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| Photo from www.barnesandnoble.com |
4.5 out of 5 stars
One line review:
A thriller full of surprises that doesn't make you feel as if you've lost brain power by reading it.
Ok, this is my favorite Dan Brown to date, possibly because the subject deals with biology rather than physics. Specifically human world population. The title comes from the fact that the characters are immersed throughout in scenes and references to Dante's epic poem The Divine Comedy.
In Inferno Dr. Robert Langdon is again called upon to use his skills as an art historian and iconographer to stop a deadly threat, the unleashing of a pandemic plague rivaling the Black Death. Langdon and new friend Dr. Sienna Brooks must also, of course, evade high level security teams while doing it. The plot and central theme center around the overpopulation of humanity, what that means for the future, and especially various controversial solutions. The science/religion theme that is prevalent in Brown's prior work is still present. The dynamics and interconnections between these two seemingly opposing camps are interwoven into the story through various eyes, including an eccentric genius and world health leader, successfully exploring the problem of overpopulation from various perspectives. Though this debate is the intellectual "meat" of the book, there is still lots of artwork to enjoy. The reader is led through Florence, Venice, and a portion of Istanbul by an expert guide, one who spends equal time on history, architecture, literature, sculpture, and paintings. I highly recommend this book to anyone, and would consider it a great conversation starter for a bookclub or even a high school classroom.
Here are a couple of the pieces mentioned in the book and a resource for reading The Divine Comedy.
1. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri- This site allows you to read Dante's poem in your choice of languages and translations. Dr. Langdon and I would suggest the Mandelbaum translation for English readers.
2. Botticelli- La Mappa Dell'Inferno
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3. Dante Death Mask
2 comments:
I bought this book as a Christmas gift for my stepfather and he loved it. I think that I would be so interested to look up all of the references. Thanks for including a couple here. Neat review!
No problem. Thanks for reading and letting me know you're out there!
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