Customer Reviews

Conversations with Eternity: The Forgotten Masterpiece of Victor Hugo

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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.

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.

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.)

I purchased this book, because I love the work of Victor Hugo and was interested in this aspect of his spirituality. But the writing is terrible. Most of it seems to be a drug addled commentary on Hugo's later life by an unsympathetic critic. The writing is so bad as to frustrate the most patient of readers. If you love the work of Hugo or the philosophy of romance in literature, avoid this waste of ink and paper.

Presented here is a whole `nother side to the incredible mind that wrote "Les Misérables." Recorded during his three-year exile on the Isle of Jersey using the séance method of table-tapping, this "channeled" conversation reveals a particularly unusual spiritual experience in the renowned 19th-century French writer's life. Covering everything from Hugo's beloved daughter, who had died, to the subject of Napoleon and a brush with Galileo, lively bantering with Sir Walter Scott, "Death," the planet Mercury, and many other subjects, the book makes you feel like an ambitious yet misguided archeologist who accidentally unearths the ancient text that provides a spiritual Missing Link. Read it, love it, share it, talk about it; most of all, have fun with it. This is a total adventure, and I would give my eyeteeth to have been there! - TE

I thought this was an extremely well-written introduction to the world of spiritism as it was practiced in Victor Hugo's time. This is truly the Victor Hugo you never knew. It also provides a rational explanation of how spiritism may work! I recommend this book highly.

Anyone interested in paranormal, personal histories or ghost stories will Love this book! Excellent for clergy to expand their point of view!

I had heard of this book for sometime before actually reading it and when I finally ordered it and began my reading; I was off on the most amazing adventure of metaphysical ideas I've ever encountered. As a student of Spiritualism as well as the Alan Kardec inspired spiritualist philosophy known as Spiritism from a historical and sociological perspective, this book brings to life the intensity of those 19th century psychonauts who in living with human mortality in a much more immediate way than we do now, documents their explorations of one of the fundamental questions of existence- do we survive death.
And the answers to those pointed questions that were revealed to the Hugo circle during his period of exile from France are simply breathtaking. First is their sheer poetic verbal majesty, secondly in the intimations of a universal mind that is both the embodiment of that "love which steers the stars" of Dante's "Divine Comedy" to the impersonal karmic justice that minimizes the inflated human ego in the scheme of things.
I cannot recomend this book highly enough, it will remain with you for thought & contemplation long after you've finished the final page.

I've read nearly everything available by Victor Hugo published in English, so I was eager to read this one. It's truly something "out there." This book is pretty interesting if you're looking to learn more about the Hugo that tends not to come up in literary conversation. Some of it is a little boring to read, but there's some neat stuff about his family and the spirits he channels through the seances. In my opinion, the best part about this book is that it gives the reader an honest look inside Hugo and his personal interests, something you don't usually get from novels and poetry. It's an interesting picture of a terribly fascinating guy.

I am telling you, what a trip! Well if you can believe it, the table did rock! Victor Hugo (1802-1885) is in excile on a lonely island and to pass time, he and his retinue conduct seances. Animals, of course, are the incarnations of criminals. (How good to know, that Stalin is now a dung beatle.) The Dove of the Ark had been guided by God to the landing place for Noahs gigantic boat. Not only animals, but also plants and stones knew what crime they had committed. Why was such knowledge not granted to man? Animals are prisons of the soul. The animal sees man and glimpses the angels. Forgiveness is Noah's Ark. Well, I think this is worth reading, even though it comes down from another century. Be curious! Gerborg