Saturday, March 25, 2006

Book Review #8 of 2006

Warning: if you like a good novel, this is the kind of book you will stay up Way Too Late reading. The Tenth Circle
The Tenth Circle
is compelling, heartbreaking and very well-written. I've read many books by this author and they never disappoint.


The title of the book is derived from the fact that the mother in the story is a Dante scholar, the father is a graphic novelist whose latest work is on a Dante theme, and the whole family is thrust into a hell, partially of their own making. In this book, as in others by Picoult, nothing is quite as it seems, and there is the trademark twist at the end. I kind of saw this one coming, but I admit that I was looking for it.

Yes, the book is violent; the violence comes from within (rage) and without (rape). The main characters and others have to learn to live with the consequences of both.

Oddly enough, as I was finishing up this book with its many references to Divine Comedy
Divine Comedy


I read this interesting article about high-school kids studying Dante on their own time.

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