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mediaevalmuse's review against another edition
4.0
This book wasn't on my radar until I happened upon it at a used bookstore, and honestly, I might not have picked it up had I not seen it was written by Aldous Huxley. I've only read Brave New World, so I was curious as to what his non-fiction would look like.
Overall, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It's very much not pop history; Huxley dives into the world of 17th century France, including what philosophical and theological discourses were influential at the time and how that informs the way we understand the story. I liked the little tangents where Huxley put in his own thoughts on several theories, and the prose feels both learned and playful at the same time.
I wouldn't recommend this book for casual history readers, however. Though the story is about demonic possession, it doesn't revel in the details of demonic lore or all the spread things that were being done. Instead, Huxley is interested in what went into this event being possible: what the political situation was like, what the Church stood on certain ideas, the tension between local persons of interest, etc. If you're looking for some Exorcist-level thriller, this book is not that. But people with an academic interest in history might be delighted.
All that being said, I think I would have liked an edition with more supporting materials. This edition has some interviews and clips from other writings in the back, but I think I would have preferred an edition with some helpful lists or keys for diving into this book. For example, I found it difficult to keep all the names straight, so a list with a little reminder or description of who they are would have been useful.
TL;DR: The Devils of Loudun is a fascinating analysis of a 17th century French town whose famous episode of demonic possession had more to do with local and national power struggles than supernatural warfare.
Overall, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It's very much not pop history; Huxley dives into the world of 17th century France, including what philosophical and theological discourses were influential at the time and how that informs the way we understand the story. I liked the little tangents where Huxley put in his own thoughts on several theories, and the prose feels both learned and playful at the same time.
I wouldn't recommend this book for casual history readers, however. Though the story is about demonic possession, it doesn't revel in the details of demonic lore or all the spread things that were being done. Instead, Huxley is interested in what went into this event being possible: what the political situation was like, what the Church stood on certain ideas, the tension between local persons of interest, etc. If you're looking for some Exorcist-level thriller, this book is not that. But people with an academic interest in history might be delighted.
All that being said, I think I would have liked an edition with more supporting materials. This edition has some interviews and clips from other writings in the back, but I think I would have preferred an edition with some helpful lists or keys for diving into this book. For example, I found it difficult to keep all the names straight, so a list with a little reminder or description of who they are would have been useful.
TL;DR: The Devils of Loudun is a fascinating analysis of a 17th century French town whose famous episode of demonic possession had more to do with local and national power struggles than supernatural warfare.
mattycakkes28's review against another edition
2.0
On paper this book had everything- history, demons, nuns (I have a weird obsession with religious fanatics throughout history). Unfortunately, everything is not what it seems here. What looked to be a fairly straight-forward examination of a historical event in 17th century France, is in fact a vehicle which Huxley uses to expound upon his own particular theological and philosophical ideas ad nauseam. The narrative of the possessions and the circumstances in which they occurred were interesting enough- and probably the only reason I didn’t give this book one star- however, throughout the book I was often bogged down by Huxley’s tangential asides concerning his own ideas of theology and philosophy. These digressions are frequent throughout and are usually so convoluted that I often couldn’t tell if I’d accidentally picked up a copy of Deepak Chopra. I’ve later come to find out that Huxley was a believer in parapsychology and spiritualism, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; however, I did find it difficult taking seriously an author that would on one hand dismiss the idea of demonic possession while on the other suggesting that the nuns were probably just experiencing ESP or psychokinesis or communion with ghosts. Add to that the outdated psychology (he frequently suggests that the nuns suffered from hysteria, a diagnosis that was discontinued in the 80s) and I could barely make it through more than 3 pages without wanting to throw this book through a wall. Even the much lauded epilogue was aggravating with it’s questionable statements concerning sexuality, drugs, and music. I’m not dismissing Huxley here simply because I disagree, but because he makes these statements as though they are self-evident while providing little in the way of proof, other than outdated studies and unreliable sources (see; F.W.H Myers and JD Unwin). To anyone looking to this book as a scholarly examination of history but aren’t interested in the peculiar spirituality of Aldous Huxley, I would suggest going somewhere else, it's simply not worth your time.
toadsoup's review against another edition
5.0
Lol this was so whack, all because this one priest couldn’t keep it in his pants
ombraluce's review against another edition
5.0
Opera monumentale, tra il romanzo e il saggio, che attraverso la vera storia di un caso di possessione diabolica in un piccolo centro della Francia di Richelieu, ricostruisce l'orrore della caccia alle streghe e nello stesso tempo traccia le linee della possessione moderna, l'alienazione mentale causata dalla dittatura.
Il libro alterna capitoli di precisa ricostruzione storica, leggermente romanzata per renderla più gradita al lettore, e capitoli di analisi etica, spiritualista e filosofica nei quali l'autore dispiega una immensa erudizione che comprende anche le teologie orientali meno conosciute.
Non facile, ma caldamente raccomandabile.
Il libro alterna capitoli di precisa ricostruzione storica, leggermente romanzata per renderla più gradita al lettore, e capitoli di analisi etica, spiritualista e filosofica nei quali l'autore dispiega una immensa erudizione che comprende anche le teologie orientali meno conosciute.
Non facile, ma caldamente raccomandabile.
bourbm9's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a struggle to get through. And I found myself skipping pages in order to get back to the actual plot of the story. When Huxley is actually crafting a story, it’s a compelling read. But there are so many moments of getting through the doldrums of seemingly irrelevant information that it’s almost as if he took a novel, a text book, and a book on religious theory and mashed them together.
punkcakes's review against another edition
4.0
me ha parecido mazo de interesante no voy a mentir no me esperaba q me gustara tanto
habla mucho de ética, de psicología, de religión, de humanidad - y aunq no concuerdo con todo me siguen pareciendo puntos muy chulos q hace a través de contarte un cotilleo jugosísimo y con personajes suuuper interesantes y bien traídos
no me falla esq esta persona no me falla nunca
habla mucho de ética, de psicología, de religión, de humanidad - y aunq no concuerdo con todo me siguen pareciendo puntos muy chulos q hace a través de contarte un cotilleo jugosísimo y con personajes suuuper interesantes y bien traídos
no me falla esq esta persona no me falla nunca