REVIEW: Circles of Hell (Dante)

Book: Circles of Hell

Author: Dante

My rating: 2/5.

Premise: A terrifying depiction of sin and eternal damnation. Ten of the most memorable and most terrifying cantos from Dante's Inferno, the medieval epic that revolutionised the Italian language.

[⚠️ CW: torture]

OK, I'm not saying this was bad. I'm sure these cantos are works of art. But they very much went over my head. I think this would've made a lot more sense with an introduction, some notes, and maybe the rest of the Inferno! There were a lot of references to historical figures that I completely missed because I didn't know who they were. I feel like if I read the whole Inferno, I'd have to properly study and annotate it in order to understand. Dante's depiction of hell is indeed terrifying in parts, which surprised me given it was written in medieval times. On the whole, very confusing. I think I'd recommend just reading the whole Inferno rather than this little book.