The Divine Comedy

By: Dante Alighieri, Herbert A. Kenny - translator

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

This unique poetic translation by Herbert A. Kenny, historian and poet, is the first that incorporates the Biblical, theological and historical allusions of the greatest poem in Christendom into the text itself. It can now be appreciated without a glossary or accompanying notes. Listen as the liquid lines take you through the horrors of the "Inferno", the mysteries of "Purgatorio" and the glories of "Paradiso".

©2008 Audio Book Contractors, Inc. (P)2008 Audio Book Contractors, Inc.

I'd read the cliff notes first

Difficult book because it's so not part of everyday European History with all the people he's talking about. Read twice now and still don't feel like I caught the gist of the book.

Best combination of Translation and Narrator

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.

A Truley Divine View of This Classic Masterpiece

The author's extensive knowledge and enthusiasm about the topic brings out the world of Dante's Divine Comedy like I have never experieced before reading these poems over the years. If you are at all interested at all in this classic work, then don't hesitate and pick up this masterful course.

The Divine Comedy: A Modern Translation

When I found this classic book on Audible, I was intimidated by other translations. Those translations used what I consider to be antiquated language, making it difficult for me to comprehend those audio samples. This version, however, is unique. The translation is what I consider to be 20th or 21st-century wording, so it reads like a modern novel/horror story. The dialog and plot are clear, without flowery and antiquated phrases which could interfere with comprehension in the modern world.

Additionally, the selection of Grover Gardner to narrate was another reason I chose to buy. As an actor, Grover's method of narration draws me into the story and keeps me engaged. If anyone reading this review is seeking a modern translation of the Dante classic, I highly recommend this!

A Timeless Depiction Done to Absolute Perfection..

Dante did a masterful job here and coupled with the excellent narrative by Grover Gardner this was without a doubt a true joy to listen to.

The imagery created by Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso was done immensely well. I found Dante's depiction of Inferno (Hell) exceptionally well written and the translation of Herbert Kenny seems to have done it justice. I personally thought that it was the best of the three explained in this prose. I say that not to take away from the impact that Purgatorio (Limbo) and Paradiso (Heaven) created because those two (2) sections were also quite impressively worded and translated. One would think that due to the somewhat specific mention that was made to certain persons, places and cultural idiosyncrasies that was very evident in the book that it would be difficult to follow at times but I found it very easy to follow. It really is quite timeless if you ask me, it should be able to resound quite well if you are interested in any theological writing or if you are simply a fan of expertly written prose of epic proportions. There is nothing I can take away from the writing itself and outside of someone simply disagreeing with the concepts he puts forward I doubt there is anything anyone will be able to take from it.

There are a number of different versions of this book on the website and I was very concerned by the reviews regarding the narration until I came across this one. I started listening to this title very critical because I was essentially preparing for the worse... but I was surprised... Pleasantly so! The narrator did in fact do the book justice! He keeps the pace well and was able to keep you well enough engrossed in the story.

Overall, just plain masterful all around. This was time well spent! And most definitely have replay value!

Built-in study guide

I purchased this title several months ago on CD and have been hoping for some time that Audible would make it available. It's an unusual version of the Divine Comedy: a fresh translation with a kind of built-in study guide. Brief explanations of most of the allusions in this complex poem are woven into the text. For example, where Dante might refer to "the Eagle," this translation says: "the Eagle, emblem of the Empire."

There is one drawback to this, and that is that Dante's allusions are not always so clear-cut. The translator has typically chosen a single concrete tag line among the many possible annotations. But this audiobook is an introduction, not a substitute for an intensive study of Dante. It's meant to be an enjoyable and comprehensible audiobook, something that will give you more of the Divine Comedy on a first listen than you can get from most of the others available.

I've read the Commedia several times in a variety of translations, and despite my familiarity with many of the passages, I found these small additions to the text quite helpful. It's easy when reading the poem to forget who was a Guelph and who was a Ghibelline; this audiobook helps you keep it straight.

Although I haven't seen the text in print (I'm not sure if it's even available), the translation appears to be prose. The translator has tried to capture some of the poetic energy of the work by making extensive use of alliteration rather than rhyme. Most of the time this works admirably; sometimes it's a strain.

Grover Gardner, a Virgil among readers, gives his usual sterling narration.

I would suggest, if you do get this, that you listen to it in small doses. Despite the helpful features of the translation, Dante's poem remains dense with symbol and meaning. There's a lot to take in. Go slow and savor.

Crisp, engaging

I found this translation and narration very crisp and engaging.

The story itself has high and low parts. I am constantly amazed at Dante's boldness in criticizing the church while worshiping in deep and honest reverence. His political and religious criticisms are very worthwhile to hear. It's only a shame that the events are too far removed from us to understand how these people and events fit into his world.

The imagery and constant imagination of Dante are without many equals. No one else has done any worthwhile imagining of Hell, Heaven, or Purgatory especially of Heaven. He manages to engage us and draw us in with vivid and personal descriptions.

The anachronism of the belief system is often a problem. I bristle at the vituperation heaped upon the tragic suicides. The paucity of grace and vindictiveness of god fall outside of my faith. I do love that he places Satan not as a victor but as the very deepest and most tortured prisoner.

Yeah I finish!!

Would you try another book from Dante Alighieri and Herbert A. Kenny (translator) and/or Grover Gardner?

The translator it's good because he is trying very hard to simplify a very hard material.

If you’ve listened to books by Dante Alighieri and Herbert A. Kenny (translator) before, how does this one compare?

I think the translator put a lot of effort simplifying difficult things. I have not heard of any other book from Dante.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I like that it's more easy

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No sure, poetry it's such a hard material....with too many emotions.

Any additional comments?

The Divine Comedy it's such a challenged work. Firsts, I listening a English version. I found it it very hard. Then I got a Spanish copy. It put me to sleep till paradise. Finally I found this version that I was able to finish. I found just an achivement to finishes the whole book with this translation.

Excellent Version of this Book for Rookies

This version of the Divine Comedy is incredibly modern, which is why I recommend it for anyone new to this piece of literature. I myself am new to it, so I was pleased to see this version on Audible.

Grover Gardner's narration is excellent. He does move quickly through the material, which may explain why this version is somewhat shorter than the others on Audible.

This version adds clarifying phrases throughout the text. I like this, since I've never seen a good solution for incorporating footnotes and/or background notes into an audio book like this without detracting from the main narrative. I have to wonder if the translator knew that commuters don't want to be looking things up while they're driving.

Bottom line: if you're new to the Divine Comedy, this version is a good one to get.

Great book

This book is great but can be hard to understand at times.The style it is written in and translated can be kind of hard to comprehend at first. It also helps a lot the more you know of the bible, Italian history and Greek mythology. I really really enjoy this/these books and the audio one is really well done. The Narrator does a good job with pace with the different style of writing that the book was written.