Past-Life Regression

[kfwilson6]

Reincarnation and past-life regression go hand in hand. I am Catholic, but I am open to those ideas because of our concept of purgatory as a place for cleansing in preparation for entering heaven. Going through many lives might be the purgatory that we believe in.

I think your being open minded to the ideas of reincarnation and past-life regression is very undogmatic of you, particularly being Catholic.

I happen to believe in reincarnation and therefore tend to believe in regression but I've never seen it in practice. Even if the person doesn't go back to previous lives, maybe regression is helpful in other ways such as issues buried in the subconscious.

I have to say that I hope I'm not trying to work through issues from a past life. I have enough in this one
I'd have to say the same for Angela. She had enough problems being chased down by Scordato then she had to face the traumas that Sophia and Fioretta had. And not just daily stressors but very serious hard moments. I hope that no one has to suffer the pains of more than one life at a time.

[kfwilson6]

I thought Alex's response was justified as he experienced some similar experiences with the painting. I feel Angela's boss' reaction was a bit of a leap, however. He viewed her on the security footage watching the painting and talking to it. It was a bit of a stretch to know that she was reliving events of the past or talking to the painting, itself. Overall, I don't think it affected the book. But, it was one of the portions of the book that was the most unrealistic.

With so many defined mental disorders, you would have thought Scordato would have labeled her as "crazy." I agree, his acceptance was much more startling that Alex's.

[bookowlie]

I thought Alex's response was justified as he experienced some similar experiences with the painting. I feel Angela's boss' reaction was a bit of a leap, however. He viewed her on the security footage watching the painting and talking to it. It was a bit of a stretch to know that she was reliving events of the past or talking to the painting, itself. Overall, I don't think it affected the book. But, it was one of the portions of the book that was the most unrealistic.

Although Scordato's reaction was unrealistic, he was a bit unglued as a character - sexually assaulting a subordinate, being obsessed with finding and stealing to nake millions, being devious in every aspect of his life, etc. As a result, I don't think his thought processes were like most people when viewing the security tape.

[Samy Lax]

Past life regression is a topic that I have always been fascianated with. I have to admit it wasn't dealt with in a good way in this book though. There is one other book I reviewed where it has been shown in a great light and I appreciate the author for trying out the theme in the book as well.

[ccrews0408]

I would definitely say it was on the verge of fantasy, but I suppose the eyes on the painting had to move so that Alex would believe her. In my opinion, unless you believe in that sort of thing, it would be extremely hard for the author make any of the past life regression scenes realistic.

[kfwilson6]

I would definitely say it was on the verge of fantasy, but I suppose the eyes on the painting had to move so that Alex would believe her. In my opinion, unless you believe in that sort of thing, it would be extremely hard for the author make any of the past life regression scenes realistic.

I don't necessarily believe you need to believe in it to view the author's take on it as realistic. I've already said this sort of thing on this book's discussion forum, but I have frequently read books about magic, fantasy characters, post-apocalyptic worlds and although I don't think there are wizards, vampires, ghosts, or shape-shifters for example, certain author's can write those things and characters in a way that I find their explanations reasonable although still fictional. So I guess I define that as realistic. I find their explanations all make sense with no holes, even though I may not actually believe something can exist.

[Joy Boudreau]

I personally don't believe in past-life regression. However, there are those out there who think it is a thing for sure. Since I don't believe in reincarnation, for me this is just fictional. Not really fantastical, but fiction for sure. As far as if it WERE real, there were elements in this story that were handled well (the dreams, the irresistible attraction to another person...), but some of it was a bit spooky.

[kfwilson6]

I personally don't believe in past-life regression. However, there are those out there who think it is a thing for sure. Since I don't believe in reincarnation, for me this is just fictional. Not really fantastical, but fiction for sure. As far as if it WERE real, there were elements in this story that were handled well (the dreams, the irresistible attraction to another person...), but some of it was a bit spooky.

There were one or two points in the story where I was concerned that Giuiliano and Gerhard may not be kind spirits of the past. They almost came off as sinister and unconcerned about Angela. As if getting to the painting was prioritized over Angela's safety. They came through in the end though. Although I didn't love that aspect of the connection between the two former couples.

[bookowlie]

I would definitely say it was on the verge of fantasy, but I suppose the eyes on the painting had to move so that Alex would believe her. In my opinion, unless you believe in that sort of thing, it would be extremely hard for the author make any of the past life regression scenes realistic.

Good point! Once Alex saw the eyes moving, he realized there was something happening to Angela that was real (not mental illness of some sort. The author also did a good job by having the man in the painting "speak" to Alex.

[Joy Boudreau]

Actually, the painting "speaking" to Alex was very weird. I didn't find that realistic - not a past life regression idea. If it had been emphasized that it was a vision, or a dream like Angela was having... that would have been more realistic (although a stretch to believe that Alex and Angela just happened to come across each other, and now he's having dreams like she is...) Also, why didn't Sophia have dreams/visions of her past life as Fioretta? Anyway, the speaking painting fell into supernatural, not past life regression, IMO

[bookowlie]

Actually, the painting "speaking" to Alex was very weird. I didn't find that realistic - not a past life regression idea. If it had been emphasized that it was a vision, or a dream like Angela was having... that would have been more realistic (although a stretch to believe that Alex and Angela just happened to come across each other, and now he's having dreams like she is...) Also, why didn't Sophia have dreams/visions of her past life as Fioretta? Anyway, the speaking painting fell into supernatural, not past life regression, IMO

If Sophia also have past-life visions as Fioretta, I think the story would have been too over-the-top at that point. The same could be said of Gerhard back to Giuliano. There would have been too many plotlines dragging the story down.

[420waystoreachthesun]

I kind of liked the whole idea of it. It was quite intriguing. I loved how it was left open to psychological interpolation.

[Emie Cuevas]

While there is good evidence that hypnosis works on current aspects of a persons life, there is no evidence that past life regression is real. However, I felt that this was handled well in the book, and showed some promise.

[bookowlie]

While there is good evidence that hypnosis works on current aspects of a persons life, there is no evidence that past life regression is real. However, I felt that this was handled well in the book, and showed some promise.

I just viewed the whole thing as fantasy in this book, especially with the constant fainting in public. It's not like she was always having visions in a calm environment while asleep at home, although that also happened a few times. She was sometimes at work or in another public place.

[Cjgarland89]

Like many others, I believe past life regression is an individual descision depending on the reader. Some individuals believe that it is a real thing that can happen, and others believe the polar opposite. I think the book leaves it open to be interpreted either way.