As Virgil to Dante, Cambridge University scholar and author Casey (Pagan Virtue
) is a reader’s guide to views of the afterlife across centuries, cultures and religions. Happily for the scope of his inquiry, the author is immensely well-read and readily shows how powerfully and frequently notions of heaven and hell have inspired and haunted Western writers; the book opens and closes with James Joyce’s artist character Stephen Daedalus, who exemplifies the potent influence of the Catholic Christian view of hell. The book’s most valuable contribution is its attention to the overarching context of non-Christian Western and Middle Eastern cultures. Egyptian, Mesopotamian, ancient Judaic, Greek and Roman conceptions anchor and shape the evolving Christian view. Muslim views of the afterlife are included, though scantily, a commendable attempt at redressing ignorance of a tradition in which the afterlife plays a significant theological role. This is a smart and comprehensive survey, though a general educated reader will need patience with citations in the original languages (which are translated immediately after). (Nov.)
