Weekly Reading Response #1

NAME: Mauro Chavez DATE: 1/29/10
TITLE: The Inferno of Dante TIME: 2 HOURS (I timed it with my ipod)
AUTHOR: Robert Pinsky PAGES: 1-67
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 67

QUESTION 1: 9. What is confusing in this book? Why? (Be specific)

RESPONSE 1: I have never read a book like this. It is written in a poem format. There are about 7 words in the 1st line, 5 words in the 2nd line and another 5-7 words in the 3rd line. All 3 lines make one paragraph. Sentences start on one line then continue on the second and third line. Except on the second line and third line, it starts with a capital letter. The words that people speak start in one paragraph and after the 3 lines they continue in the following paragraph. It’s as if the story is forced to follow a certain format and even if it hasn’t finished what it needs to say it has to stop and continue on the next paragraph.

This book is also confusing because of its content. Sometimes something will be happening and it goes off to use long words to explain the situation or feelings of the characters. Sometimes it won’t go back to the actual event until after the next page. During those moments I totally have no idea what’s happening in the story. I just keep reading and soon after I get confused I understand what’s happening once again. Because the book stops telling the story and dumps a lot of unneeded information on me, it takes twice as long to move along the plot line.

QUESTION 2: 7. How did what you read today make you feel? Why?

RESPONSE 2: Reading this week made me feel confused. I couldn’t decide on whether or not I liked this book. The foreword was written in a way as if the author thought I had already read and understood the book. When I picked up this book I knew that the main character is Dante and he travels through the 9 circles of hell to get this wife back. After reading the 1st 57 pages of the story, I think that what I learned in the video game based on the books demo is totally false. I need to forget everything I learned in the game demo and only believe what I read in the book.

This book confuses me then makes me feel like I know exactly what’s happening. It makes me excited to read more then makes me dread reading it. I can never make up my mind, I don’t know if I like it or hate it. I kind of feel like I am reading the bible, even though I have never read the bible I think reading it feels like reading this book. Sometimes you have no idea what’s going on and there are names of gods and people dumped on you constantly. There are times when the vocabulary in this book really shows it age. Some words are so strange that I have trouble thinking that they are words, so far there have only been about 10 words like that and it hasn’t been too bad. I am sure of one thing, I want to read more…