Paradiso [Paperback]

Dante (Author), Robert Hollander (Translator), Jean Hollander (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2008

With his journeys through Hell and Purgatory complete, Dante is at last led by his beloved Beatrice to Paradise. Where his experiences in the Inferno and Purgatorio were arduous and harrowing, this is a journey of comfort, revelation, and, above all, love-both romantic and divine.

Robert Hollander is a Dante scholar of unmatched reputation and his wife, Jean, is an accomplished poet. Their verse translation with facing-page Italian combines maximum fidelity to Dante's text with the artistry necessary to reflect the original's virtuosity. They have produced the clearest, most accurate, and most readable translation of the three books of The Divine Comedy, with unsurpassable footnotes and introductions, likely to be a touchstone for generations to come.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A beautiful translation of the astonishing fourteenth-century poem. . . . The best on the market. . . . If you haven't read the Divine Comedy now is the time.”
—The New Yorker

“Paradiso . . . contains some of the most exhilarating poetry ever written. . . . Robert Hollander is one of the pre-eminent Dante scholars of our time.”
—The New York Times

“For our time and for an incalculable future the Hollander translation of The Divine Comedy will be the one used by serious readers. . . . Splendid as this new translation is, the endlessly valuable notes are what make this edition supplant all others.”
—National Review

“The Hollanders' version is supple and clear, a triumph.”
—The Los Angeles Times

“Very likely the most enduring, both as a literary achievement and for its commentaries.”
—Atlantic Montly

About the Author

Jean Hollander has taught literature and writing at Brooklyn College, Columbia University, Princeton University, and the College of New Jersey, where she was director of the Writers’ Conference for twenty-three years. She recently published her third book of poems.

Robert Hollander, her husband, taught Dante’s Divine Comedy to Princeton students for forty-two years, and is the author of a dozen books and more than seventy articles on Dante, Boccaccio, and other Italian authors. He is Professor in European Literature Emeritus at Princeton and the founding director of both the Dartmouth Dante Project and the Princeton Dante Project. He has received many awards, including the gold medal of the city of Florence and the gold florin of the Dante Society of America, in recognition of his work on Dante.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; Reprint edition (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140003115X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400031153
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollander edition is great for first time or for studying, July 1, 2010

By 

Ian - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Paradiso (Paperback)

Whether you're reading the Comedy for the first time or you need it for a class, you can't go wrong with the Hollander edition. Each of the 3 books--Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso--includes a diagram of where Dante is going; an outline of each canto; side-by-side Italian/English translation; extensive, easy-to-read explanatory notes after each canto; and a couple of helpful indexes. These books are worth the money!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, complete, May 22, 2010

By 

Rachel Pretasky (Henderson, Nevada, US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paradiso (Paperback)

Robert and Jean Hollander offer a complete line-by-line translation for the Inferno, Purgatorio, and the Paradisio. One page is the Italian verse and the page next to it is the exact same text translated into English. The end notes take up 3-4 pages after every canto. This is truly the best Commedia.

5.0 out of 5 stars Dante, Paradiso; tr. by Robt. Hollander (Princeton), March 14, 2011

By 

C. R. Davis - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paradiso (Paperback)

This is the third part of the Divina Commedia.

Robert Hollander, a Princeton professor (now retired), has devoted his career to the study and teaching of Dante. His translation into English does a fine and aestheticaly pleasing job of carrying the meaning of the Italian original into the English version. The two versions are printed on facing pages in this book. Dr. Hollander's wife, Jean, has assisted him in his work on all three parts of the translation of the Commedia.

This is an excellent translation. The meaning comes through clearly. The Hollanders supply good and very thorough supporting notes throughout, canto by canto.