Customer Reviews

That Same Flower: Floria Aemilia's Letter to Saint Augustine

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Norwegian-born, international bestselling novelist Jostein Gaarder splendidly exhibits the timelessness, the universality, and the agony of filial, but repudiated love in his book, That Same Flower. The book, Gaarder maintains, is a genuine reproduction of a personal letter composed for St. Augustine, one of the Latin Fathers of the Christian Church and one of the greatest figures in Western philosophy, by his former lover Floria Aemilia.

Gaarder says he discovered the letter in 1995 while shopping in an antique bookstore in Buenos Aires, Argentina and agreed to purchase it from the owner for a little more than $12,000 even though it was uncertain at the time as to its authenticity. Following an examination of the letter's style, terminology and grammar, however, Gaarder says he became convinced it could have only originated in medieval days.

The letter, titled the Codex Floriae, if indeed genuine, represents a major historical find. Over the centuries, very little has come to light regarding the lover of St. Augustine and their son Adeodatus. We do know that they lived together for several years in North Africa and Italy before Augustine's conversion into the Christian faith. Previously, all that has been known about Floria Aemilia has been derived from Augustine's own writings, chiefly his famous autobiographical Confessions.

In That Same Flower, however, Floria Aemilia writes candidly of her relationship with Augustine and of her feelings about his conversion. At times she corroborates what Augustine, himself has written and portrays him as a man prone to attacks of anguish and confusion. The major part of the letter, however, is dedicated to a bitter denouncement of Augustine's decision to separate forever from both Aemilia and their son. Aemilia, it is clear does not share Augustine's faith in a God that "desires above all that man should live in abstinence...I have no faith in such a God."

Augustine, himself, suffered deep sorrow over his decision to part from Aemilia. In his Confessions, he laments, "The woman I lived with was not permitted to stay at my side...My heart, which was deeply attached to her, was pierced, and wounded so that it bled...My wound, inflicted when my relationship with the woman I lived with was brought to an end, would not heal either."

Augustine's pain, however, pales in comparison to the anguish that surges forth from Aemilia's writings. Her distress is convincing and compelling and we feel the enormity of her pain. The victim of Augustine's conversion, Aemilia expresses her heartbreak most eloquently in her letter. "My heart," she says, suffered the same hurt...for we were two souls torn from each other...because you loved the salvation of your own soul more than you loved me."

Augustine's mother, Monica was one of the factors that led to the end of Aemilia's relationship with Augustine. Monica, described as a willful and ambitious woman, by Aemilia, and one who opposed her, banished Aemilia from the household and arranged for what she assumed would be a more suitable engagement for Augustine. Rightfully expecting Augustine to come to her defense, Aemilia was crushed and defeated when he refused to do so, even though he later withdrew from the engagement.

Augustine, however, also refused to return to the one woman he truly loved. Convinced that eternal damnation could only be avoided by a total renouncement of the pleasures of the body, he withdrew from all physical pleasure, including the company of Aemilia.

Aemilia, herself, has no sympathy for Augustine's views. Instead, she views them with the utmost contempt, having no faith in a God who places the existential and spiritual worth of a man over that of a woman. "I don't believe in a God," she writes, "who lays waste to a woman's life in order to save a man's soul."

Aemilia also writes much of the medieval "theologians and Platonists" who were the influential players in Augustine's intellectual and spiritual development. Their ideas, she says, transformed Augustine from a man living a carefree existence into a God-fearing mortifier of his own flesh. Aemilia denounces these men as ruling within a "dark labyrinth" and swears that Augustine was misguided by them.

Scored with the basic theme of Augustine's anti-materialism and aversion to bodily appetites, Aemilia accuses him of carrying his denial of physical gratification to extremes, regarding everything from eating nutritious food to listening to an enjoyable piece of music as a sin against God.

And, in his Confessions, Augustine writes that the sense of hearing "offers its perilous enticements" and that "I still find satisfaction in the melodies to which your words give life and should when they are sung artistically by a fine voice...So I sin in this without noticing; but after I feel it is sin."

After reading Aemilia's letter, it is difficult to put complete faith in Augustine's self-righteous insensitivity to natural human desires, especially when one considers his weaknesses and imperfections and the severe background of his religious convictions.

Aemilia shared this disbelief and Augustine's conversion failed to convince her about the necessity of "despising this life, and about how good it is to die." It did, however, remind her of the priceless value she, herself, placed of the here-and-now. She comes to the conclusion that "it must be human arrogance to reject this life--with all its earthly joys--in favor of an existence which is, perhaps, merely an abstraction...We must first live...then we can philosophize."

We must learn to embrace both the fruits and the beauty of our own humanity and to cherish and nurture our existence during our short and precious time here on earth. This is Floria Aemilia's message to the world; the message that she went to great lengths to nurture and preserve in the letter that became That Same Flower.

This book provides a glimpse the shadowy life of Saint Augustine through the words of the woman he loved, if it is true it challenges his role as a moral hero, if it is false it at least provides a poignant alternative view of Christianity. I rate it a 5, and feel for the strikingly human woman who has suffered under the guise of "religious virtue." Her loss, of man and child, connects to those of the modern world where families are so bitterly divided by divorce and other social institutions of escape. I recommend it to any free thinker, who believes that "the truth will set you free." By her courage to record her experiences this woman reaches out to history to remember, and question.

