Perschon

Both Robert Fagles translation and Ian McKellen's reading are superb. However, at about five hours in, the recording began to exhibit technical glitches related to speed. I re-downloaded the audiobook, but to no avail. No matter how good McKellen is, listening to someone's voice slowed down or sped up is too annoying, especially for a work that already demands so much attention.

Dante's visions during the first part of the comedy often strike me as proto-horror, with other elements anticipating fantasy and science fiction, but I don't think the work needs me to provide a synopsis. Wikipedia can give you that. The trouble with finding a good audiobook of Dante's work is finding one that has a good translation for listening, along with a narrator who doesn't drive you mad. In my experience, classic narrators often strike a really aggrandized, pretentious voice, which they don't need to. And that's why I love this translation by Herbert A. Kennedy, narrated by Grover Gardener. It's a great vernacular translation (Dante was writing in the language of the people) read without lofty tone. I've listened to two other versions of Dante's Inferno, and this unabridged version of the entire Divine Comedy is my favorite.