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Knowledge of Angels
Praised by Ursula K. Le Guin as a "disturbing and beautiful novel of ideas," Knowledge Of Angels is an absorbing read that explores timeless conflicts between tolerance and moral certainty, between loving kindness and murderous cruelty. Capturing the mood of William Golding's haunting medieval love story, The Spire, Knowledge Of Angels is a suspenseful fable set on a mythical island in the time of the Inquisition, a time of unquestionable and unquestioned faith and unmerciful justice. The fable spins a tale of two outcasts: a wild, flesh-eating wolf child and a foreign prince, captured separately and taken to the cardinal prince of the island. The wolf girl is remanded to a nunnery, where her caretakers are ordered to teach her to speak but not to speak of God, so that the cardinal can ask her if God exists. On her answer depends the life of the heretic prince, condemned because he does not believe in God. The federal creature and the elegant paladin are used as pawns by the town's religious council to answer the question of whether or not believing in God is an inherent part of being human.
"[Its] lapidary prose leads the enchanted and unsuspecting reader from escapism to self- scrutiny."—The New Yorker.
"An illuminated and illuminating book [that] advances to a brilliant and relentless conclusion."—New York Newsday.
"A novel set in a time and place other than the here and now, but a novel of importance to the here and now-one that prompts us to grapple with the great questions of trust, faith, understanding. A soul-compelling book that will touch many readers deeply."—Robert Coles, author of The SpiritualLife Of Children.
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
53 people are currently reading
1476 people want to read
About the author
Jill Paton Walsh
76 books223 followersJill Paton Walsh was born Gillian Bliss in London on April 29th, 1937. She was educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, and at St. Anne's College, Oxford. From 1959 to 1962 she taught English at Enfield Girls' Grammar School.
Jill Paton Walsh has won the Book World Festival Award, 1970, for Fireweed; the Whitbread Prize, 1974 (for a Children's novel) for The Emperor's Winding Sheet; The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award 1976 for Unleaving; The Universe Prize, 1984 for A Parcel of Patterns; and the Smarties Grand Prix, 1984, for Gaffer Samson's Luck.
Series:
* Imogen Quy
* Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane
Jill Paton Walsh has won the Book World Festival Award, 1970, for Fireweed; the Whitbread Prize, 1974 (for a Children's novel) for The Emperor's Winding Sheet; The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award 1976 for Unleaving; The Universe Prize, 1984 for A Parcel of Patterns; and the Smarties Grand Prix, 1984, for Gaffer Samson's Luck.
Series:
* Imogen Quy
* Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
May 17, 2020
“Angels are very bright mirrors”.
I hesitated just a little between four and five stars for this intelligent and disturbing book. I’ve now read it three times, which is some justification for giving it five stars, and it’s a small masterpiece in terms of its construction and themes; nothing is extraneous, everything fascinates; but I wondered when I finished it this morning how meaningful it is in today’s world. The story is set in a “possible” fifteenth century, in a strictly religious and closeted island whose peace is disturbed by ‘a boat being rocked’ out at sea (really! – I love the direct link with the common expression in English, to ‘rock the boat’ when you disrupt something). A visitor from a different world appears, and breaks open the religious ethos of the island. On reflection I decided that, whatever form religious barbarism may have taken in the time of the Inquisition, we still see perverted religious thinking in different forms in our world, and so the book is indeed relevant. So, five stars.
On a level beyond modern-day relevance, the argument that takes place between this visitor and the island’s religious leaders, which offers proofs and refutations of the existence of God, is not particular to any single expression of strict religious belief but raises universal questions, as when the concept of a ‘prime mover’ gives rise to the unreliability of perception. To say anything about the story of how this all unravels is to spoil the book for anyone who has not read it, but it is stated in the general description that there is an attempt to establish proof of innate knowledge of God through the use of a wild child; and in this there is something of a twist, hardly stated, but crucial. By this time the story has spiralled in a dramatic and frightening way with the arrival of the Inquisition.
The book is a real page-turner, with short chapters that alternate between the story of the child and that of the visitor from afar. There is one chapter that sets out possible grounds for immorality in the atheistic visitor; this episode gives rise to the question: does morality arise from religious faith, or is it fundamentally a matter of conscience? This question links very much with my ongoing (slow!) reading of John Stuart Mill, in his essay on Utilitarianism.
The most powerful image in the book, for me, is Christ-like; but I can’t say more about that without spoiling the story! And the most compelling argument of refutation involves a broken lantern (see the opening quote of this review). A clever and compelling book. I read it over the course of a couple of days.
I hesitated just a little between four and five stars for this intelligent and disturbing book. I’ve now read it three times, which is some justification for giving it five stars, and it’s a small masterpiece in terms of its construction and themes; nothing is extraneous, everything fascinates; but I wondered when I finished it this morning how meaningful it is in today’s world. The story is set in a “possible” fifteenth century, in a strictly religious and closeted island whose peace is disturbed by ‘a boat being rocked’ out at sea (really! – I love the direct link with the common expression in English, to ‘rock the boat’ when you disrupt something). A visitor from a different world appears, and breaks open the religious ethos of the island. On reflection I decided that, whatever form religious barbarism may have taken in the time of the Inquisition, we still see perverted religious thinking in different forms in our world, and so the book is indeed relevant. So, five stars.
