* - The Dante Club (The Dante Club #1) by Matthew Pearl

"It had such potential but then the indignant Boston Brahim enter the scene and we're thrown into a world of literature, proofs and translations with the occasional homicide thrown in to keep up the intrigue. I kept reading cause I was curious but this was an almost DNF on multiple occasions simply for the fact that it just went on and on. Honestly, it was hard to keep track and to care about the characters in the end."

⭐

Pros: It was definitely an interesting and unique premise/The mulatto police officer, Nicholas Rey, he was kind, intelligent, an easily likable character and I wanted to learn more about him but Pearl was too focused on the bitter arguments against literature at the time instead of building character.

Cons: All the indignant old men and “Good God” exclamations. It was all a bit pretentious./This book made me feel like Niles and Frasier Crane were solving a mystery./Parts of this book literally put me to sleep.

Full Review

Set shortly after the Civil War, a rash of murders plagues the thriving city of Boston. The murders all mirror certain punishments meted out in Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy: Inferno. This all happens when, rather conveniently Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Poet - Midnight Ride of Paul Revere) and other authors that I can’t remember are right in middle of their weekly Dante Club sessions, meeting every Wednesday to help Longfellow with his translation, The connection between the murders and their translation eventually click together and they're horrified. Not only at the murders themselves but at the fact that someone could sully Dante's good name, and their, in association, good names with such horror. Intent on clearing the air, they go out in search of suspects because even middle-aged, impressively mustached, indignant, preposterous white men can solve mysteries too!

A police officer, Nicholas Rey has also been caught up in these murders, having been at both crime scenes and has started putting the pieces together. Their paths eventually cross and they start working together and they eventually start to close in on a possible suspect. As they do, we fall further and further down a painfully boring rabbit hole of publishing, translations, proofs and Clerks to try and find this murderer. And when the murderer is finally revealed, I'm pretty sure I said out loud, "Who?"

There were too many characters and none of them were remarkable. That's how little the characters stuck with me. I had absolutely no idea who the murderer was and so, I think a reveal that was supposed to be shocking, just totally wasn't.

Comments

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

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The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore

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Animal Farm by George Orwell

"A blithe and scathing commentary on equality, power, corruption and how everyone is created equal, but...some are more equal than others. Orwell hit the nail right on the head with this novel and it's no wonder it's a staple for most high school curriculums. " 3 Stars. Pros: Benjamin the Donkey is the smartest animal on the farm and it would have done all the others a world of good if they had listened to him in the first place. Cons: The fact that societies like this actually do exist is nauseating and terrible. It's not a con, per se, it's just a gut wrenching fact. Full Review: When the overworked and mistreated Animals on Manor Farm decide to rise up and overthrow their cruel master, they're successful. They rebel and now find themselves with an entire Farm to run. They rename it Animal Farm and are intent on creating a paradise, where work and play are equal, where productivity is key but relaxation is a must and all the lives of all the animal...

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