On the train back from the British Museum, I randomly started reading 'The Psychic Tourist' by journalist William Little. Yesterday, I finished it.
The journey begins when Little buys an astrological birth chart for his sister and her daughter as a gift. Unfortunately, they both predict a water-related death, something which terrifies his sibling and affects badly, making her avoid travelling on or over water at any cost and give up water-based hobbies. Upset that his gift has caused so much distress, Little decides to start and investigation into the world of psychics and prediction to find a way to undo the damage he's done.
Having enjoyed 'Will Storr vs the Supernatural', I hoped that this too would be an interesting and thought provoking read. It's also described as funny in a number of reviews, so I thought it would be entertaining too. Unfortunately, although it does start off in a similar way as Storr's book, it meanders quite a lot and doesn't always seem to stick to it's destination of the truth about predicting the future, often straying into a more general look at psychics instead. It's almost as if the author wanted to write a different book but couldn't control his own destiny.
By the end, the more lighthearted tone is all but out of sight. While it's interesting that Little takes his investigation to a new level, interviewing a combination of Physicists, Nobel-prize winners and experts in Quantum Theory, it means he has to resort to including long quotes from books and people. I can understand why. Many of these ideas are hard to understand for non-academics and it's safer to quote directly rather than try to explain it in lay language and lose meaning. Unfortunately, this style also gives the book an essay feel, and essays are not usually fun or amusing. Although if anyone knows of a funny, understandable and accurate essay on Quantum Physics, I'd love to hear about it!
Overall, 'The Psychic Tourist' was a bit of a disappointment. With a rewrite that tightens up the structure and maps out the science so it's easier to understand, it would be a better book. It's a shame as there are a lot of great and interesting ideas in here, many of which need to be shared with people like Little's sister to free them from excessive worry. Maybe in the future Little will have the opportunity to revisit this book and give it a polish. Who knows..!
Now, back to Groucho Marx!
