Into this mix is a horrendous murder. The four gradually realize that the murder is related to their translations; the type of murder similar to the tortures suffered in the various levels of Hell by those people.
They begin an investigation into the murder (soon to become a series of murders) and are assisted by a black police officer, the first in Boston, Nicholas Rey. Each murder is related to a different level of Hell.
The concept is very interesting and the characters are as well. I also liked the setting, 1960's Boston, after the Civil War. You have a city peopled with veterans of the Civil War, many suffering from PTSD, a strong criminal element (even among the police force) and the winter climate. It was such a neat concept. The story did wander at times but that didn't really matter. The crimes are a bit gruesome but they aren't belabored.
I enjoyed the story and look forward to trying another of Pearl's books. If you'd like a different mystery, give it a try. (3.5 stars)
January 7, 2023
I thought this was going to be way better. A murder mystery featuring a killer with a predilection for Dante sounds incredible, but this book was so slow. After an incredible first chapter it took forever to get going, and by time the action started it was too late for me. Action is even a strong word, because there wasn’t nearly enough of it. Well written, great concept, just fell short for me unfortunately.
October 9, 2017
Historical mystery set in 19th century Boston. A series of gruesome murders inspired by the punishments in Dante's Inferno is terrifying the people of Boston. Meanwhile the poets Longfellow and Lowell are fighting a battle against the governing body of Harvard who are resisting their attempts to bring Dante to the attention of Americans. The two poets, plus Oliver Wendell Holmes and publisher JT Fields, apply their literary skills to solving the murders and tracking down the killer.
Interesting mystery - I liked the setting and the literary protagonists, and enjoyed the way Pearl connected Dante's work with the murders. The book had a pretty slow start and it took me a while to get into it and to work out who everyone was. It also had a drawn out ending where the resolution of some of the minor plot strands was rather laboured. However, overall it was clever and unusual. 3.5 stars.
Interesting mystery - I liked the setting and the literary protagonists, and enjoyed the way Pearl connected Dante's work with the murders. The book had a pretty slow start and it took me a while to get into it and to work out who everyone was. It also had a drawn out ending where the resolution of some of the minor plot strands was rather laboured. However, overall it was clever and unusual. 3.5 stars.
October 18, 2007
When my friend was describing the book to me and read one of the quotes about the book on the cover, I asked, "Who gave that review? Dan Brown?" Yup.
It's a lot like the Da Vinci Code. A pretty good crime novel with some interesting historical and literary info tossed in, but overall you can sort of check out when you're reading it. The historical fiction aspect of it is an interesting twist. And the murder descriptions are grisly enough to give the plot some momentum. I wasn't able to predict the ending, so it was a bit of a surprise. But, the motive of the killer was more or less random. Yes, it connected the dots of all the crimes, why they were committed and how they were committed, but after examining the motives, it was like, "OK, severe PTSD, mixed with a little crazy."
The literary sleuths were OK, but didn't really do a whole lot for me. The book almost made me want to read the Divine Comedy...until I remembered that it is a long-ass epic poem.
It's a lot like the Da Vinci Code. A pretty good crime novel with some interesting historical and literary info tossed in, but overall you can sort of check out when you're reading it. The historical fiction aspect of it is an interesting twist. And the murder descriptions are grisly enough to give the plot some momentum. I wasn't able to predict the ending, so it was a bit of a surprise. But, the motive of the killer was more or less random. Yes, it connected the dots of all the crimes, why they were committed and how they were committed, but after examining the motives, it was like, "OK, severe PTSD, mixed with a little crazy."
The literary sleuths were OK, but didn't really do a whole lot for me. The book almost made me want to read the Divine Comedy...until I remembered that it is a long-ass epic poem.
August 10, 2008
So a major fan of literature, murder and mystery should love this book right? Well thats what I thought too but I struggled with this one and couldnt wait to finish it..Its not that the book isnt great or doesnt have potential it is just too verbose and tedious..The book has alot of words and descriptive passages and flashbacks that take away from the fast paced murder mystery aspect and it makes the book drag. On a happier note or perhaps a more morbid one there are some gruesome and well detailed death scenes definitely not for the squeamish and it has changed my outlook on maggots and flies forever..I recommend this book only for those interested in the way something is said versus what is said and for those that enjoy an intelligent author with a great plot and dont mind the wordiness..
June 7, 2007
Well, it took me two tries, but I finally managed to get past the disgusting maggots at the beginning. Note: do not read this book while eating.
I found this book to be quite interesting and full of incredibly vivid descriptions that I would have called beautiful if the subject matter had been different. As it was, I found myself dreaming about Civil War amputations the night after I finished the book. And yet, I wasn't particularly moved by the story. It felt like it was attempting to be deep about something, about the mystery of the murders and Dante, and yet failed, in the end, when the mystery was revealed.
My favorite part of the book was seeing features of Boston nowadays in their original context.
I found this book to be quite interesting and full of incredibly vivid descriptions that I would have called beautiful if the subject matter had been different. As it was, I found myself dreaming about Civil War amputations the night after I finished the book. And yet, I wasn't particularly moved by the story. It felt like it was attempting to be deep about something, about the mystery of the murders and Dante, and yet failed, in the end, when the mystery was revealed.
My favorite part of the book was seeing features of Boston nowadays in their original context.
December 15, 2024
I enjoyed this book for its historical skippy-hoppy into 19th-century America. Longfellow, Lowell, and Oliver Wendall Holmes all play characters in this murderous thriller, and I actually started believing some of their cud chewing. Mix that with Dante's Inferno and you have a rather original novel.
Matthew Pearl's writing had me eagerly tagging along until the 2/3 mark, and then I started to flag a bit, just as I flagged when first reading Dante. There are only so many Circles of Hell I can endure in one reading. Still, it's inventive and meant for October afternoons when the sun sets earlier, and the dark comes on quicker.
Book Season = Autumn (bone chill)
Matthew Pearl's writing had me eagerly tagging along until the 2/3 mark, and then I started to flag a bit, just as I flagged when first reading Dante. There are only so many Circles of Hell I can endure in one reading. Still, it's inventive and meant for October afternoons when the sun sets earlier, and the dark comes on quicker.
Book Season = Autumn (bone chill)
March 23, 2019
Han pasado más de diez años desde que lo leí, pero lo recuerdo como si fuera ayer:
Verano en la playa, regalo de cumpleaños, sinopsis potente, nada podía salir mal... hasta que salió.
La novela comienza de forma muy lenta. Es cierto que en cuanto se supera el primer tercio, el ritmo mejora en cierto modo, pero el final tampoco me pareció que estuviera a la altura de las circunstancias.
Definitivamente El club Dante no es La divina comedia. No es comedia y mucho menos aún... divina.
Verano en la playa, regalo de cumpleaños, sinopsis potente, nada podía salir mal... hasta que salió.
La novela comienza de forma muy lenta. Es cierto que en cuanto se supera el primer tercio, el ritmo mejora en cierto modo, pero el final tampoco me pareció que estuviera a la altura de las circunstancias.
Definitivamente El club Dante no es La divina comedia. No es comedia y mucho menos aún... divina.
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