Inferno, by Dan Brown

NOTE:  This is the final part of a three-book series for the Murrysville Community Library Book Group in PA.  We read Dante’s Inferno, The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl and ended with this book.

Characters
General	The Consortium
Robert Langdon Sienna Brooks   Dr. Elizabeth Sinskey – Director World Health Organization   Marta Alvarez – Arts and Culture Administrator, Palazzo Vecchio   Ignazio Busoni (il Duomino) – Director Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo   Jonathan Ferris -  WHO/Consortium   Agent Christoph Bruder – European Center for Disease Prevention and  Control	The Provost Laurence Knowlton   Vayentha     Bertrand Zobrist – Shade - client

For discussion:

NOTE:  All page numbers refer to hardback edition.

1. Did you like the recap of Dante’s Inferno on pages 64 - 65 and 82 - 83?  What difference did your background knowledge from the two previous books make to your reading experience?

2. Do you think the use of texting slang (TILF) will limit the long-term life of this book?   Did you know what it meant?

3. In a preface listing the facts in the book, the author noted that there is an actual group like the Consortium with offices in seven countries.  Were you surprised to read this?

4. Did you like the insertion of historical facts, not necessarily related to the plot?  For example, on page 119 he writes that the Boboli Amphitheater was the site of the first opera performance.

5. Did the charts and graphs that Zobrist showed to Dr. Sinskey add to your understanding and enjoyment of the book?

6. Do you think the idea of overpopulation as the cause of the world’s problems is a plausible idea?  Do you have any ideas about what can be done about it?

7. On pages 214-215 the author writes about people being in denial about various problems and that they escape by watching “sports highlights, funny cat videos, and celebrity gossip.”    Do you think this is why so many people care about what celebrities are doing?

8. What about the idea of denial being the “ultimate manifestation of pride” (page 215)?  According to the novel, Dante reserved the final ring of hell for those who were prideful.

9. Was there any part of the story that you felt was “over the edge” or too far out of the realm of possibility?

10. When did you figure out the following?

• The identify of FS-2080
• Who was remembering the evening with Zobrist (chapter 66, page 287)
• Who Bruder worked for
• That Dr. Sinskey ordered herself to be drugged

11. Do you think the reader would have a different reading experience if he or she had travelled to the locations in the novel?

12. What do you think Dr. Sinskey and Sienna will do after the story ended?

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