Conversations with Eternity: The Forgotten Masterpiece of Victor Hugo [Paperback]

Victor Hugo (Author), John Chambers (Translator), Martin Ebon (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 1998

"Compared to the soul-destroying banality of most séance texts, the Marine Terrace corpus is a literary masterpiece, the unconscious product of a naturally dramatic mind" (Graham Robb, Victor Hugo: A Biography, 1997). From Aug., 1853 to Dec., 1855, while in political exile at Marine Terrace, his home on the Channel island of Jersey, the author of Les Misérables participated in numerous "table-tapping" séances. At least 115 "spirits" communicated with him, his family, and fellow political exiles. The group of alleged discarnate entities included the illustrious dead such as Shakespeare, Plato and Galileo; legendary animals like Balaam’s Ass and the Lion of Androcles; entities who claimed never to have never been alive, like the Shadow of the Sepulcher and Death; a series of abstract concepts with names like ‘India,’ ‘Metempsychosis,’ and ‘Ocean’--and aliens from the planets Mercury and Jupiter. The first translation into English ever of the most important of the transcripts of these séances, with an introduction by Martin Ebon setting Hugo's channeling experiences in their historical context. Were the séance texts only "the unconscious product of a naturally dramatic mind"? Readers will decide for themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For those interested in Victor Hugo and his works, or in the phenomenon of channeling, I would recommend this book. -- John F. Miller, III, Ph.D., JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND PSYCHICAL RESEARCH, Vol. 23, No.1, January, 2000

Presented here is a whole 'nother side to the incredible mind that wrote Les Misérables. -- From THE NAPRA REVIEW, Vol. 10, No.2, March-April, 1999:

This book translates a good deal of [Victor] Hugo's channeling into English for the first time. -- -Patrick Huyghe, Editor, The Anomalist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: New Paradigm Books; 1st American edition (November 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892138018
• ISBN-13: 978-1892138019
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,175,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sloppy, July 26, 2004

By 

Peter Illi (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversations with Eternity: The Forgotten Masterpiece of Victor Hugo (Paperback)

I must confess that I was thrilled the first time I read Conversations With Eternity. But at the same time I was puzzled because there were some things stated in the book that I had a hunch was totally wrong. So I began to check the verifiable information provided by John Chambers and discovered that not only did he present incorrect basic facts, such as dates, places and historic detail, he also neglected to present vital information that contradicts his version of the events that took place in Marine-Terrace. In addition, he has invented a state of mind of the Hugos, during their early exile, that simply have no connection with reality.

If you are an admirer of Victor Hugo, save your money for a decent biography instead.
If you are an advocate of the paranormal, choose mentors of higher quality than that of John Chambers.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Anomalist Award for One of the Best Books of 1998, March 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Conversations with Eternity: The Forgotten Masterpiece of Victor Hugo (Paperback)

Few people are aware that while in exile on the island of Jersey, the great French writer Victor Hugo channeled thousands of messages from the dead. "This emotional experience lasted for over two years," writes Martin Ebon in the introduction, "and the record of its exalted nights and days is certainly a unique document, as well as a glimpse into the subconscious of an egocentric, frustrated genius, seeking to crash through the barriers of human communications... And--who knows--it may even be that Hugo succeeded." This book translates a good deal of Hugo's channeling into English for the first time. Stitching it all together-and providing the much needed history and perspective--is John Chambers' brilliant running commentary. Quite a surprise, quite a delight.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very worthwhile -- a pleasant surprise, April 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Conversations with Eternity: The Forgotten Masterpiece of Victor Hugo (Paperback)

I knew the bare minimum about Hugo and approached this book with low expectations of typical channeled inanities, which can be very tedious to read. However, the book considerably exceeded my expectations. The channeled portions are generally short, well-organized and interwoven with a great deal of information about Hugo himself and the circumstances under which the communications were received (as well as some discussion of the way that these communications relate to other channeled communications). The communications themselves (which were received through a planchette) are distinctly odd, and some have the ring of truth. In a nutshell, they suggest that animals, plants and even stones have a soul or consciousness of some sort and that reincarnation may occur across the entire spectrum from mineral to human. The circumstances under which the communications were received, involving other family members and unrelated guests, tend to cut against the possibility of them all being the product of Hugo's subconscious (or a conscious fraud on his part). The communications date from the very early days of Spiritualism (the 1850s) and are, if nothing else, quite different in content from those of some of the other early channelers such as Andrew Jackson Davis and Stainton Moses. The book certainly convinced me that Hugo was a far more complex and interesting character than I had previously realized. In short, this is a serious and intelligent piece of work and should be worthwhile reading for anyone with an interest in Hugo in particular or channeled communications in general. (The author refers several times to James Merrill's long, partly channeled poetic trilogy, "The Changing Light at Sandover," which is also very worthwhile and truly weird.)