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Product Description
Product Description
A box of Ltin manuscripts comes to light in an Argentine flea market. An apocyphral invention by some 17th or 18th century scolar, or a transcrpit of what it appears to be - a hitherto unheard of letter to St Augustine to a woman he renounced for chastity? VITA BREVIS is both an entrancing human document and a fascinating insight into the life and philosophy of St.Augustine. Gaarder'sinterpretation of Floria's letter is as playful, inventive and questioning as Sophie's World.
About the Author
Jostein Gaarder is the author of SOPHIE'S WORLD, a huge bestseller in over 40 countries. He was born in Oslo in 1952 and lives there now with his wife and two sons.
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First Sentence
WHEN I VISITED the book fair in Buenos Aires in the spring of 1995 I was urged to set aside a morning for the renowned flea market in San Telmo. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
WHEN I VISITED the book fair in Buenos Aires in the spring of 1995 I was urged to set aside a morning for the renowned flea market in San Telmo. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have never read a book by Jostein Gaarder before, although am well aware of "Sophie's World" and the "Christmas Mystery", the stories of which never really made me want to read his books. So it doesn't surprise that I came across "Vita Brevis" by complete accident. I started reading the epilogue and was hooked immediately and did not put the book down before I finished reading it. Anybody with an interest in ancient culture and history, Latin or Greek languages or even Christian religion, should read this book as it really brings alive the history of ancient Rome and Catharge. But the story of Floria and Augustine works on a very human level, too. The book is in effect a letter, composed by Floria, to her former partner who left her to save his own soul. He is now known as Saint Augustine. Floria composed her letter after reading Augustine's "Confessions" and by reminding him of their life together she grants us, the people of today, an insight into life ~1500 years ago. This alone makes the book worth reading. But what is even more surprising is how little human interactions and emotions have changed since then and how applicable to modern life the things are Floria speaks about in her letter. Floria, without a doubt, was a very well educated and intelligent woman but her foresight in respect to the treatment of women by the Catholic Church is quite simply extraordinary.
All in all, a very tragic story that will give you goosebumps that will touch you on a very personal level and that will give you heaps to think about.
All in all, a very tragic story that will give you goosebumps that will touch you on a very personal level and that will give you heaps to think about.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this whole book in one night when I was stranded in Zurich airport and it just touched me in a way no other book by this author has before. This book will really set you thinking - I just can't say anymore about it - just read it for yourself...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is one of Gaarder's most remarkable books. It isn't long - it only takes a couple of hours to read - but the subject matter is probably the most mature and thought-provoking of his books, with the possible exception of "Through a Glass Darkly".
The backstory is that the author has discovered the manuscript of a letter, written from Floria Aemelia to Augustine, the Christian philosopher, and author of Confessions. Floria, it turns out, was the lover who bore Augustine a son, and who was abandoned by him as he immersed himself in his religious beliefs. The letter weaves together the story of their relationship, from their first to their last meeting, and also provides a response to Augustine's approach to human love. Floria has learnt much in the years they have been apart, and she frames her letter as an echo of the Confessions, in addition to filling it with allusions to other classical literature and the Scriptures that Augustine himself loves.
Floria argues with Augustine that for him to deny their love was to reject something good that God has made. She also highlights the way in which Augustine had been unable to break away from his relationship with his mother - and that in actual fact his response to Floria has as much to do with this distorting effect as his religious convictions.
A remarkable book. Read it, then find somebody to talk about it with into the small hours ... if you can.
The backstory is that the author has discovered the manuscript of a letter, written from Floria Aemelia to Augustine, the Christian philosopher, and author of Confessions. Floria, it turns out, was the lover who bore Augustine a son, and who was abandoned by him as he immersed himself in his religious beliefs. The letter weaves together the story of their relationship, from their first to their last meeting, and also provides a response to Augustine's approach to human love. Floria has learnt much in the years they have been apart, and she frames her letter as an echo of the Confessions, in addition to filling it with allusions to other classical literature and the Scriptures that Augustine himself loves.
Floria argues with Augustine that for him to deny their love was to reject something good that God has made. She also highlights the way in which Augustine had been unable to break away from his relationship with his mother - and that in actual fact his response to Floria has as much to do with this distorting effect as his religious convictions.
A remarkable book. Read it, then find somebody to talk about it with into the small hours ... if you can.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Discourse on a Saint, or just a childish rant?
Firstly, I want to say that I have read the majority of Jostein Gaarder's novels, and that I have enjoyed nearly all of them. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2007 by Brida
Dull, flat and just plain wrong
I read this book because someone whose opinion I respect loves it. And I tried very hard to be objective about it. Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2007 by S. Bailey
enchanting
I was a little cautious at first as it didn't seem to be like other Jostein Gaarder novels that I have read. Read more
Published on 1 Nov 1999
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