On a level beyond modern-day relevance, the argument that takes place between this visitor and the island’s religious leaders, which offers proofs and refutations of the existence of God, is not particular to any single expression of strict religious belief but raises universal questions, as when the concept of a ‘prime mover’ gives rise to the unreliability of perception. To say anything about the story of how this all unravels is to spoil the book for anyone who has not read it, but it is stated in the general description that there is an attempt to establish proof of innate knowledge of God through the use of a wild child; and in this there is something of a twist, hardly stated, but crucial. By this time the story has spiralled in a dramatic and frightening way with the arrival of the Inquisition.
The book is a real page-turner, with short chapters that alternate between the story of the child and that of the visitor from afar. There is one chapter that sets out possible grounds for immorality in the atheistic visitor; this episode gives rise to the question: does morality arise from religious faith, or is it fundamentally a matter of conscience? This question links very much with my ongoing (slow!) reading of John Stuart Mill, in his essay on Utilitarianism.
The most powerful image in the book, for me, is Christ-like; but I can’t say more about that without spoiling the story! And the most compelling argument of refutation involves a broken lantern (see the opening quote of this review). A clever and compelling book. I read it over the course of a couple of days.
August 13, 2019
Tão bem escrito! Que agradável surpresa!
Algures na Idade Média, o poderoso Cardeal Severo tem na suas mãos os destinos de Palinor, náufrago proveniente da desconhecida e democrática Aclar, e da Menina-da-Neve, uma criança selvagem criada por lobos.
Severo pede a Beneditx que o ajude, convencendo Palinor da existência de Deus através da razão, uma vez que esse conhecimento não lhe foi revelado. Ao mesmo tempo, pede às freiras de Santa Clara (em particular à noviça Josefa) para receberem a menina, sem nunca lhe referirem o nome de Deus, de forma a provar que o conhecimento de Deus é inato.
Qual será o resultado destes esquemas? Irá Palinor escapar ao fogo da Inquisição? Irá a menina-lobo referir-se a Deus sem nunca ter ouvido falar Nele? Como sabemos que Ele existe?
Vale a pena ler!
"Uma pessoa como eu pode perguntar por que é admirável o Deus da revelação? É ou não verdade que ele nos é apresentado como louco e vingativo? Não é verdade que pôs uma maçã em frente de um homem e de uma mulher e depois os castigou horrivelmente por a terem comido?"
Algures na Idade Média, o poderoso Cardeal Severo tem na suas mãos os destinos de Palinor, náufrago proveniente da desconhecida e democrática Aclar, e da Menina-da-Neve, uma criança selvagem criada por lobos.
Severo pede a Beneditx que o ajude, convencendo Palinor da existência de Deus através da razão, uma vez que esse conhecimento não lhe foi revelado. Ao mesmo tempo, pede às freiras de Santa Clara (em particular à noviça Josefa) para receberem a menina, sem nunca lhe referirem o nome de Deus, de forma a provar que o conhecimento de Deus é inato.
Qual será o resultado destes esquemas? Irá Palinor escapar ao fogo da Inquisição? Irá a menina-lobo referir-se a Deus sem nunca ter ouvido falar Nele? Como sabemos que Ele existe?
Vale a pena ler!
"Uma pessoa como eu pode perguntar por que é admirável o Deus da revelação? É ou não verdade que ele nos é apresentado como louco e vingativo? Não é verdade que pôs uma maçã em frente de um homem e de uma mulher e depois os castigou horrivelmente por a terem comido?"
July 3, 2012
Ursula Le Guin reportedly described this book as "beautiful and disturbing", and I can go with that. I didn't expect to like this; Jill Paton Walsh has left me cold on several previous occasions. But slowly, slowly, I was drawn in by the (alternate?) world presented. The proofs of God's existence parts were tiresome to me, since I've done Religious Studies to A Level and the first year of a philosophy degree, but the story formed around the idea of proving the existence of God is beautiful.
There's a sort of distance from the characters -- I'm not sure I liked any of them, that is -- but somehow I became deeply involved in the story anyway, and I think I'd even say I loved the characters despite not liking them. And oh, I was so sure everything would turn out alright, I wanted that ending so badly.
I may well read other historical novels by Jill Paton Walsh: this, I think, is something she's better at than thinly veiled mimicry of Dorothy L. Sayers.
There's a sort of distance from the characters -- I'm not sure I liked any of them, that is -- but somehow I became deeply involved in the story anyway, and I think I'd even say I loved the characters despite not liking them. And oh, I was so sure everything would turn out alright, I wanted that ending so badly.
I may well read other historical novels by Jill Paton Walsh: this, I think, is something she's better at than thinly veiled mimicry of Dorothy L. Sayers.
March 10, 2015
A great book that makes you think about why you believe what you believe. You cannot convince someone else that God exists or does not exist and no one can prove it to you. Is the knowledge of God innate or learned?
This is one of the most thought-provoking books that I have ever read and one of our best discussions for book club. I highly recommend this book!
In fact, I bought this book, so I could loan it out to people.
