- Unknown Binding: 268 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Trade) (Mar 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0395686660
- ISBN-13: 978-0395686669
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.5 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
2,648,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #56 in Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators > P > Paton Walsh, Jill
Knowledge Of Angels
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
A beautiful, magical novel.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
It is, perhaps, the fifteenth century and the ordered tranquillity of a Mediterranean island is about to be shattered by the appearance of two outsiders: one, a castaway, plucked from the sea by fishermen, whose beliefs represent a challenge to the established order; the other, a child abandoned by her mother and suckled by wolves, who knows nothing of the precarious relationship between Church and State but whose innocence will become the subject of a dangerous experiment.
But the arrival of the Inquisition on the island creates a darker, more threatening force which will transform what has been a philosophical game of chess into a matter of life and death...
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just returned to Knowledge of Angels after a 7 year break and found it just as compelling and beautifully written as I did the first time I read it some 10 years ago. The same dilemmas still haunt me. The book details the interwoven stories of a child reared by wolves in the mountains and a man found swimming far out at sea who claims to come from a country no one has heard of and where religious allegiance is a matter of personal conscience. They become the subject of an attempt to discover if knowledge of God is innate. Paton Walsh weaves the strands together using language that creates a mental medaevil book of hours full of fields of peasants bent double over their hoes and little wayside shrines. The book does not pretend to ape reality. Palinor, her swimming atheist, is clearly a cipher of our times and it is the clash of our morality with that of 1450 that provides the dramatic tension. It is not a perfect book but one that stimulates and stays with you. I have yet to give it to anyone who has not been as gripped as I have been (or at least owned up to it). It remains firmly in my top 10 books ever and I am still giving copies away.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My memory of the engaging narrative style remains with me long after I have read the book. No word is superfluous yet the book flows from beginning to end and carries the reader with it. Its often complex ideas are expessed eloquently, leaving the reader to appreciate the implications.
It may be criticised as a forceful view of religion where one case is stated and little room is left for the reader's religious beliefs. However, the repression and cruelties against which it fights are undertaken in the name of absolute conformity to the doctrines of the Church, so that it appears to me that the prevailing argument is not against religion but rather against the use of beliefs to justify inhumane acts.
Two of the most awesome accomplishments are the deployment of Josefa (wait for it...!) and the ending, which left me breathless and unwilling to destroy the atmosphere (even by speaking!) for some time. I am thrilled.
It may be criticised as a forceful view of religion where one case is stated and little room is left for the reader's religious beliefs. However, the repression and cruelties against which it fights are undertaken in the name of absolute conformity to the doctrines of the Church, so that it appears to me that the prevailing argument is not against religion but rather against the use of beliefs to justify inhumane acts.
Two of the most awesome accomplishments are the deployment of Josefa (wait for it...!) and the ending, which left me breathless and unwilling to destroy the atmosphere (even by speaking!) for some time. I am thrilled.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book slightly boring at first if I am honest. However, I had to study it and after a short while, I found myself engrossed. I have to say that it is compelling once the introduction and the primary events have passed.
This book really focuses on the narrow minds of those who claim to have the greatest minds, those who are at the top of the class hierachy. Can one possibly be an atheist in true faith? This is the question Severo must solve when a strange man enters his idyllic island. Palinor (a Prince in his own country) claims that he does not believe in God, causing despair in the religious boundries of the island. At the same time, a strange wolf girl is found who has no knowledge of the most basic human traits. Severo uses both characters in a dangerous experiment to find out whether the knowledge of God is with us from infancy or whether it is learnt during childhood.
You find yourself wondering at times whether or not your own faith and beliefs should be questioned whilst reading this enchanted little book. I think Walsh's style is excellent throughout this intruiging journey, though I must warn you of the rather graphic chapter 22, which seems out of place (it's amusing to students like moi, but older readers may be offended! ). Definitely worth reading!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Ticked all the boxes
Awesome. Beautifully written. I wasn't aware of the author's style intruding in any way in the telling of the story. I was gripped. Read late last night to finish it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by phantom midge
A Knowledge of Angels
I would love to review this book. Unfortunately Beadking has let me down badly and hasn't sent me the book I paid for. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Metcalfe
Knowledge of Angels
I thought this novel was brilliant. A beautifully written book which concerns some fascinating theological questions. Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2008 by A. Hope
Fantastic.
This book was actually brought to my attention during my A-Levels. It was a course text.I normally find it quite difficult to get into books, but this one was so compelling. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2004
All things considered, still one of the best books I've read
I first read this book in 1998, and have been reading it ever since, but it's not what you might think; my adoration has waned slightly.
I admit, at first I was blown away. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2003 by sadie
Read this
As a student of philosophy and an avid book reader, I absolutely loved this book. A smooth read with interesting and intertwined plots all revolving around the subject of the proof... Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2003 by jessica
This novel is a quality work: recommended for everyone
This might just be my own personal perspective, but Knowledge of Angels came across to me as an excellent, fascinating literary work. Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2002 by "epiphany_585"
Over-rated
Knowledge of Angels? Doing that for English Lit A-Level. It has to be said it is confusing. The so-called 'nevados' seem to be hidden for the most part at the beginning. Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2002
very ambitious, doesn't quite make it
I just finished this book, and I have to say I disagree with those reviewers giving it 2 stars. If I could I'd do 3. Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2002 by M. K. Curtiss
Knowledge of Angels
An interesting read based on an obscure island whose world is joined by two outsiders, a wolf child and an atheist from another country. Read more
Published on 14 May 2002
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
