In Hell and Damnation, bestselling author Marq de Villiers takes readers on a journey into the strange richness of the human imaginings of hell, deep into time and across many faiths, back into early Egypt and the 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh. This urbane, funny, and deeply researched guide ventures well beyond the Nine Circles of Dante’s Hell and the many medieval Christian visions into the hellish descriptions in Islam, Buddhism, Jewish legend, Japanese traditions, and more.
Marq de Villiers is the Governor General’s Award–winning author of Water, and sixteen other books. Marq lives in Port Medway, NS.
Introduction AcknowledgementsPart i. What kind of place is this?1. Who invented hell, and for god’s sake why?2. Hell-free zones3. Where the hell is it?Part ii. Who’s in charge?4. Hell’s executive suite5. Hell’s unruly boardroom fracas6. Can there really be romance in the heart of hell?Part iii. What’s the operating plan?7. Once you’re in, what’s it like? A survey of A-list hells8. Eternal torment: who does what to whom, and why9. The peculiar physics of hell: how long is forever?Part iv. Eyewitness accounts10. The Watchers and the origin of hell11. Hell’s earliest tourists12. Some Buddhists go to hell for the damnedest reasons13. Hellish travellers in classical antiquity14. Inquisitive Christians go to hell15. The great poets as tour guides16. A brief detour to heavenEpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex
"Delightful." —Publishers Weekly"A deliciously cynical analysis of the afterlife viewed from a variety of perspectives." —Michael Coren, The Walrus"De Villiers...is a well-informed and agreeable guide, whose hellish reportage will satisfy even the most curious.” —Booklist"A comprehensive guide to all things Hades." —Foreword Reviews
