Books about Purgatory from Amazon.com

Penzler Pick, March 2001: William Kent Krueger writes the kind of novels mystery lovers love to read: well-written, both character- and plot-driven, with tense scenes and surprise endings. Purgatory Ridge is the third in his series starring Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor, half white, half Ojibwe, who is the sometime sheriff of Aurora, a small town in the North Woods of Minnesota. What is particularly refreshing about Cork O'Connor is that, unlike the portrayal of many private investigators and cops in literature, he is a troubled man with a troubled marriage. He and his wife, Jo, have been through hard times, and although there is plenty of love between them, those hard times often surface and impact investigations and decisions they make regarding their careers. As the story begins, Cork is no longer sheriff, but just has to help investigate when a bomb explodes at the lumber mill run by wealthy industrialist Karl Lindstrom. The bomb kills an Ojibwe Indian who, like many of that nation, objects to the tearing down of the trees in that area, especially those considered sacred by the Ojibwe.

In a parallel story, John LePere, half Indian, half white, festers. As the only survivor aboard the Alfred M. Teasdale when she went down in Lake Superior, he thinks about the death of his shipmates, especially his brother. When it is suggested to him that the sinking of the Teasdale may not have been an accident, LePere is pulled into a plot to avenge the deaths. Grace Fitzgerald, heir to the line that owned the Teasdale, happens to be married to Karl Lindstrom. Add the eco-warriors who have come in from other parts of the country to stop the logging, and you have a potent mix of high adventure and skullduggery. Purgatory Ridge is a fine introduction to Krueger and doesn't require that you first read the earlier two books. --Otto Penzler.
Price: $4.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

_The Divine Comedy_ is perhaps the greatest Christian classic ever written, and probably the greatest adveture story ever told. Dante wrote it to entertain, guide, and enrich ordinary readers, not just the intellectual elite. This clear new version with unique aids makes the fascinating story accessible to such readers today.

Those who love Dante best as a storyteller and teacher will find in this book what they have been waiting for...the freshest, clearest, most exact, and most readable Divine Comedy in the English language, with full-page illustrations and original notes..
Price: $3.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Heaven Sent: Heaven Desperate to save his family's hotel, the Weiss Strande, Tyler and his best friend sink their hopes and what's left of their money into a new venture: a nightclub at the hotel. The White Room must succeed, or the hotel will go under. Against all hope, they manage to sign the mega-popular rock group Heaven Sent to play the grand opening Already a huge fan of the group, Tyler couldn't be more excited to welcome them to his hotel. He's not at all prepared for the bomb of lust that hits him when he's finally face-to-face with the painfully gorgeous lead singer, Johnnie Heaven. Johnnie's probably the most beautiful person he's ever seen, but Tyler is straight. He's feeling a misguided form of hero worship, right? When Johnnie invites Tyler to his room to play video games, their shared passion, Tyler jumps at the chance. He and Johnnie have a great time with the games, but Tyler soon discovers that Johnnie aims to introduce Tyler to a whole new level of game play... Heaven Sent: Purgatory Lucas Sloane defines beautiful for Reese. Tall and sleek with gorgeous red hair and deep, dark eyes to drown in, it's no wonder that the famous bass player of Heaven Sent is the hero of many a starry-eyed teenager's dreams. Reese used to be one of those teens back when Heaven Sent was no more than the house band for the local club, Purgatory. Back then, Reese found the courage to confess his love to Luc...only to be soundly rejected. Luc wasn't gay. Not long after, Heaven Sent left town and skyrocketed into rock and roll stardom. Now, six years later, Luc is back in town for a visit and more gorgeous than ever. Surprisingly, he not only apologizes for his treatment of Reese years ago, he comes onto him. Luc's discovered the pleasures of being with a man and wants to know what it'd be like between the two of them. But Reese can't. He lives the straight and narrow, teaches high school...he's even got a girlfriend. He has a normal life. He can't be gay. But it's hard to deny the man who's defined everything beautiful in Reese's artistic mind. No one has to know about it, right? Publisher's Note: This book is a male-male love story and contains homoerotic sex acts that may be offensive to some readers..
Price: $12.70 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A new translation by Anthony Esolen
Illustrations by Gustave Doré

Includes an appendix of key sources and extensive endnotes 
 
Arguably the greatest single poem ever written, The Divine Comedy presents Dante Alighieri's all-encompassing vision of the three realms of Christian afterlife.  In this groundbreaking new translation of Dante's most brilliant, imaginative creation, Purgatory, Dante struggles up the terraces of Mount Purgatory, still guided by Virgil, in continuation of his difficult ascent to purity..
Price: $6.76 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Catherine, who lived for 60 years and died early in the 16th century, leads the modern reader directly to the more significant issues of the day. In her life she reconciled aspects of spirituality often seen to be either mutually exclusive or in conflict This married lay woman was both a mystic and a humanitarian, a constant contemplative, yet daily immersed in the physical care of the sick and the destitute.

For the last five centuries she has been the inspiration of such spiritual greats as Francis de Sales, Robert Bellarmine, Fenelon, Newman and Hecker. Friedrich von Hügel's famous Mystical Element of Religion was a study of the spirituality of Catherine.

Purgation and Purgatory is a collection of sayings on spiritual purification in this life and the next. The Spiritual Dialogue gives us a readable and coherent inner history of Catherine..
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Purgatory Kabuki is a samurai action story set in the underworld of the afterlife For reasons unknown, former samurai Imanoturugi is obsessed with leaving the afterlife. To die in battle is a samurai's greatest honor. Yet, he must claim 1,000 swords from the fallen warriors who now share residence in the dark underworld. By these means alone, this highly skilled blades master will be allowed admittance back into the living world. But to what end? Upon what stone purpose does he sharpen his edge? The story borrows heavily from various Japanese legends and myths. A skillfully mixed bag of action, suspense, classic ukiyoe style art and intrigue....
Price: $4.74 [Notify me when price goes down.]