“The Tenth Circle” is a novel by the highly successful author Jodi Picoult, who draws in audiences by writing fictional accounts that explore modern hot-button topics in an engaging and deeply personal manner. 

The novel follows the life of comic book artist Daniel Stone, who was raised in Alaska and faced merciless harassment for being the only white boy in his village. 

To quell the humiliation he became the ultimate rebel, fighting, drinking and stealing his way out of the Arctic to New England, where he meets and impregnates good-girl Laura. After marrying her, he tames and becomes a domestic work-at-home husband who raises their daughter Trixie while Laura teaches Dante’s Inferno at a local college. 

His life remains mundane until Trixie is purportedly date-raped, which causes his primal Alaskan bush instincts to emerge.The book describes the guilt Daniel feels for failing to notice Trixie’s changing behavior, along with his refusal to internally accept his wife’s extramarital affair.

The plot unfolds in a way that makes the reader unsure of what is and is not reality, and creates intense feelings of frustration against the actions of the characters and the lives they effect.The book is interspersed with graphic novel illustrations that seemingly stem from Daniel and narrate the course of the story, providing relief from the heaviness of the plot. 

As a modern parallel to the real Inferno, Picoult stuffs the book with allegories and allusions to Greek mythology and philosophy, which sometimes belabors the plot and the main themes she tries to portray. 

As with other Picoult novels, “The Tenth Circle” provides an unflinching and blatant look at topics that other authors avoid or subtilize. If you tend to prefer lighter reading or have an aversion to graphic descriptions of events and characters, this is one book you may want to avoid.