The Darkest Places

INFERNO             By: Dan Brown                   5 Stars

As I was talking to a friend about this book it was brought up that the problem with Dan Brown is the fact that all of his books are similar. This is true. However, based on the content discussed in each book, I still feel like I am learning something (which for me is considered a perk that I look forward to while reading).

Dan Brown weaves his books with references to historical landmarks, art, literature, religion and science. It takes me quite a bit longer to finish his books as I am usually looking up images and researching topics as I go along.

Side Note: When I looked up the image of the Piazza del Duomo I was left breathless, when you add to that Giotto’s bell tower and the Baptistery of San Giovanni, which has Ghiberti’s bronze Gates of Paradise and black and white tiled floors, it sealed the deal of Florence being one of my Italian tour destinations.

In a previous entry I mentioned how I have “when the stars align” moments. This is where everything just seems to fit perfectly together without me planning the end result. This book was one of those moments. Inferno is based off the Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, which is composed of three canticas: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paridiso. Imagine my surprise when the book I read and reviewed just previous to this one (Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly) used the same Dante literature. Revolution also made references to The Divine Comedy and even broke the book into three sections: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.

The most profound quote in Interno is originally by Dante. It can be found referenced before the prologue as well as multiple times within the actual story. “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis”. This basically covers the entire book’s premise. How will you handle some of the greatest crises in your life? Pick up Inferno and discover how the characters handle theirs.