Dante's vision, "The Divine Comedy", has profoundly affected every generation since it first appeared in the early 14th century. Here is a brief account of his life, compiled from various sources (including his first biographer, Boccaccio) by Benedict Flynn, whose new translation of the Comedy, on Naxos AudioBooks, read by Heathcote Williams, has been widely acclaimed. It sets the known facts of Dante's life against the turmoil of the times, and puts the very personal nature of his poetry into perspective.
A brief literary biography like this should leave the listener with an impression of a writer's major work and some understanding of how his life informed that work. A LIFE OF DANTE doesn't leave much of an impression. Despite an unimpeachable reading by British actor John Shrapnel, the recording bogs down in its descriptions of the politics and history of medieval Italy. This, of course, is the groundwork upon which THE DIVINE COMEDY was written, but a short work like this is unable to provide any real synthesis, and the result is a litany of names and dates that does little to illuminate Dante's masterpiece. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
ClassicalNet...
"Shrapnel is a dramatic and persuasive guide through the dark tunnels of 13th-century Italy and the music is characteristically well matched. If you, (like me) have been bowled over by the three volumes of 'La Divina Commedia', then this CD will obviously be essential to the Dante audiobook collection."
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