Customer Reviews

Vita Brevis : A Letter to St Augustine

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First of all, as another user has said, this book was written by Gaarder, not by Floria. At the beginning, Gaarder says that he found an old document from the XVI century in a bookstore in Argentina. He bought the document because he thought it was a letter written by Floria, a woman who was St. Augustine's lover when they were both young. Just ignore what Gaarder says about how he found the document, because that's something he made up from his mind.

Now onto the book. Gaarder uses Floria to refute a lot of Augustine's ideas about virtue, sins, chastity, celibate and the relationship between God and men. Gaarder's philosophy is the opposite of Augustine's: Whenever Augustine says to ignore the beauty of the world because it may lead you to sin, Gaarder will tell you to enjoy it because it's God's creation.

The purpose of Gaarder is to show us the true nature of Augustine's ideas, more close to those of the asceticism than to Christianity (he is even ashamed for enjoying food, for Christ sake!). To deny the human nature is to deny the works of God, it was never His purpose to build a beautiful world just to demand us to ignore it.

You may be in disagreement with Gaarder's ideas, but at the end this is a great book and the best of it is that you will be anxious to know more about St. Augustine's life and works. I recommend you to look forward for The Confessions of St. Augustine, so you can have the whole picture and learn about a man that shaped modern morality like few people have been able to do. You won't regret it.

First of all, I have to say, I read this book in German, which is my native language. And I loved it. It touched me very much, how this woman loved her man so deeply and lost him to dogmata and guilt-feelings towards his mother. I was never very intrested in the saints of the catholic church and I don't know, how realistic this book is. And - honestly - I don't care. All I know is, that it touched me as no other book did before. I understand Floria. And I can only recommend it to everybody, who searches for bigger emotions in his life.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, it seemed clear to me that the "introduction," "postscript" and footnotes that others assumed where "true" are part of the text and are also fiction. Gaarder did not find these letters; his story of finding them is part of the story (here he is honoring Jorge Luis Borges). It is a short, but deeply intriguing story. The book does raise serious concerns about elements of Augustine's theology (especially the doctrine of creation; is creation good?). At the same time, it tells a painfully truthful story of lost love.

"vita brevis" holds controversial issues concerning one of the most renowned saints in the catholic church. gaarder puts forward an alternative view to salvation and its hold on st augustine.

the book is structured based on the views of the catholic faith from an athiest perpective with the loss of a woman's man to his faith. clearly documented with footnotes to hold its authenticity, leaving the reader (especially catholic readers) to question whether the letters are true or not.

gaarder beautifully pieces the letters, intertwining faith and worldly philosophy and questions its opposing relationship formed within humans.

if you're up for serious reading and religious insight, don't let this book pass you by!

This compilations of love letters is stunning.
A perfect read for those who have deeply loved and not loved back

I devoured this strangely moving book in about two hours, stranded inside a car during one of my former boyfriend's windsurfing forays - and closed it with a curious mixture of lingering anguish and that joy that sometimes comes with absolute recognition. The love story depicted here is very touching and anything but predictable. Some deep truths concerning love, endurance and the making of choices, are conveyed here through Floria's long-vanished voice.

This book wants to be an answer to Augustin's famous "Confession". This book is fiction and it is strange that some reviewers think the letters to be real.

Gaarder lets the woman, with whom Augustin lived together for a long time, speak in letters answering to the Confessions of Augustin. The problem is that Gaarder's view of this woman is a woman of the 20th century, a woman who has no understanding for Augustin's religious belief or sexual morals. It seems Gaarder read this book, quickly judged it after the standards of our time and left it with that. Would he for a moment consider if there may be some true meaning in such a classic as the confessions of Augustin, a book, which has been a classic for more than 1500 years?

He even misrepresents cleary what Augustin said. Augustin syas how even in children you can observe envy. That you can see a baby who screams angrily at another baby, just because that other baby gets fed. Even though there clearly is enough for both. That's what Augustin wrote. Gaarder accuses him of saying that a baby is sinful just because it wants to be fed in the first place, and that is clearly not what Augustin said, as anyone can read in Augustin's confessions.

This is a compilation of letters from Floria Aemilia to Augustine, and it reveals quite another side of him. Anyone who has read his Confessiones cannot help but think what a boring life he lead .. however, after having read these letters, you realize that that was just one side of his life. These letters are moving and very interesting. True love letters from another time - yet they feel timeless. Surely such a love story could have taken place today, although the obstacles would have been different.

The foreward about how these letters came into Jostein Gaarder's possession is also very interesting - a dream for booklovers coming true!