Published
on: May 14 2013
By: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Number
of pages: 463
Reading
attempt: 1
Reading
time: 7 days
Rating: «« ½
Advice: If you’re willing to be patient, borrowing it from your local
library will serve you better that buying it.
Also
available in French as: Inferno
Just as I did with my French readers, I firstly want
to apologize for my lack of assiduity in that last weeks. Three weeks of
vacation which are followed by my returning to work with an intern did take a
toll on me, I have to admit. Moreover, during my vacation, I could not find but
one book I could get totally immersed in. Nothing seemed interesting enough at
the time, therefore explaining my hiatus. As a peace offering, the review that
will follow is one of a book that has been highly anticipated as one of this
summer’s success.
The context
Who has never
heard the name of Dan Brown in the past few months must have lived on another
planet, as his name has been on the lips of many as his new Robert Langdon
novel was to come out just in time for the summer. After the total failure that
was The Lost Symbol everyone was
wondering whether or not Dan Brown still had something good to offer?
Being part of
the above mentioned group, I half anticipated-half apprehended his new novel.
So, after reading the first chapter online, I decided to place myself on the waiting list of my local library. Even
though I was number 8 and would have been one of the first to get my copy, I
later learned that I would have put my hands on the above mentioned book nearly
2 weeks after its publishing date. I hereby decided that I couldn't wait that
long and since the book was 50% off, I bought it. And here began my journey
through Inferno...
A word of
warning to you all: if you intend to read this book and do not wish to know any
of its details, than I suggest you stop reading this review for I intend to
reveal key details that might spoil your fun and kill your buzz. Sorry!
The story
Now to those of
you who are still with me, here is an attempted resume of this novel:
Robert Langdon,
an esteemed professor of symbology from Harvard, awakens in a hospital in
Florence, Italy with a head wound and retrograde amnesia. He has no
recollection of the last 2-3 days, including how he got in Florence in the
first place and what he is doing with a projector representing the painting La Mappa dell’Inferno by Botticelli.
As he is still
haunted by the mysterious woman who wants to kill him, Langdon, accompanied by his
doctor Sienna Brooks, realizes that he must solve the mystery of the painting
and the codes and clues that will follow in order to understand and also
remember why he is in Italy, what he came here to do... and try to stop the
plague that is about to be unleashed.
The review
To Dan Brown’s
every fan who have been highly disappointed by the disastrous The Lost Symbol, this new adventure of
Robert Langdon was suppose to be the author’s redemption and the confirmation
of his status as a mystery/thriller author. So the question remains: is his
redemption complete and does waiting four years pay off?
Sorry, but in my
humble opinion, not really, no.
Although it is
true that one of Dan Brown’s strength as an author is his “postcard style”
writing that always leave you on the edge of your seat at every chapter end
making it a page-turner, here the whole story plot is nothing but the same old
recipe that has been applied to his previous novels. The result is a highly
predictable story where the magic of his other books doesn't work as well as
before. This may be due to the fact that Langdon’s amnesia, although it makes
him appear more human and more vulnerable that in his three last adventures,
has a tendency to slow down the rhythm of the story to the point of overstretching
it. Moreover, the coincidences become too numerous making everything that happens
appear too easy as if it had all been prearranged.
Furthermore,
unlike his past novels where the story revolved around a mystery with roots
that were set deep into the past and which had a secret society linked to
it, here the story plot is entirely contemporary aside solely for the reference to
Dante’s Divine Comedy, Inferno and all the artwork that it
inspired. The story is therefore less interesting as we do not feel as committed
to it as previously when we might have been under the impression that we were
some kind of Indiana Jones looking for lost relics.
Even his view on
the subject of the global problem that is overpopulation (which isn't often
openly spoken of) and its imagined mean to attend to it is tinted with a moralistic, if not condescending, tone. Ergo
the point that he tries to make of its importance goes unnoticed.
All in all, if
you liked Dan Brown’s other books and are a die-hard fan of his work, you may
have a good time reading this one as it is exactly like his others. As for me,
it’s a miss.
As
always, keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there. Let
me know what you’re reading or how you found it. Who knows, you might
inspire me my next great read. As summer begins, it is always a favorite moment
of mine to reread and rediscover classical literature. But do not fear, for
although I plan to write about them I mostly plan on making you discover the
authors they've influenced along the way. First in line, a great favorite of
mine... Jane Austen J
Until next time
Ladybug
