Do people often tell you to go to Hell? Is it actually quite common? Like, more common than you’d like to admit? Do you not really have a lot of context for where exactly Hell is? Well then, this is the book for you!
The Penguin Book of Hell
Author: Scott G. Bruce
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Originally Published: September 4, 2018
Publisher: Penguin Classics
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: May 10, 2024
My rating: 
Thoughts
I originally thought this book was going to be a collection of short stories of the horror variety in which Hell or some kind of underworld is portrayed. Boy was I wrong! But, I was also quite pleasantly surprised!
What this book amounts to is a collection of essays by the editor accompanied by excerpts from various texts throughout history. These texts may be religious scriptures, Greek and Roman mythology, epic poetry, and even a playlist from Guantanamo. This has just about everything.
I was fascinated my whole way through this book. It’s laid out chronologically throughout the time periods in which the texts were written. This is really nice because the reader can really see the evolution of the concept of Hell throughout the ages.
In the essays, the editor gives some context about the time period, the author, and the text itself. This is especially helpful if the text’s language is a bit fanciful or poetic. Further, there are footnotes galore throughout. These may be cross-references to other works/texts or further discussion/clarification by the editor.
Something I think that would have really pulled everything together for me would be to see some excerpts from fictional works and/or an essay related to depictions or discussions of Hell in fictional works, such as horror novels.
Overall, I have this one a strong 4 out of 5 stars, but if I’m being honest, this was really more like 4.5. It’s laid out wonderfully, easy to follow and understand, and really gave me the chills in places. Lets just say that I wouldn’t have wanted to go to Hell before, but I really don’t now!
