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Very Peculiar People: Portrait Studies in the Queer, the Abnormal and the Uncanny
The fascinating and often humorous lives and adventures of five mystics, occultists, psychics, and curious people. Illustrated. Contents: Emanuel Swedenborg - life in two worlds; Johann Jetzer - deceiver or deceived?; St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi - she who got slapped; Hadrian Beverland - Lord of Zealand; Eusapia Palladino - queen of the cabinet; Index. Each chapter is given its own extensive appendix.
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Published March 10, 2003
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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February 15, 2022Que título maravilhoso.
March 19, 2023
A long time ago, I heard of this book and bought it. The title sold me. I started reading it three times, a d gave up three times. Each time I put it back on the shelf and told myself I'd give it another go later. I'm giving up on it now. It is terrible. I need to get this book out of my house.
Written in the densest academic prose, it borders on the unreadable. The author assumes you know the people he's describing. He also assumes you are here because you enjoying reading the works of psychic researchers. (You do not. Trust me.) He's also one of the most pedantic writers I've ever met.
Before he gets around to telling you who Swedenborg is, he spends a great deal of time defining "hallucinations".
"Let us begin, therefore, by a consideration of hallucinations. As with so many semi-technical terms, the word hallucination is currently used in at least two senses, (a) the popular sense, in which it is understood a condition of the mind in which the subject is deceived or mistaken or suspected of harbouring unfound ideas; and (b) a more technical sense, commonly used in psychopathology, where what is meant by a sensory hallucination is a perception which, only upon careful reflection and examination, is found to lack that objective basis which it suggests."
And on and on. Endlessly.
There is a story about how Swedenborg supposedly knew there was a fire in his hometown, even though he was far away from there. Dingwall tells this story multiple times, providing details from different sources, describing events differently, speculating on how Swedenborg could have know this information.
It's exhausting and dull.
If you are tempted to read this book, here is a better course of action. There are five chapters. Each is about a peculiar person. Google them. Read the Wikipedia pages and other sources out there. You'll be better off and save yourself some time.
1. Emanuel Swedenborg. He hallucinated stuff and started a new version of Christianity in the 1700s. Dingwall barely touches on the good stuff, like how Swedenborg believes he talked to the dead spirits of beings from other planets.
2. Johan Jetzer. Some monks dressed up like spirits and tried to convince Johan that the Virgin Mary was born with sin. Johan sees through the trick eventually and all the monks are put to death.
3. St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. A nun who liked to whip herself and may have been a crazy masochist.
4. Hadrian Beverland. Wrote some books on lust and proposed prostitution be legalized. This was not well received and he was arrested and banished.
5. Eusapia Palladino. A medium who was proven a fake multiple times over, but believers kept insisting she's the real deal.
I am certain that merely looking these people up and reading a few summaries online will save you the brutal slog of getting through Dingwall's terrible book.
Written in the densest academic prose, it borders on the unreadable. The author assumes you know the people he's describing. He also assumes you are here because you enjoying reading the works of psychic researchers. (You do not. Trust me.) He's also one of the most pedantic writers I've ever met.
Before he gets around to telling you who Swedenborg is, he spends a great deal of time defining "hallucinations".
"Let us begin, therefore, by a consideration of hallucinations. As with so many semi-technical terms, the word hallucination is currently used in at least two senses, (a) the popular sense, in which it is understood a condition of the mind in which the subject is deceived or mistaken or suspected of harbouring unfound ideas; and (b) a more technical sense, commonly used in psychopathology, where what is meant by a sensory hallucination is a perception which, only upon careful reflection and examination, is found to lack that objective basis which it suggests."
And on and on. Endlessly.
There is a story about how Swedenborg supposedly knew there was a fire in his hometown, even though he was far away from there. Dingwall tells this story multiple times, providing details from different sources, describing events differently, speculating on how Swedenborg could have know this information.
It's exhausting and dull.
If you are tempted to read this book, here is a better course of action. There are five chapters. Each is about a peculiar person. Google them. Read the Wikipedia pages and other sources out there. You'll be better off and save yourself some time.
1. Emanuel Swedenborg. He hallucinated stuff and started a new version of Christianity in the 1700s. Dingwall barely touches on the good stuff, like how Swedenborg believes he talked to the dead spirits of beings from other planets.
2. Johan Jetzer. Some monks dressed up like spirits and tried to convince Johan that the Virgin Mary was born with sin. Johan sees through the trick eventually and all the monks are put to death.
3. St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. A nun who liked to whip herself and may have been a crazy masochist.
4. Hadrian Beverland. Wrote some books on lust and proposed prostitution be legalized. This was not well received and he was arrested and banished.
5. Eusapia Palladino. A medium who was proven a fake multiple times over, but believers kept insisting she's the real deal.
I am certain that merely looking these people up and reading a few summaries online will save you the brutal slog of getting through Dingwall's terrible book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews