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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A revealing delight, 21 Oct 2001
The Boy Who Saw True claims to be the diary of an anonymous Victorian lad, growing up in a conventional middle class home in the north of England. If the family are conventional, the boy is not - by virtue of his clairvoyance. From birth, he was able to see auras and talk to spirits.The fascination of the book is two-fold. First, there is the truly amazing ability of the boy to see and hear beyond the material. Secondly, being that all this takes place against a background of high Victoriana, the boy soon finds himself at odds with his mother, who is horrified at her son's apparent perversion. Despite this, he acquires assistance in learning the true nature of things through the intervention of the kindly Mr Patmore, his tutor, and a small band of non-material beings. By virtue of both themes, the book becomes a revealing delight, not only of clairvoyance, but also of everyday life in a typical family during the latter days of the 19th century. Add to this the boy's splendid malapropisms, which splatter the pages liberally, and you have a work that give pleasure on many levels. It's funny, moving, instructive, and, to those who believe there is more to existence than the physical, reassuring. The tragedy of the publication lies in its editor's reluctance to supply more details about the boy himself. The diary was published only after the author's death as a grown man, and it would seem the manuscript has been abridged. Names have been changed - fair enough, perhaps - but neither do we learn the boy's age, nor that of his older sister, prompting this reader to ask himself which small boy would not ever refer to his age, even on his birthday. Despite that, this is an excellent and charming read. The boy himself is a very advanced soul, showing great care and concern for others throughout the diary (indeed, we learn from one of his spiritual visitors that in his previous carnation he was an Indian guru). The picture he paints of his household and friends is touching. And, not least, we are offered passages of real wisdom by the spirits who are instructing the boy.
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by Edgar Cayce
by Cyril Scott
