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Matthew Pearl: The Dante Club

Litany

Active Member
Just finished The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. It's set in Boston just after the American Civil War. Bunch of poets led by Longfellow are translating Dante's Inferno when up pops a nutjob and starts bumping off the locals in the style of Dante's punishments. Started off a bit dodgy, the poets were all a bit pompous and unlikeable, but it turned out to be quite enjoyable. Basically a traditional who-dunnit with lots of little clues thrown about the place to get you wondering about all the secondary characters and then finally all becomes clear. I'd have to read back through to see how early I could have worked it out if I hadn't been such a dunce, but he plays fair and gives you a whopper of a clue before it comes to the end game so you really can work it out in advance. Not like stinky old Agatha Christie.

And now I suppose I'll take a deep breath and crack open A Suitable Boy. :eek:
 
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