Book Description, Talk about high concept: in Pearl’s debut novel, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell Lowell team up with 19th-century publisher J.T. Fields to catch a serial killer in post-Civil War Boston. It’s the fall of 1865, and Harvard University, the cradle of Bostonian intellectual life, is overrun by sanctimonious scholars who turn up their noses at European literature, confining their study to Greek and Latin. Longfellow and his iconoclastic crew decide to produce the first major American translation of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Their ambitious plans are put on hold when they realize that a murderer terrorizing Boston is recreating some of the most vivid scenes of chthonic torment in Dante’s Inferno. Since knowledge of the epic is limited to rarefied circles in 19th-century America, the “Dante Club” decides the best way to clear their own names is to match wits with the killer. The resulting chase takes them through the corridors of Harvard, the grimy docks of Boston Harbor and the subterranean labyrinths of the metropolis. It also gives Pearl an excellent opportunity to demonstrate that he’s done his history homework. The detective story is well plotted, and Pearl’s recreation of the contentious world of mid-19th-century academia is engrossing, even though some of its more ambitious elements like an examination of intellectual hypocrisy and insularity in the Ivy League are somewhat clunky. There are, as well, some awkward attempts to replicate 19th-century prose (”But for Holmes the triumph of the club was its union of interests of that group of friends whom he felt most fortunate to have”). Still, this is an ambitious and often entertaining thriller that may remind readers of Caleb Carr.
My Thoughts: When reading this story you really get an engrained view into the eye of history. Matthew Pearl really went into extensive research to present this story using the most accurate information possible. The characters were intricately described and proficiently presented. You could feel the tension between the characters as they arguing the possibilities of suspects and could blatently feel the overwhelming egos that filled the room. The writing used old time vernacular to really give it that added Victorian essence. That can be hit or miss considering the fact most people don’t understand that lingo.
Things I Liked: I have always been a fan of Dante, thats what pulled me to this story. The grotesque display in which these murders were calculated was amazing and very well written for. The idealism behind it which was the main plot was extremely intriguing containing a splendid aspect of closure to the end of the story.
Things I Didn’t Like: The characters at times were boring the constant bumping of egos even though poignant took away from the story. The writing done in classic fashion could be very tedius and slightly daunting.
Rating: B
Additional Info: If you enjoy a story that seeps history from ever seem and enjoy suspense in a classic setting take a look at this story.
Price: $7.99
Author Website: http://www.matthewpearl.com/