This is one of the most thought-provoking books that I have ever read and one of our best discussions for book club. I highly recommend this book!
In fact, I bought this book, so I could loan it out to people.
August 9, 2014
A good book is one the effects you deeply. Although this is a philosophical treatise disguised as a novel, it, nonetheless, hits all the right intellectual chords while also pulling you in to the lives of the characters. I enjoyed going along for the ride and reading both the philosophy and the story itself. The characters are well drawn and lovingly crafted and even if you know the arguments on which it is based you will not be bored. Another point in its favor is that, even though it's written with an air of "long ago and far away" the inquisition that it uses as an evil backdrop, though no longer as powerful in Europe, is still at large in the minds of humanity. Read closely this is as much a parable for today as it is a story of the foolishness of the minds of the middle ages.
April 5, 2011
This is a fable, unelaborately told and recounted with a truth and simplicity which makes it resonate and seem timeless. The author plays entertainingly, in the prologue, with post-modernist ideas of the way that novels capture time, and the characters are eternally in their own present, poised to undertake their tasks preordained by their author, at the will of the reader - the internal time of the book being somewhere in the 15th century, but the awareness of author and reader are firmly 21st Century.
Jill Paton Walsh is brilliantly aware of the echoes down through time of the sentiments and beliefs and meanspiritedness dressed up as religious piety she presents for our 'wiser' and less time-locked eyes. The challenges disclosed: the struggle to believe in an exclusive God and to reconcile this belief with the suffering we see in the world, and with the virtue and morality of those outside of our own belief system are portrayed with wit and understanding and sympathy, and seemingly without judgement.
It is a striking testament to the sensitivity of Paton Walsh that such an unembroidered story with appropriately unfleshed out characters can make such a riveting read - as the reader thrills to the conflicts experienced by those good hearted people who would do right as the church sees it, but begin to perceive the deeds required by their religion as evil. The tortured souls of the characters eventually burst out in the manifestation of the torture of the prince and the wolf-child, and the notion of responsibility is left to haunt the reader and the good christians in the novel alike.
Jill Paton Walsh is brilliantly aware of the echoes down through time of the sentiments and beliefs and meanspiritedness dressed up as religious piety she presents for our 'wiser' and less time-locked eyes. The challenges disclosed: the struggle to believe in an exclusive God and to reconcile this belief with the suffering we see in the world, and with the virtue and morality of those outside of our own belief system are portrayed with wit and understanding and sympathy, and seemingly without judgement.
It is a striking testament to the sensitivity of Paton Walsh that such an unembroidered story with appropriately unfleshed out characters can make such a riveting read - as the reader thrills to the conflicts experienced by those good hearted people who would do right as the church sees it, but begin to perceive the deeds required by their religion as evil. The tortured souls of the characters eventually burst out in the manifestation of the torture of the prince and the wolf-child, and the notion of responsibility is left to haunt the reader and the good christians in the novel alike.
March 9, 2025
I was surprised to discover that this rather pretentious novel was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1994. That year was best remembered for the controversy about the winner, How Late it Was, How Late by James Kelman which one of the judges Rabbi Julian Neuberger described as a disgrace.
Maybe the rabbi did not read The Knowledge of Angels at all which says some pretty rude things about her own faith.
In any event this work is partly a theological examination of the nature of faith and of atheism and partly an historical thriller, involving the Inquisition, a girl brought up by nuns and a man washed ashore from a ship from a country nobody has heard of.
It is quite intriguing but it is, like the Name of the Rose another philosophical novel too clever by half.
Maybe the rabbi did not read The Knowledge of Angels at all which says some pretty rude things about her own faith.
In any event this work is partly a theological examination of the nature of faith and of atheism and partly an historical thriller, involving the Inquisition, a girl brought up by nuns and a man washed ashore from a ship from a country nobody has heard of.
It is quite intriguing but it is, like the Name of the Rose another philosophical novel too clever by half.
March 19, 2009
A novel of ideas - debates between an agnostic and some dedicated christians - a philospher following Aquinas, and the devil incarnate in an inquisitor. And the feral child - who hadn't known god - and the reluctant nun. And some free love, and the utopian country of the agnostic, where engineers and artists are princes, and everyone believes as they wish...
August 12, 2016
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Bir ada hayal ettiğinizi düşünün. Ama bu ada bildiğiniz hiçbir yere benzemiyor. Ciudad bu adanın adı. Kardinal ise Severo adlı biri. Ada Hristiyanlık inancının baskın olduğu bir yer ve Hristiyan inancının dışındaki tüm inanışlara kötü gözle bakılıyor (bir yerden tanıdık geldi mi?).
Adada bir gün, yani aynı gün, adada yaşayanların bir kısmı dağda buz gömmek için (yazın satacaklardır) gittikleri yere yakın bir yerde vahşi bir kurt-kız bulurken; diğerleri de uçsuz bucaksız denizde kıyıya doğru yüzen artık takati kalmamış bir adam bulurlar.
Kurt kız tamamen vahşi bir yaratıktır. Öldürülmek üzere iken Jamie adındaki köylülerden biri sayesinde kurtulur. Köylüler kızı garip bir yaratık sandıkları için ininde öldüreceklerdir ama Jamie onun insan olduğunun farkına varır ve buna engel olur. O günden sonra da kız köye getirilir.
