Inferno: A Novel

the woman seized his wrist with her slender hands and plunged a thumb into the bony carpal area just beneath the palm of his hand.

he lanky man deride

enormity and defined musculature startled most first-time visitors, and yet for Langdon, it had been the genius of David’s pose that he found most captivating. Michelangelo had employed the classical tradition of contrapposto to create the illusion that David was leaning to his right, his left leg bearing almost no weight, when, in fact, his left leg was supporting tons of marble.
The David had sparked in Langdon his first true appreciation for the power of great sculpture. Now Langdon wondered if he had visited the masterpiece during the last several days, but the only memory he could conjure was that of awakening in the hospital and watching an innocent doctor murdered before his eyes. Very sorry. Very sorry.
The guilt he felt was almost nauseating. What have I done?
As he stood at the window, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a laptop computer sitting on the desk beside him. Whatever had happened to Langdon last night, he suddenly realized, might be in the news.
If I can access the Internet, I might find answers.
Langdon turned toward the doorway and called out: “Sienna?!”
Silence. She was still at the neighbor’s apartment looking for clothes.
Having no doubt Sienna would understand the intrusion, Langdon opened the laptop and powered it up.
Sienna’s home screen flickered to life—a standard Windows “blue cloud” background. Langdon immediately went to the Google Italia search page and typed in Robert Langdon.
If my students could see me now, he thought as he began the search. Langdon continually admonished his students for Googling themselves—a bizarre new pastime that reflected the obsession with personal celebrity that now seemed to possess American youth.
A page of search results materialized—hundreds of hits pertaining to Langdon, his books, and his lectures. Not what I’m looking for.
Langdon restricted the search by selecting the news button.