In A Perverse History of the Human Heart, Milad Doueihi subjects the
heart—and specifically the eating of a lover’s heart—to an often
intriguing but extremely slow and heavy anthropological, literary and spiritual
analysis. Ancient Egyptian and Greek myths and medieval and Renaissance French
texts are examined, and Doueihi ends by showing how Harvey’s discovery of the
circulation of the blood has affected the symbolism of the heart. Published by
Harvard University Press, £12.50/$18.95, ISBN 0674663276.
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