Aynı anda Palinor adlı bir adam da denizden kurtarılır. Yaşatılır ve köye getirilir. Palinor, Aclar diye bir yerden geldiğini söyler; ancak ortada garip bir gerçeklik vardır ki kimse Aclar diye bir yerin adını daha önce duymamıştır. Ve yabancının akıbeti kesinliğe kavuşturulmadan türlü yere başvurması (bürokrasi icabı) gerekir. Tüm bu süre içinde yabancı "ateist" olduğunu söylediği için dehşete düşerler. Bir insan Tanrı denen kutsal varlığa nasıl inanmaz?! Tanrı aşkına! Agnostik olduğunu söylerler ama Palinor nettir: "Hayır, ben Tanrı'nın varlığına inanmıyorum!"
Severo ve sadık rahip Beneditx, hem Palinor'un hem de Amara adı verilen kurt-kızın varlığından haberdar olurlar. Sonra akıllarına bir deney yapmak gelir. Tanrı bilgisi insanın içinde doğuştan mı vardır, yoksa sonradan çevresinden duyarak mı edinilir?
İşte bu savı test etmek için Amara'yı, kızın yanında Tanrı ve onunla ilgili şeylerden bahsetmeyeceğine yemin etmiş rahibelerin yanına, Sant Clara'ya götürürler. Kızın burada vahşiliği eğitilecek ve teste hazır hale gelecektir. Tüm bu süreç içerisinde de Severo ve Beneditx, Palinor ile konuşarak çok tehlikeli sorgulamaların içinde kendilerini bulacaklardır.
Öyle ki bir kafiri inanca ikna etmeye çalışırken ya siz inancınızdan olma tehlikesi ile karşı karşıya kalırsanız ne yaparsınız? İnancınızın ne kadar sağlam olduğunu test etmek ister misiniz? Peki ya inanç için ne kadar ileri gidilebilir? İnanç sorgulanabilir mi? Ya bir başkasının inancına müdahale etmek sizi tanrı katında iyi bir yere mi oturtur, yoksa günah mı işlersiniz? Bir insanın masumiyeti başka birinin inancı için feda edilebilir mi?
İçinde çok hoşuma giden felsefi sorgulamaların olduğu bir kitaptı. Yazmaya kalksam kitabın yarısını yazmam gerekiyor, o yüzden yazmıyorum. Kitap çok iyi çevrilmiş, edite edilmiş ve gerçekten merak ettiren bir üslupla yazılmış. Amara ve Palinor adlı iki kişinin sebep oldukları, Severo ve Beneditx'in sorgulamaları, Josefa ve Jamie'nin iyi yürekleri, hepsi hikayede çok önemli yer tutuyorlardı. Ama özellikle Amara'ya çok üzüldüm; masumiyetinin insanlar tarafından kirletmesi (hem fiziki hem de zihinsel olarak diyorum) insan ırkının iğrençliğini bir kez daha görmemi sağladı. Bizler o kadar zarar verici olabiliyoruz ki... Özellikle felsefi sorgulamalar içeren kurgu kitapları sevenlere kitabı kesinlikle tavsiye ederim.
Bir ada hayal ettiğinizi düşünün. Ama bu ada bildiğiniz hiçbir yere benzemiyor. Ciudad bu adanın adı. Kardinal ise Severo adlı biri. Ada Hristiyanlık inancının baskın olduğu bir yer ve Hristiyan inancının dışındaki tüm inanışlara kötü gözle bakılıyor (bir yerden tanıdık geldi mi?).
Adada bir gün, yani aynı gün, adada yaşayanların bir kısmı dağda buz gömmek için (yazın satacaklardır) gittikleri yere yakın bir yerde vahşi bir kurt-kız bulurken; diğerleri de uçsuz bucaksız denizde kıyıya doğru yüzen artık takati kalmamış bir adam bulurlar.
Kurt kız tamamen vahşi bir yaratıktır. Öldürülmek üzere iken Jamie adındaki köylülerden biri sayesinde kurtulur. Köylüler kızı garip bir yaratık sandıkları için ininde öldüreceklerdir ama Jamie onun insan olduğunun farkına varır ve buna engel olur. O günden sonra da kız köye getirilir.
Aynı anda Palinor adlı bir adam da denizden kurtarılır. Yaşatılır ve köye getirilir. Palinor, Aclar diye bir yerden geldiğini söyler; ancak ortada garip bir gerçeklik vardır ki kimse Aclar diye bir yerin adını daha önce duymamıştır. Ve yabancının akıbeti kesinliğe kavuşturulmadan türlü yere başvurması (bürokrasi icabı) gerekir. Tüm bu süre içinde yabancı "ateist" olduğunu söylediği için dehşete düşerler. Bir insan Tanrı denen kutsal varlığa nasıl inanmaz?! Tanrı aşkına! Agnostik olduğunu söylerler ama Palinor nettir: "Hayır, ben Tanrı'nın varlığına inanmıyorum!"
