I’ve been attempting to read this book since I was what, twelve?? I enjoy it thoroughly, but I simply find it impossible to get through. I’ve read some other notoriously difficult books, (Ulysses, finnegans wake, the brothers karamazov, house of leaves… though maybe these aren’t comparable?) and read them rather quickly, (though DEFINITELY felt how difficult they can be) but I just can’t with this book. It’s beautifully composed in its writing, but I forgot the former lines just as I read them, get headaches, and just generally have to read lines multiple times to get them through my head, and I end up getting frustrated and putting it down time after time.
Is there any way to get through this book in its entirety? Finding any way to make it a little less gruelling whilst reading? Would love to hear as I’d love to finally finish it.
by paradiseoflocusts
4 Comments
Read the Hollander translation. The notes are a bit much but they’re very helpful.
Read a summary of a canto (easily found online) before attempting to read it in a good translation.
Persevere, my friend. Reading Dante is like eating soup with a fork. Challenging, but nourishing.
I like the Hollander translations. The notes can be helpful. I also love the Robert Pinsky translation of the inferno. The audiobook version is really good, read by three great poets: Bidart, Heaney, and Pinsky.