I am studying at Oxford this summer, and I could not resist picking up Jostein Gaarder's book, known as Vita Brevis here (and already in paperback). I am majoring in Religion and Philosophy, and Gaarder has become one of my all-time favorite writers. However, I was not totally convinced by the voice of Floria. The strength that must have carried her through her abandonment does not seem to shine as brightly as the tears that must have been running down her cheeks as "she" wrote the letter. From me, Gaarder's previous books earn higher praise. Yet I anxiously await Hello, is Anybody There? which I have already reserved at a local bookshop. I'm still a loyal fan, despite being slightly disappointed this time around.

This is, for sure, one of the most beautiful love stories of all times. Who could imagine a Saint such as Saint Augustine, a catholic Bishop from the IV Century, living a life full of memories of a beloved woman who had lived with him in sin for twelve years? A story of human feelings, of betrayal, faith and despair. A story of a woman that never accepted the lost of her lover and a man that never forgot her. The story of "That Same Flower : Floria Aemilia's Letter to Saint Augustine" is remarkable.

As a former philosophy teacher, I would give Mr. Gaarder's "Sophie's World" a 9. As someone who loved "I Was Amelia Earhart" by Jane Mendelsohn, (as a very creative 'fun' read), I would rate Mr. Gaarder's new book: "That Same Flower" a 10.

I could not stop reading this book and the enjoyment never let up.
I am glad it is a short book as a book of this type will either work and be great or not work and be poor. I am not sure that even Mr. Gaarder could have kept the level of total interest up for much longer. As it is, the book could hardly be better. I intend to read it several more times. It helps if you like philosophy and classic writers.

I HIGHLY recommend you read St. Augustine's "Confessions" first BEFORE reading this book! I read the book once, then read Confessions out of curiosity, then came back and re-read this book and... WOW!! It really makes all the difference in the world! Single sentences speak volumes after you have read "Confessions", because there is a story behind everything Floria writes. In a single sentence she has you laughing at some irony involving St. Augustine, and just as quickly have you feeling great despair, disgust, or even frustration... and of course, love! Nothing is stronger than the love from a woman, but then, nothing is as cruel as what Augustine did to that love. After reading this book you will want to sit in a quite place and ponder...

As suggested from the introduction, the authencity of the story shall be judged by the readers. Despite the historical accuracy, the imagination of Jostein Gaarder from the viewpoint of Floria Aemilia, writing a letter judging the Saint who has given up his family, "sensual lust" and all human desires to achieve eternal life. From the word of St. Augustine, "Thus I soiled the deep springs of friendship with impure sensual lust, and dulled its clear radiance with a hellish allure." It is challenged by the content of the letter that, such philosophy is correct to be applied to true love. Despite the philosophical arguments of the book. It is solely a book of romantic writing about a couple who has cherished their time together romantically, such as the young Aurel smelling the scent of Floria's hair on the bridge of Arno. "Can you remembered how you stroked me all over and seemed to tighten every bud before it opened itself? How you enjoyed plucking me! How you nourished yourself on my juices! And then you went away and sold me for the sake of your soul's salvation. What infidelity, Aurel, what guilt! No, I don't believe in a God who demands human sacrifices. I don't believe in a God who lays waste a woman's life to save a man's soul." It undoubtedly conclude the wrong decision of St. Augustine's inclination to complete isolation to human life.

I guess I should first explain that I am rather a fan of Jostein Gaarder's books, I have read them all so far. When I first set my eyes upon a copy of Vita Brevis, as it is called in the UK at least, I must admit I felt a little disappointed. It was not a work of pure fiction with Gaarder's fascinating philosophical investigations sown throughout..........or was it. Once I started to read I was absolutely spell bound, I couldn't put it down. Gaarder's translation from the original Latin text is wonderful and credit must also go to the translator who put it into English. It is spot on. Completely true to the original, as the footnotes show and perfect in the way it keeps the reader hanging off every sentence. If you have read Gaarder;s other works and are not sure if this one is quite up your street then my advice would be to give it a try. You won't be disappointed. And that is coming from a philosophy student and an original sceptic of the book.

That's how Jostein Gaarder titled the book, and I think it fits remarkably! It shows how we should sense our world and not just worry about the afterlife. A beautiful lovestory, and if it is true, an important historical found as well. And with the footnotes in the marrow, we get a much deeper insight to the letter than we would have with only the text.
I think it is genuine. Gaarder is not the kind of man to lie about this. With all his footnotes and even a referance to his Latin teacher at "Katta", I think he is telling the truth about how he found Codex Floriae.
Read this book! It is a beautiful lovestory, and a great introduction to the philosophical questions around St. Augustine.

It is a very interesting concept. The debates on Augustine are often remarkable. However, I don't know that I believe a woman of that time would be so brazen and bold and in comfortable expressing her sexual pleasure. Should it be true, however, it is incredible and what a find. If it isn't I would've much rather appreciated Gaardner being up front about it. His other works are some of my favorites. I'd hate to think he intentionally misled some faithful readers. It was curiously interesting and quite enjoyable.