Severo ve sadık rahip Beneditx, hem Palinor'un hem de Amara adı verilen kurt-kızın varlığından haberdar olurlar. Sonra akıllarına bir deney yapmak gelir. Tanrı bilgisi insanın içinde doğuştan mı vardır, yoksa sonradan çevresinden duyarak mı edinilir?
İşte bu savı test etmek için Amara'yı, kızın yanında Tanrı ve onunla ilgili şeylerden bahsetmeyeceğine yemin etmiş rahibelerin yanına, Sant Clara'ya götürürler. Kızın burada vahşiliği eğitilecek ve teste hazır hale gelecektir. Tüm bu süreç içerisinde de Severo ve Beneditx, Palinor ile konuşarak çok tehlikeli sorgulamaların içinde kendilerini bulacaklardır.
Öyle ki bir kafiri inanca ikna etmeye çalışırken ya siz inancınızdan olma tehlikesi ile karşı karşıya kalırsanız ne yaparsınız? İnancınızın ne kadar sağlam olduğunu test etmek ister misiniz? Peki ya inanç için ne kadar ileri gidilebilir? İnanç sorgulanabilir mi? Ya bir başkasının inancına müdahale etmek sizi tanrı katında iyi bir yere mi oturtur, yoksa günah mı işlersiniz? Bir insanın masumiyeti başka birinin inancı için feda edilebilir mi?
İçinde çok hoşuma giden felsefi sorgulamaların olduğu bir kitaptı. Yazmaya kalksam kitabın yarısını yazmam gerekiyor, o yüzden yazmıyorum. Kitap çok iyi çevrilmiş, edite edilmiş ve gerçekten merak ettiren bir üslupla yazılmış. Amara ve Palinor adlı iki kişinin sebep oldukları, Severo ve Beneditx'in sorgulamaları, Josefa ve Jamie'nin iyi yürekleri, hepsi hikayede çok önemli yer tutuyorlardı. Ama özellikle Amara'ya çok üzüldüm; masumiyetinin insanlar tarafından kirletmesi (hem fiziki hem de zihinsel olarak diyorum) insan ırkının iğrençliğini bir kez daha görmemi sağladı. Bizler o kadar zarar verici olabiliyoruz ki... Özellikle felsefi sorgulamalar içeren kurgu kitapları sevenlere kitabı kesinlikle tavsiye ederim.
September 3, 2021
I wasn't exactly blown away by this book but it is certainly deep, nicely structured, and carefully thought out. I didn't know the plot in advance, so it took me a while to work my way into the story as the "aha" moment doesn't come for many pages.
The book hinges on the intersection of two unrelated events--the discovery of Amara, a girl raised by wolves, and the arrival of a shipwrecked stranger, Palinor, on a Mediterranean island under the sway of the Inquisition. (The setting is philosophical rather than historical, in my opinion; there is little historical detail.)
Palinor is an intelligent, cultured man, but an atheist who comes from an entirely secular society. Instead of handing him straight over to the Inquisition, an enlightened leader of the religious community decides to use Amara to prove the existence of God. If she can be restored to her humanity, taught to speak, without any knowledge of God and yet still acknowledges the presence of a deity in her life, this is proof that Palinor must have knowledge of God and is simply denying him, in which case he needs to be burned at the stake for the good of his soul. If Amara cannot see a deity in the world around her, Palinor will be off the hook because you can't burn someone who is merely ignorant. Something like that, anyway--I might have to read this one again to be absolutely sure! The story is definitely not straightforward and there are some ambiguities about the climax and ending that allow for a number of interpretations.
You can definitely read this book as a fable and apply it to contemporary life, especially with all the religious extremism that seems to have gotten worse during my lifetime. As I'm writing this I'm thinking of Voltaire's Candide, which is a pretty good compliment--and in many ways the conclusion I got from it is the same, that you should cultivate your own garden and keep your nose out of other people's lives and beliefs. Something that the Inquisition and various religious extremisms tend not to do . . . and one of the hardest aspects of Christianity for me, a churchgoer. As soon as you believe that you must save people from unbelief and error through your own actions (i.e. you don't leave it to God) you're on moral quicksand, it seems to me.
(If you feel you must comment on that last couple of sentences, please read the book first.)
The book hinges on the intersection of two unrelated events--the discovery of Amara, a girl raised by wolves, and the arrival of a shipwrecked stranger, Palinor, on a Mediterranean island under the sway of the Inquisition. (The setting is philosophical rather than historical, in my opinion; there is little historical detail.)
Palinor is an intelligent, cultured man, but an atheist who comes from an entirely secular society. Instead of handing him straight over to the Inquisition, an enlightened leader of the religious community decides to use Amara to prove the existence of God. If she can be restored to her humanity, taught to speak, without any knowledge of God and yet still acknowledges the presence of a deity in her life, this is proof that Palinor must have knowledge of God and is simply denying him, in which case he needs to be burned at the stake for the good of his soul. If Amara cannot see a deity in the world around her, Palinor will be off the hook because you can't burn someone who is merely ignorant. Something like that, anyway--I might have to read this one again to be absolutely sure! The story is definitely not straightforward and there are some ambiguities about the climax and ending that allow for a number of interpretations.
