Inferno

by Robert Translators Holander and Jean Holander Dante Algher

Inferno (Hollander) by Dante Alighieri, Robert Translators Hollander and Jean Hollander. Anchor Press,2000

Genres: Classics

Paperback

Reviews

[Natalie Thorpe]

Ruins my health literally every time I read it! Truly will never pick it up again

[Brent Townley]

Good literal translation. I have to say that I prefer the Longfellow version the most though. I'm a sucker for fancy vocabulary. Used this for a book club this month. Its not as approachable as Musa but highly acclaimed and respected.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

How does one review The Divine Comedy?

I'll stick to reviewing the Hollanders' translation.

This is by far the most thorough and academic of the versions I read; the footnotes are often three or four times longer than the actual canto they're covering. If you want a Dante that will explain every single minuscule grammar choice, review the several-centuries-long debate between scholars about whether interpretation A or B is the most likely, and cite similar phrasings in Vergil or the Bible, this is the book for you. If you don't need five paragraphs on what exact almanac Dante was using to calculate star signs, I'd stick with a different version.

The translation itself was fine, with no attempt at rhyming in English. Which did probably make this the most straightforward and easy to read of any version of the poem itself.

[Josh Traylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is hard for me to say whether I prefer Hollander to Ciardi, in terms of translation, but Hollander definitely excels in the commentary department. I could not recommend this version enough to Dante readers of all levels, though my warning to beginners is this: do not get too bogged down in the commentary. Pick a few lines from each canto that interest you, read about those, then move on. As Dr. Lesley-Anne Williams has said before "Dante is a cosmos" and mastering the Divine Comedy in of itself is a lifelong journey, even for Dante scholars.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Exhausting. So many references to people and places, like I’m supposed to just know them all. It’s so tightly tied to its medieval context that it was hard to stay focused or care. I can see why it’s important, but reading it felt like a chore.

[Lian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but not the best choice for an audiobook, in retrospect (at least for me).

I need to find an annotated copy to re-read to understand all the references.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

“e però leva sù; vinci l’ambascia
con l’animo che vince ogne battaglia
se col suo grave corpo non s’accascia”

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest of all classics! I likethis edition, because the translation is the best I’ve seen, and the Italian is on each facing page. Also, the scholarly notes at the end of each Canto are very necessary to understand the poem.