Customer Reviews

Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf: Contemporary English Language

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the intersection of the 15th and 16th centuries, a Dwarf (Big "D" to show respect) goes from the mean streets of Rome to walk with the giants of that world. Madsen remarkably gives us a tour of Europe, Italy, Rome, the Vatican, the papacy, Gnosticism, side-shows, sex, gore and love - always love.

There is no product description here or on the book. There isn't one at the publisher's site either - but they do have several reviews posted there (dedalusbooks). I won't copy from the reviews of others, so do read those.

The Inquisition is in bloom and heretics are treated in ways that are described in detail. If you do not like questioning normal Christian or Roman Catholic beliefs - you will not like this book. If you do not want to read intimate descriptions of sex or be exposed to visceral scenes, then run from this one.

Madsen has put together the darnedest bunch of characters I've ever seen combined into one book. The depth to which he takes us into their lives and world is amazing. I was further amazed by the characters I was rooting for and those I was disliking immensely.

Given the setting, time period and subject, it is obligatory that we meet certain famous artists; certain famous folks of religious history and those intimately involved in the machinations of the powerful of that age. The book is filled with dark humor, and I absolutely refuse to reveal the passages that had me laughing out loud (and there were many).

The book is very well written and flows smoothly. Though some of the subject matter is shocking, Madsen does not resort to excess drama. All is told, with great results, in straightforward style. The subject matter is deep (when it's not being so very shallow); revealing (when it's not kept under the covers); and tawdry (but only in the most disrespectful manner).

Why this has not come to the attention of the reading world is beyond me. If any of what I've told seems of interest, then buy and read this. It's a 'serious hoot'. How's that for a combination?

The author has three other books in print from Dedalusbooks and offered by Amazon - and I ordered them: 'A Box of Dreams'; 'Confessions of a Flesh-eater'; and Orlando Crispe's Flesh-eater's Cookbook'.
Since there are only 3, I'll space out the reading of them, but they will be read!

(Unconfirmed: David Madsen is pseudonym of a theologian & philosopher whose work has been translated into 12 languages.)

What a wonderful if at times grosteque novel. About a hunchback Gnostic Dawrf who is a servant to Leo X in the late 1400 into the 1500. Deals with Gnostic philosphy, The Inquisition, Martin Luther, and deranged sex, both straight and gay. Very good read and I'm hoping for more in Cofessions of a Flesh Eater. Read it you'll love it.

Great read- bawdy, perverse, vivid, bloody, scatological, Gnostic, an Italian Renaissance "Nightmare Alley", freaks, cruelty, and Vatican politics. What more could a reader want? I admire the author's efforts at creating a plausible underground Gnostic faith. The conclusion however left me unsatisfied being a forced "beauty & the beast" symbolism which simply does not mesh with the gnostic nihilism of the rest of the novel.

After reading this you will understand the history as to why Italy changes governments more frequently than any nation in the West.

The very first scene is so completely over the top, I was immediately hooked. I read it straight through. Strange and quirky writing, many an unexpected turn, circuses, wrestling matches, sex, drama, all that stuff.

I find authors who use the memoir approach, and direct references to the reader, rarely works and this novel falls short of a good read. The back cover had lots of praise from the English Press but sometimes I am dubious of their praise as I have often found later that the author is a journalist for one of the English papers too.
This novel had potential, Leo X, a rumoured gay pope, an historically tumultuous time and when Raphael, Michelangelo and Da Vinci were also enlightening the world.
However, whilst the writing was often enjoyable and the plot interesting, the novel failed to take off, a little like Da Vinci's aeroplane theories mentioned in the book.
The memoir dragged as the reader became less and less interested in the Gnostic Dwarf's life and sadly the Epilogue was just too ridiculous to be credible and left the reader cheated by a ho-hum much used historically cliched ending

Witness the Luteran schism from a very peculiar point of view, that of the gnostic dwarf Peppe, close servant of His Holines Pope Leo. The Splendours of Roman Renaissance, the arcanes of gnostic theology and the horrors of the Inquisition are narrated with wry humour and a taste for the grotesque and the horrid. The beginning made me cringe and laugh out loud at the same time. A very unusual book not to be missed!

This book is tremendous. I sent it to a friend of mine and he spent 3 days reading it straight. A glorious and disturbing docu-drama set in the 1150s in Italy. A must read!

When I was 15, I found out that Rabelais had been banned from my my local library for years; I actually choked down Gargantuan & Pantagruel, waiting for the really naughty bits. The joke was on me. As a grown-up reader, Madsen couches a fascinating discussion on the repudiation of the flesh in ... the fleshiest possible terms. Great reading--keep your dictionary at your side!

What you think you know is in question as you read this rich and colorful satire framed by the life of Pope Leo X. The story is mostly about the gnostic dwarf and his interactions with Leo. The characters are very personable with the exception of the usual bad guys. The "bad guy" is really bad.