You can definitely read this book as a fable and apply it to contemporary life, especially with all the religious extremism that seems to have gotten worse during my lifetime. As I'm writing this I'm thinking of Voltaire's Candide, which is a pretty good compliment--and in many ways the conclusion I got from it is the same, that you should cultivate your own garden and keep your nose out of other people's lives and beliefs. Something that the Inquisition and various religious extremisms tend not to do . . . and one of the hardest aspects of Christianity for me, a churchgoer. As soon as you believe that you must save people from unbelief and error through your own actions (i.e. you don't leave it to God) you're on moral quicksand, it seems to me.
(If you feel you must comment on that last couple of sentences, please read the book first.)
November 5, 2016
Read this years ago but remains one of my favourites. Great philosophical discussion on the existence, or not, of god. Recommended to me by a dr of phil at Aberdeen Uni, it was a welcome relief from formal logic.
August 28, 2018
Amazing story that perfectly weaves in philosophical and existential questions .
June 8, 2012
Numa ilha, em plena Idade Média, são feitos prisioneiros um náufrago - cujos conhecimentos ao nível da ciência e forma de ver o mundo são superiores e contrários aos dos habitantes da ilha - e uma menina que foi criada por lobos. É um grande livro que fala da crueldade a que são sujeitos aqueles que são diferentes da maioria. Emocionei-me com a capacidade de amar e entrega de algumas personagens. Gostei das dissertações sobre religião. É um livro pequeno mas de uma grande riqueza, ao nível das ideias e das personagens. É um livro de 5*. No entanto dou-lhe 4*, por causa de duas cenas que me pareceram fora de contexto, ou não.
September 24, 2025
A good book. 3.5 stars. Writing with good historical knowledge. Characters with depth and interesting story.
September 11, 2018
Δεν ξέρω γιατί δεν αναφέρει την τελευταία κ απόλυτη απόδειξη της μη ύπαρξης του Θεού .. Μου άφησε ερωτηματικά. Οι προβληματισμοί όμως επί του θέματος καλοί κ σωστοί
February 3, 2024
And this is why I'm an atheist
June 18, 2022
This book had been sitting on my shelf since 1995 and thanks to a challenge in the Netherlands & Flanders Group I was finally moved to read it.
Unfortunately it was not my kind of book. It concerns a cardinal on a southern island who, by means of a young girl raised by wolves, tries to prove that knowledge of God is not innate in order to save a shipwrecked atheist from the Inquisition. It could have been interesting, but the endless philosophical discussions that always ended in God quickly became tedious to me.
By contrast, there was a short chapter describing a sex scene that startled me in its unexpectedness. I suppose it was inserted to show how libertine and unencumbered by religious conventions the atheist was.
Finally, I found the ending doubly unsatisfactory.
Edit 18 June 2022: copying my text updates here in case they are disappeared:
March 5, 2022 – page 33
11.62% "An hour later he was washed, oiled, and decently clad in humble clothes. He emerged to be led to the tavern with uncertain steps by a crowd of triumphant women and girls, every one of whom knew more about the stranger than their menfolk by the width of a loincloth; unfavourable comparisons would be made for many years. (p. 28)"
March 20, 2022 – page 198
69.72% "'Leave sin to churchmen. They have the expertise,' said Palinor. (p. 197)"
Unfortunately it was not my kind of book. It concerns a cardinal on a southern island who, by means of a young girl raised by wolves, tries to prove that knowledge of God is not innate in order to save a shipwrecked atheist from the Inquisition. It could have been interesting, but the endless philosophical discussions that always ended in God quickly became tedious to me.
By contrast, there was a short chapter describing a sex scene that startled me in its unexpectedness. I suppose it was inserted to show how libertine and unencumbered by religious conventions the atheist was.
Finally, I found the ending doubly unsatisfactory.
Edit 18 June 2022: copying my text updates here in case they are disappeared:
March 5, 2022 – page 33
11.62% "An hour later he was washed, oiled, and decently clad in humble clothes. He emerged to be led to the tavern with uncertain steps by a crowd of triumphant women and girls, every one of whom knew more about the stranger than their menfolk by the width of a loincloth; unfavourable comparisons would be made for many years. (p. 28)"
March 20, 2022 – page 198
69.72% "'Leave sin to churchmen. They have the expertise,' said Palinor. (p. 197)"
April 15, 2022
Jill Paton Walsh’s 1994 novel created quite a stir. A well known and highly respected author of many children’s books and with a number of adult novels to her name as well, she could not find a publisher willing to take Knowledge of Angels on and resorted to publishing it herself. When it made the shortlist for that year’s Booker Prize, there was a ready-made news story of a literary David taking on the corporate Goliaths at their own game (even if the actual story wasn’t quite like that…). It’s perhaps not too surprising that publishers were wary of Knowledge of Angels; a philosophico-theological novel of ideas set ‘on an island like Mallorca but not Mallorca, at a time somewhat like 1450, but not 1450’, was always going to present a unique set of challenges to publishers’ marketing departments. Its exposure via the Booker shortlist worked wonders for the book’s profile and brought it a vastly bigger readership than it would otherwise have had. It is in fact a curiously satisfying and engrossing read; Paton Walsh’s characters are richly human and complex and the world she creates is vividly painted and tangible. Unlike anything I’ve ever read, Knowledge of Angels is certainly worth looking out if you want a departure from your usual literary comfort zone.
