torjus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ando_reads's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
siria's review against another edition
2.0
This short little work is well worth reading if you want to know more about the origins of Dante's love affair with Beatrice - or, more accurately, if you want to read about the edited representation of the origins of his love which Dante presents. In many ways, this is my least favourite of Dante's works. Although to his contemporaries, Dante's inclusion of commentary upon the poems was revolutionary, to modern eyes, they appear rather trite and self-evident ("The first section of the poem appears on this line... the second section of the poem appears on this line"). As well as that, I am much less able to sympathise or empathise with Dante's love for Beatrice in this work. Dante's feelings for her seem even more obsessive in this work than in the Commedia. Frankly, by the end of it, I'm kind of urging Beatrice to get the medieval version of a restraining order - and that's not really the reaction you're supposed to get from what is supposedly one of the greatest collections of love poetry of all times.
cozybec's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"She did not seem the daughter of a mortal man, but of a god."
Told in fragments, La Vita Nuova details the author's obsession with a noblewoman by the name of Beatrice throughout his life. A mixture of poetry and prose blend together to form a story about one-sided love and the lengths we will go to for the affection of another person.
I'm going to be honest, I never would have picked this up had my friend Isa not suggested it to me. One, I'm terribly unfamiliar with Dante's work as a whole (I've not even read Dante's Inferno) but she really sold it to me as "whiny man stalks a woman for decades and still doesn't manage to get the girl" and that is basically it. There is more, obviously, but... well Dante also admits to crying himself to sleep "like a little child that has been beaten" because Beatrice didn't say hello to him.
I did thoroughly enjoy the extrapolation and explanation via Dante about each poem, context in poetry is always fascinating to me and this has such a twisted story full of emotion that it made the entire collection that much more interesting. The appearance of Love as a sentient being/character is both utterly romantic and unhinged, as is the sheer concept that Beatrice might not have even existed and this entire piece was just an elaborate study of the written word. Also, Dante used precious parchment space to insult the reader's intelligence and I can get behind that tenfold.
Is this a classic for a lot of people? No. But wow did I enjoy reading about drama from hundreds of years ago just for fun. There are also some stunningly beautiful lines in this about love, obsession, and romance wrapped up in a nice little Edward Cullen-esque package. Modern romance could never.
Told in fragments, La Vita Nuova details the author's obsession with a noblewoman by the name of Beatrice throughout his life. A mixture of poetry and prose blend together to form a story about one-sided love and the lengths we will go to for the affection of another person.
I'm going to be honest, I never would have picked this up had my friend Isa not suggested it to me. One, I'm terribly unfamiliar with Dante's work as a whole (I've not even read Dante's Inferno) but she really sold it to me as "whiny man stalks a woman for decades and still doesn't manage to get the girl" and that is basically it. There is more, obviously, but... well Dante also admits to crying himself to sleep "like a little child that has been beaten" because Beatrice didn't say hello to him.
I did thoroughly enjoy the extrapolation and explanation via Dante about each poem, context in poetry is always fascinating to me and this has such a twisted story full of emotion that it made the entire collection that much more interesting. The appearance of Love as a sentient being/character is both utterly romantic and unhinged, as is the sheer concept that Beatrice might not have even existed and this entire piece was just an elaborate study of the written word. Also, Dante used precious parchment space to insult the reader's intelligence and I can get behind that tenfold.
Is this a classic for a lot of people? No. But wow did I enjoy reading about drama from hundreds of years ago just for fun. There are also some stunningly beautiful lines in this about love, obsession, and romance wrapped up in a nice little Edward Cullen-esque package. Modern romance could never.
philippsburg's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
dantereads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
rvandenboomgaard's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful.
Right now, I cannot find the words to do the experience of this read justice. I do not say this as a cliché, but simply because I do want to write something about it directly — I am that enthusiastic — while simultaneously not really being in a state of mind to do so well.
Hopefully, that will follow.
Right now, I cannot find the words to do the experience of this read justice. I do not say this as a cliché, but simply because I do want to write something about it directly — I am that enthusiastic — while simultaneously not really being in a state of mind to do so well.
Hopefully, that will follow.
ssoup's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated