Review - The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl Reviewed by Ken Reiss  7/5/06

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The civil war has just ended and the troops are home. Longfellow (yes, Henry Wadsworth, the poet) is working on his translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy from Italian to English, just outside Boston in Cambridge. He has formed a club of interested folks to help him move the translation along. The “club” includes the likes of James Lowell and Oliver Wendell Holmes (Sr). Junior, as he’s called, is working his way through law school at a small but growing private university by the name of Harvard. Harvard, incidentally, is not in favor of the translation project and is trying to bring pressure to bear to stop the project using any method they can come up with.

As the club works on the translation, the police are quite busy with a different problem… murder. First one and then another in which the bodies are found in very strange circumstances. The first victim of the murders happens to be known to the Dante’ club, and so it is called to their attention. After the second murder they realize that the strange circumstances are in fact straight from Dante! Could the murderer be one of their own? If they go to the police and explain the situation, they surely will be at the top of the suspect list. Rather than risk the publicity which might adversely effect the Dante project, and contribute to the Harvard argument against Dante, they decide to do a bit of investigation on their own.

In the middle of all this is the first black police officer from Boston who has severe restrictions placed on him because of his race. The Civil War has just ended and a negro police officer is more than many of the population is prepared to deal with.

According to the introduction in the book (included in the audio edition), the story is true. If it’s true, it’s almost unbelievable, and if it’s fiction it is indeed a great story, It’s fascinating either way. Realizing that the use of messenger boys isn’t just a formality… there are no cell phones, and in fact, very few telephones at the time. Listening to them struggle with candles and lanterns makes you appreciate electricity and flashlights.

John Seidman does an excellent job of narration with the many characters involved. His “laid back” style leaves you waiting for the next word, but doesn’t drag. I would give it an unqualified 4 ears except for the consideration of political correctness. If you’re easily offended by ethnic references you may not enjoy the story, and for that reason I’m taking a cautious approach and recommending it with 3 ears. Otherwise, it was a fascinating reminder of a very difficult time in our history, and an excellent listen!

About Ken Reiss - Ken is a long time audiobook listener having little time to read but spending a lot of time in the car. Mysteries, Old Time Radio and non fiction all occupy his time, but a good detective story is by far the favorite. In addition to audiobook reviews, he writes a monthly column for a popular electronics magazine and reviews of communications equipment.

He has an MBA from Webster University in St. Louis where he teaches evening classes. He lives in the St. Louis area with his wife and three dogs.

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