Dante's Divine Comedy: Boxed Set [Hardcover]

Marcus Sanders (Author), Sandow Birk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2006

Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "a work of profound satiric fury" and by Bookpage as "funny and deeply affecting," Birk and Sanders' masterwork is now available for the first time in a substantial and sumptuous slipcased set. The pair's innovative and authentic adaptation of Dante's epic, coupled with Birk's striking play on Gustave Dor's classic illustrations, make this a Divine Comedy for the 21st century. Acclaimed by both the literary and art worlds; rife with contemporary turns of phrase and slang (just as the original poem was written in the vernacular of its day) and pointed visions of the afterlife as contemporary cities; and rich with bold allusion, cultural critique, and witthis is the must-have collection of modern classics.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sandow Birk is a recipient of Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships. He lives in Long Beach, California.

Marcus Sanders is a contributing editor for Surfing and Surfline, and has written for numerous magazines. He lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811856577
• ISBN-13: 978-0811856577
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 7.7 x 3.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent modern day translation of a great literary classic., January 17, 2007

By 

Edward A. Paull "Rogue Reader" (Barrington, RI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dante's Divine Comedy: Boxed Set (Hardcover)

I read the originals a long time ago and although I liked them, it was a very tough read. With this version, the modernistic settings, the captivating artwork, and the use of modern English language all help to make this a much more enjoyable story without losing any of the meaning from the original.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Modern Take on Italian Classic, December 8, 2009

By 

Ryan J. Ruckley "Book Bear" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dante's Divine Comedy: Boxed Set (Hardcover)

Initially, when I sought out Dante I wanted to read the original works suitably translated. Instead I found this box set which was very well presented. It wasn't until I received it that I realized that the text had been modernized, a process which I usually avoid.

Yet, upon completing Inferno, I found that a lot of the modernization made the read a lot more approachable when discussing such a heavy topic. Dante takes the reader on a journey through the depths of Hell in Inferno and finds familiar people whom he knew from 12th century Florence. Not knowing who these people were could make a better understanding of Dante's intent difficult. Instead, the authors of this edition substitute some of these Italian personalities and vulgarities, that perhaps not many know, with modern ones that are well known. By bringing the work out of the dark ages, I could understand better what Dante was getting at.

That being said, the authors themselves state that they didn't intend this book to be someones sole window into Dante and that people should really read a faithful translation as well as their modernized version. I believe this is the best course of action and one I intend to follow.

The presentation of the whole set is superb with color prints of all illustrations included separately should you wish to frame them. Some of the drawings are amazing and tie in well with the modernized text.

I would thoroughly recommend this set as a fresh look at the work of Dante which for its time was groundbreaking.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Set, January 9, 2010

By 

Lang M. Ho "Just Another Guy" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dante's Divine Comedy: Boxed Set (Hardcover)

I just received the set today and will update the review after I have read the books, but I feel the need to point out that amazon.com lists the set as a hardcover set. This is not accurate. The box that the books are in is very sturdy, but the books have non-rigid covers. It's a quality higher than paperback, but not what you would expect with amazon saying that it's a hardcover.

UPDATE: I have finished Inferno and have started on Purgatorio. I feel that commenting on the manner of translation and interpretation is more important for this set than the story itself since you can find summaries of the story all over and the reputation of the story can speak for it's quality.

With that said, this translation is very enjoyable. I had decided to read this story on my own (not within a class or a book club) and trying to trudge through the Longfellow version was difficult and ultimately felt like a waste of time. I think it was so difficult because the wording was not fluent at all. I picked up this version and noticed serveral things intrinsic to the storyline that I had not picked up before. It reads quite easily due to the modernized language. The main liberties taken by the authors are the sometimes awkward use of common English, the presence of things not available in the 14th century that are present in the illustrations (cars, helicopters, fire hydrants, etc.) and the insertion of figures not born before the writting of the Divine Comedy--some of which are still alive today. For the most part I felt these taken liberties were easy to spot making it easier to appreciate what value the authors thought it had to offer the story. All the same meanings of the Divine Comedy are there.


PROS:
Much, much easier to read with modernized language that isn't traslated word for word.
Accompanied by drawings that mock those by Dore. Very interesting and well done.
Use of characters from more recent history that help illustrate the deed being recognized.
Original content and meaning is still present.

CONS:
Authors' liberties are sometimes awkward and can usually be spotted quite easily.
Not a hardcover set as listed which is certainly what I had been hoping for with a set originally marked at $100.

Closing Comments:
I would strongly recommend this version to anyone trying to take on the Divine Comedy alone. I would also recommend this set to anyone who really enjoyed the Divine Comedy and are looking for another take on the storyline. In any case, I think the Divine Comedy is one that has also become necessary for cultural literacy these days and this set is a very easy and rather quick read.