Life of Dante

Rating:
Summary: One literary master on another
Review: Invaluable to anyone interested in Italian literature, Dante or Boccaccio. Boccaccio, of course was a great admirer of Dante's, wrote a commentary on the Divine Comedy and was greatly influenced by him. Writing at a time when Dante was not given the respect he has since (surely inevitably) gained, Boccaccio wrote this biography of him, pointing out his great merits as a person, poet, and political figure. It's fascinating to see the results, with insights on every page into both Dante, Boccaccio, and also Florentine society of the time. There are wonderful stories about Dante to illustrate his peculiarities as a man - I particularly enjoyed the story of him vandalising a workman's tools for misquoting the Comedy. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Bio the way it was ment to be
Review: More than a simple biography, Boccaccio's The Life of Dante is an ode to a master by his pupil. Not only does the book tell the tale of Dante's life, it illustrates nicely Italian life and politics. The biography is short and fast paced. The reader can actually feel the author's love of his subject seeping off the pages.