I just finished reading "Inferno, a novel" by Dan Brown, who also wrote "The Da Vinci Code." This is another thriller, set mainly in Venice and Florence, and follows a similar formula. There is a chase across cities and countries, an obligatory madman, many red-herrings, and an art/history education regarding Dante Alighieri's life and his book "The Divine Comedy". It was also a travelogue of famous buildings and art.
It was thought-provoking; chilling, actually, regarding the possible future of humanity. He brings up the frightening topics of our planet's burgeoning overpopulation and also genetic engineering as applied to human evolution. These are real moral dilemmas that must be dealt with now. He is correct in that we are like ostriches with our heads in the sand. It is a dark topic.
Quotes from the book:
"When every province of the world so teems with inhabitants that they can neither subsist where they are nor remove themselves elsewhere...the world will purge itself in one or another of these three ways (floods, plague, and famine)." Nicolas Machiavelli, writer, 1469-1527
"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321
"Remember tonight, for it's the beginning of always." Dante Alighieri
Looking together in the same direction.
Sea otters hold hands while they sleep so they don't drift apart.
No comments:
Post a Comment