August 17, 2008
An interesting exploration of the shades of faith and unfaith, their intersections and collisions. Of course, I related to the character representing the Enlightenment, up to one passage that just surprised the heck outta me. I don't believe the enlightenment included THAT as a matter of routine. Probably somebody in the Enlightenment advocated such things. Primacy of individualism and all that. The other atheist (wolf girl) also exhibits a deliberately shocking behavior at the same point in the book, both shortly after the introduction of the doctrine that sin and suffering are necessary darknesses to show up and contrast with the brightness of grace. Um, lame.
In the end, the book seems to mostly represent the paranoia of faith communities that the big bad Enlightenment is coming to stomp them out of existence. Um, yah, sure.
It's beautifully written, but I'm troubled by the allegory the author seems to be putting forward.
In the end, the book seems to mostly represent the paranoia of faith communities that the big bad Enlightenment is coming to stomp them out of existence. Um, yah, sure.
It's beautifully written, but I'm troubled by the allegory the author seems to be putting forward.
November 23, 2020
I read this book as a teenager, probably about 16 years old, and it fundamentally changed my philosophy on life -shaking the foundation of ideas I felt so sure about back then. It stuck with me for a very long time.
The author's obituary was published this week, and sadly I see that she lived not far away -had I known how close she was, I think I would have written to her. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/bo...
I'll be reading this again in the coming months...interested in seeing how I feel about it 20+ years on.
The author's obituary was published this week, and sadly I see that she lived not far away -had I known how close she was, I think I would have written to her. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/bo...
I'll be reading this again in the coming months...interested in seeing how I feel about it 20+ years on.
January 5, 2021
Knowledge of Angels was an intriguing and well-fleshed, fully-rounded parable. Written in a luminous and straight-forward manner, despite the shifting perspectives, each scene and character is well limned. There are several players in this story, and all seem to earn the reader’s concern for their eventual well-being. As laid out, the story offers up dilemmas that perhaps only God (or his angels) might be able to meld into happy results for all its principals. And yet, it is the adherence to the doctrines of belief in God that imposes on this novel’s principals actions that thwart humane behavior.
Thoroughly outside the novel, I wondered what it was that prompted Jill Paton Walsh to conceive this carefully articulated parable/paradox about the inhumanity of the faithful. I scoured a chronology of the years 1992 and 1993: in 1992, Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India, is demolished (1,500 killed in subsequent riots); IRA bombing of forensic laboratories in Belfast; Pope Benedict XVI decrees limiting rights of homosexual people and non-married couples not discrimination; the Siege of Sarajevo; in 1993, the Bosnian War; four instances of IRA bombing and massacres; World Trade Center bombing. With this particular zeitgeist, it’s easy to imagine that some smaller, closer-to-home straw broke the camel’s back, and Walsh felt compelled to illustrate just how faith/goodness, when it demands strict adherence to orthodoxy, will eventually lead to actions that are inhumane.
While the mid-15th century Catholic ruler of the imaginary isle wishes to exculpate the atheistic, marooned nobleman/inventor from the unknown land of Alcar, he is obliged to answer to the inquisitor sent from Rome. The inquisitor, in caricature a fat and privileged monk, the sort to whom we might impute corruption, shows himself to be a conscientious servant. His role as inquisitor is one he happily assumes because he had himself strayed from the faith and been set right, and he envisions that he is saving others by his necessary but seemingly cruel actions. I was reminded of Yeats’ familiar lines:
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity
Even as the atheistic Palinor represents a multi-cultural, live-and-let-live perspective, his forced auto-de-fe prompts retribution from his native Alcar, and a fleet of ships is, at novel’s end, poised to assault the island nation. The final cruel irony is that faith has led even peaceful, non-sectarian players to act with violence. Walsh wrings from her parable a final moral: faith, ultimately, is a private matter, and one should be chary when it commands theocratic domination, where everyone must share, espouse, and obey the same notions of God and faith.
Thoroughly outside the novel, I wondered what it was that prompted Jill Paton Walsh to conceive this carefully articulated parable/paradox about the inhumanity of the faithful. I scoured a chronology of the years 1992 and 1993: in 1992, Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India, is demolished (1,500 killed in subsequent riots); IRA bombing of forensic laboratories in Belfast; Pope Benedict XVI decrees limiting rights of homosexual people and non-married couples not discrimination; the Siege of Sarajevo; in 1993, the Bosnian War; four instances of IRA bombing and massacres; World Trade Center bombing. With this particular zeitgeist, it’s easy to imagine that some smaller, closer-to-home straw broke the camel’s back, and Walsh felt compelled to illustrate just how faith/goodness, when it demands strict adherence to orthodoxy, will eventually lead to actions that are inhumane.
