My review will be divided into sections, which I feel, is necessary to make a detailed discussion about this book. This edition of Dante Alighieri's Inferno is translated by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander. I purchased it on 24 August, 2021 for ₹914.

First, a little about myself. I am a 27-year-old, professor of English, and teach undergraduates in a reputed Kolkata college.

1. Choosing the right Dante translation

There are so many translations of Dante's work available that it might seem confusing at first. I wanted to buy the whole Divine Comedy in a single volume but chose instead to go for separate books for each poem. Therefore, the logical order is to first read the Inferno, then Purgatorio, and finally Paradiso.
There are many translations of The Divine Comedy. Here's a quick sum up of the editions available in the market: Allen Mandelbaum (Everyman's Classics) ; John Ciardi (Penguin USA) ; H.W. Longfellow (Om as well as Fingerprint) ; Robin Kirkpatrick (Penguin Classics). There are other translations by Dorothy L. Sayers and Mark Musa (also available from Penguin Classics). It is to be noted that only Mark Musa has separate volumes of the texts out of all these. So as you can see, the list is long and choosing the right version for yourself can be a daunting affair.

All the aforementioned translations, except Musa's, offer Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso in a one-volume text, meaning you get all 100 cantos in the same book. You don't have to buy Purgatorio and Paradiso separately.

All the aforementioned books are also cheaper in the sense that you get three books in one volume. At the time of writing this review, the Allen Mandelbaum Everyman's Classics is ₹1267; John Ciardi's is ₹981 and the other editions are well below ₹550.

2. Why did I choose the Hollander edition?

The Hollander translation by Anchor Books publishers is, in my opinion, the most detailed version of Dante available in the world. This is a bilingual text, meaning the original Italian is printed on the left side and the English translation is on the right.

However, this edition is priceless because of the exhaustive annotations, notes and commentary by Robert Hollander, who was a Princeton University graduate and later professor; a man who taught Dante for 42 years. This is the most readable, modern translation of the Inferno.

This is the only book out of all the aforementioned books that offers the Italian version side by side. Hollander's notes at the end of each canto is immensely helpful in understanding the subtle nuances of the text. You will understand it better if I told you that this book is 736 pages in length. Do you understand what I am saying? This is just the first part of the Divine Comedy. In other editions, you get all three books within a thousand pages.

The Allen Mandelabaum edition is 960 pages; John Ciardi 928 pages; Robin Kirkpatrick 752 pages. Mark Musa's version of the Inferno is 432 pages. This tells you the enormity of notes and annotations available in the Hollander edition.

I suggest you not to go for the H.W. Longfellow edition as it is a prose-translation and Dante is best enjoyed in poetry.

3. Which edition is the best suited for you?

I personally chose the Hollander edition because it has detailed annotations and offers the most readable English translation of Dante. The poem is written in terza rima, a three-line stanza rhyme scheme which was invented by Dante himself. This edition offers the poem in terza rima and appears the closest to the Italian.

Now, when it comes to buying, choose a version that most suits your needs.

If you want to save money and have all three parts of the poem in one volume, go for either Allen Mandelabaum or John Ciardi. With the Everyman's edition of Mandelabaum, you get the book in hardcover.

Get the Ciardi edition if you want a more lyrical rendering of the poem. Out of all the above mentioned translators, only John Ciardi has Italian roots. He was a native Italian speaker who translated Dante into English.

Get the Hollander edition if a detailed understanding of the poems is your priority. In that case, you will have to buy three separate books. Right now, the Hollander edition of Purgatorio, the second book of the Divine Comedy, is priced at ₹703. So if I buy it, I already will have paid ₹1617 for the first two books. I will of course also have to buy the third part, Paradiso. But I consider it a worthwhile investment considering that it offers me a much detailed resource. It also offers me the option of quoting the original Italian text if I choose to write research papers, or savour the cadence of Dante's Italian poetry.

If you want the books separately but don't want to shell out too much cash, get Mark Musa Penguin Classics edition. You will get all three books within ₹1200. It is also a well-loved version of the poem.

If you want a prose-style translation, go for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. These editions are also the most inexpensive of all available books.

If you want to get a little archaic flavor in an English translation, go for Dorothy L. Sayers. It is also the most convoluted and difficult to read translations of the Inferno.

4. Conclusion

If you are a casual reader and want to know what the fuss with Dante is all about, go for a one-volume edition. If you want to become an expert, go for Hollander. But most importantly, read the poem in large chunks. Read 8-10 pages at a time. Better yet, try to read at least one canto in a sitting. This will help you appreciate Dante more.

Also, for added context, read the essays on Dante by Nobel Prize winning Italian poet Eugenio Montale. The research of Peter Armour, who spent all his life studying Dante, is also immensely helpful. Just don't abandon all hope when you begin reading the maestro.

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Category	Ancient & Medieval Literature

The Inferno