Book Reviews for April’s Reading

Divine Comedy: Volume II Purgatorio by Dante

I have read Dante’s Inferno several times for classes in college. However, I have never read the second volume of the Divine Comedy, and I was not disappointed.

The version I read, was the annotated notes for each canto of the poem. This poem is not easy reading and finding the annotations brings more light to the rich symbolism and intended purpose.

The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain

I was disappointed with The Paris Wife this was very sad. I was hoping for a happy romantic story. Rather, it was a story of an unhappy marriage and how it fell apart based loosely on Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley.

I Found the novel discouraging and could not even finish it. The narrator of the story is his wife Hadley as she tells the story of their courtship and marriage and the falling apart of their marriage. Hadley has really low self-esteem in the fact she is always putting herself down in the stories making remarks about her lack of intelligence or, her lack of stylish clothing or how she not what he really wants etc. The Paris Wife, I found was quite depressing and really sad. I do not recommend if you are looking for a happy read.