Going Through Hell - by Robert Louis Abrahamson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Offers readers an accessible and thoughtful tour of the Inferno, retelling the events in engaging, modern language.

Accompanying commentary explores the drama and imagery in each canto, stimulating further thought and suggesting how Dante's text can connect to our everyday lives.

Moving away from the literal story of the Inferno (which describes the condition of damned souls after death), Going through Hell considers the poem's description of what happens when we act self-centredly in the present. Such behaviour inhibits unified community, which is Dante's ideal for human life.

Going through Hell thus offers readers a mirror through which to observe ourselves and our world more clearly; the commentary serves as a dependable guide, helping us see into this mirror with insight and delight. Ultimately, Abrahamson presents a model of how deep engagement with great literature can be a fulfilling, joyful experience-with transformative potential for our lives and society.

Review Quotes

For the reader who is neither a medievalist, nor a theologian, Going through Hell offers an engaging companion to reading Dante's great poem. In his book, Robert Louis Abrahamson draws on a lifetime of study to show how Dante's often strange medieval world and no less strange theological assumptions can still reveal astonishing insights into our own postmodern world and confront us with uncomfortable but compelling truths about what it is to be human and what we should most value in our lives.--George Pattison, retired Professor of Divinity, University of Glasgow

I have taught medieval poetry for many years, and I have never read a more knowledgeable and readable introduction to Dante's poem. As a valuable bonus, Abrahamson's insightful commentary connects the sins and sinners encountered in the poem with their examples in our modern life. As we read we hear the voice of a wise and friendly guide who treats his audience as equals--an unusual pleasure indeed.--Howell Chickering, Emeritus Professor of Medieval Languages and Literature, Amherst College

I welcome this fresh and refreshing guide book, helping us to accompany Dante on the first part of his vital pilgrimage. But perhaps it would be better to say, 'helping Dante to accompany us.' The great strength of this book is the way at every turn Robert-Louis Abrahamson helps us to see where we fit in, to learn what each stage of the pilgrimage has to tach us about ourselves, as he says at the outset: 'This is not just Dante's journey but an image of the way the life of each of us takes the form of a journey; Dante is Everyman.' Just as Virgil arrives in the nick of time as Dante's guide, so this helpful book comes to the aid of all those who want to make this essential pilgrimage.--Malcolm Guite, Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge