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37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Troubling, September 23, 2005
This review is from: Patrick: Son of Ireland (Mass Market Paperback)
I have enjoyed Lawhead's works, but I find PATRICK troubling. Though the first quarter of the book is a nicely fleshed-out version of the Patrick story, most what remains story is fabricated out of whole cloth.
Where did Patrick study Christianity? Lawhead never has him even peeking at the Bible, but hints that he learned from Pelagius (the proponent of a heresy which the historic Patrick combatted) and from, of all people, the Druids! The real Patrick, after escaping from slavery, reunited with his family in northern Britain or perhaps Scotland and very soon wanted to go back to Ireland as a missionary. Realizing that he had a lot to learn first, he hooked up with Germanus for several years before accompanying the bishop to Ireland. Lawhead mentions nothing of this! There were fewer and fewer pages left in the novel when I started to realize that, not only were we not back to Ireland yet to read about Patrick's great mission in life, but he still was the same cynical, lapsed Christian we met boozing it up in the first chapters, who hadn't read any scriptures since he was 10 y/o. Glossing over Patrick's mission work in Ireland is unforgivable.
I heard a few echoes from his Taliesen/Merlin/Arthus series: Londinium being a weedy,gaudy merchant town, sympathy towards Pelagius, and Druids ("The Learned Brotherhood") coming across as gentle, sweet, wise Christians. I must admit that I bought it while reading the Arthur series, but seeing these ideas in the brighter light of St. Patrick I realize that Lawhead has an axe to grind over early Christianity & Druids.
Besides my theological & historical concerns, I have to warn you that Patrick gets beaten several times. Beaten harshly. Brutally. Bloodily. Bone-crunchingly. It frankly got a little old after the third beating - give the poor guy a break, eh?
The real Patrick had neither wife nor child, much less two of each!
Lawhead gets two stars for the vivid characters and scenery, but he loses me with the WILD departure from the story of the main character's life as well as from the theology of St. Patrick's life's work
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well written though not quite satisfying, March 24, 2003
I have been a huge fan of Stephen Lawhead for years. I loved his Byzantium, and his stories of Arthur and Merlin are absolutely superb. So it was with some excitement that I bought this book. It is indeed a well written, interesting story, but it does not satisfy me all that much at the end. Patrick, the book, focuses on the time during Patrick's own slavery in Ireland, his later escape, and his life which eventually brought him back as a missionary. It does not seem to at all reflect the Patrick as found in his own writings (his Confession and his Letter to Coroticus), with there seeming to be only the barest indication that these actual primary sources had any bearing on the writing of this book. I also was disappointed by the lack of really dealing with matters of faith and prayer. Patrick seems here more motivated by his own selfishness rather than driven by faith, with little if any discussion of his internal battles with God. There is a surprising romance storyline which not only did not seem appropriate, or at least well developed, but really took away from the depths of which could have been found in the story of Patrick. Lawhead has always been excellent at dealing with matters of quests of faith and spiritual journeys. Here though it seems he lost some of that focus, became less spiritual and more commercial. I could not really care about the characters, with even Patrick being someone who is more scheming throughout and not very likable. It seems to me, as one who has enjoyed Lawhead's other books, that the great elements of his other books were thrown into this one in a haphazard manner -- with this book reflecting nothing new, no real insight into early Ireland or Britain, and frankly making me think not much effort was put into making this book. Patrick, the book, left me as I think about it, feeling much the same as a 'flashback' episode of a sitcom -- apparently new, but really old stuff repackaged. I really wanted to like this book, but I'm left feeling disappointed. It is well written, and mildly interesting, but simply does not give a good picture of the man who changed Ireland, and through Ireland influenced Europe. The vague details of the primary sources have the makings of a superb, interesting, exciting story. Lawhead apparently thought this framework was not worth following and created his own, lesser version resulting in a story that neither explains the man or the effects his real journey of faith has had on the world. The one thing I didn't mind was the treatment on Pelagius. This was Britain of the mid 1st millenium. Pelagianism was a major force of thought among the people there, and not because they were terrible folks. The difficulty most people have, of course, is that they haven't read Eastern Orthodoxy, so get rather feisty in their Augustinian uproar. Lawhead may have hit on something here. Patrick was a monk during a time when the monastic movement hit its peak, under the tutelage of such luminaries as John Cassian. John Cassian was a philosophical opponent of Augustine, and was later charged with so-called Semi-Pelagianism. It's why he's not as big as Augustine today. Lawhead's perception of the looseness of the theological climate, with orthodoxy still being defined, was insightful - though honestly an insight that came more in his other books. If you don't care about the real person, this is a fine read, though Patrick's own writings are surprisingly much more interesting and compelling -- which indicates a failure of the historical fiction writer. It is, by far, the least satisfying of Lawhead's books, and to me a great disappointment.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book..., May 30, 2003
Patrick is a fine book by Lawhead. It is not his best: I believe that to be Byzantium. Further, as with many of his works, it takes a while to build into the story. Specifically, the second quarter of the book is somewhat laborious. Nonetheless, the onset-- set in Britain, for pre-enslaved Succat-- and the closing (scenes again set in Britain and in Rome) are very strong. Obviously, the work is set as historical fiction. Moreover, doing so with the patron saint of Ireland is risky business. However, the portrayed humanization of St. Patrick is pulled off, with one exception, in excellent form. His sojourn from rakehell to 'hero' to broken man is a chronicle worth reading. With that said, the final contrivance that leads Patrick to return Ireland borders (but does not quite crest) on being 'over the top'. Given the quality of the rest of the book, that's a shame. Bottom line: BUY THE BOOK. READ THE BOOK. ENJOY THE STORY.
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