While the mid-15th century Catholic ruler of the imaginary isle wishes to exculpate the atheistic, marooned nobleman/inventor from the unknown land of Alcar, he is obliged to answer to the inquisitor sent from Rome. The inquisitor, in caricature a fat and privileged monk, the sort to whom we might impute corruption, shows himself to be a conscientious servant. His role as inquisitor is one he happily assumes because he had himself strayed from the faith and been set right, and he envisions that he is saving others by his necessary but seemingly cruel actions. I was reminded of Yeats’ familiar lines:
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity
Even as the atheistic Palinor represents a multi-cultural, live-and-let-live perspective, his forced auto-de-fe prompts retribution from his native Alcar, and a fleet of ships is, at novel’s end, poised to assault the island nation. The final cruel irony is that faith has led even peaceful, non-sectarian players to act with violence. Walsh wrings from her parable a final moral: faith, ultimately, is a private matter, and one should be chary when it commands theocratic domination, where everyone must share, espouse, and obey the same notions of God and faith.
September 3, 2021
A fairly good book that deals quite well the with the folly of a belief in good.
This is a fairly short book of under 200 pages, so doesn't require much in the way of time commitment.
The deals with two separate yet overarching stories of an Athiest shipwrecked in a less than sensitive southern European country, and a feral child that provides a social experiment on the existence of intrinsic cultural theology.
Whilst the book deals very well with issues it attempts to face, it is a tad slow and has quite an unsatisfying conclusion. However, it is still very much worth your while as a casual read.
This is a fairly short book of under 200 pages, so doesn't require much in the way of time commitment.
The deals with two separate yet overarching stories of an Athiest shipwrecked in a less than sensitive southern European country, and a feral child that provides a social experiment on the existence of intrinsic cultural theology.
Whilst the book deals very well with issues it attempts to face, it is a tad slow and has quite an unsatisfying conclusion. However, it is still very much worth your while as a casual read.
June 3, 2019
Well it was 20 years ago that I read the book so I don’t have a lot of detail as in here. But I remember liking it because It set out to show a conundrum of religion. The boy is found on an island, raised by wolves and bears. He will be put to death unless the village priest can teach him about God, therefore proving that God can be taught and not is intrinsically within us. And then the priest will lose all credibility and they both might be put to death. I guess I need to re-read it.
February 21, 2019
As a philosophy teacher, I found the book especially stimulating.
June 1, 2025
I’ve been gripped by this book; it’s definitely disturbing. Some of the theological debates were, sadly, beyond me; & I’m very tempted to add something about faith & the existence of God, but on the grounds that it’s a spoiler I won’t! And there’s an intriguing ‘scene’ at the end. I have to try & track down the Maid of Challons, but it will have to be in translation.
October 13, 2020
Loved this. Not sure I understood the religious arguments! But it was beautifully written and so sad, annoying but expected. No wonder it is used for A level English.
November 23, 2025
OK story about a man who washed ashore and gets questioned about his atheism, and a girl who's found who's been raised by wolves in the mountains - who they try and teach how to be human and test whether knowledge of god is innate. The story is ok but the theological sections with the atheist and the cardinals debating are heavy and feel like the author herself is wrestling internally with her faith.
January 31, 2022
I've argued before (and, if asked, will do again), that philosophy and fiction go hand in hand. That's because I think any attempt at telling a story (or even designing a character, or a setting) automatically forces you to think about the world and the way people live in it. Stories just vary in the degree to which ideas shine through in a story, how well ideas are captured, and whether the author was consciously trying to engage with those ideas or not. I like stories that capture ideas about the world and way people live in it well, enjoy stories that have philosophical ideas at the forefront, and have loved stories where the author has consciously attempted to discuss a particular idea or set of ideas. Where books can loose me is when it's clear the author prioritised dealing with ideas at the expense of the story, and this book falls foul of that for me.
The writing style is enjoyable, and the general idea brilliant - a highly Christian culture dealing with someone raised in a very different society, and someone who was essentially not raised at all (leaving aside the issue that 'wolf-children' and similar stories are usually - if not always - instances of severe child abuse by humans, not babies being raised by animals). Some of the characters are quite likable, and the ones not intended to be likable still have clear motivations. I appreciated that the churchmen (the cardinal, his friend, the inquisitor and the nuns) all served to embody different elements of the church (the scholarly side, the powerful side, the cruel side and the benevolent side e.t.c.) without becoming stock characters. So the book has plenty going for it.
What bothered me was that sometimes I found my immersion completely broken, because the story was circling back to its central theme of god, and how knowledge of Him is possible. The dialogue sometimes slipped into this unnatural pseudo-platonic style (a style which is fine in a Platonic dialogue, where it belongs, but jarring in a novel). Less noticeable was the way the plot circled so tightly around the point. It was done skilfully, without any vastly out-of-character decisions or random events, but it still struck me as contrived.
It's entirely possible that I'm being unfair and picky in my complaints. After all, before this I was reading a stupid fun romance novel, so I might not be in quite the right mindset to appreciate this. I don't think it was a bad book, I just can't imagine wanting to read it again.
The writing style is enjoyable, and the general idea brilliant - a highly Christian culture dealing with someone raised in a very different society, and someone who was essentially not raised at all (leaving aside the issue that 'wolf-children' and similar stories are usually - if not always - instances of severe child abuse by humans, not babies being raised by animals). Some of the characters are quite likable, and the ones not intended to be likable still have clear motivations. I appreciated that the churchmen (the cardinal, his friend, the inquisitor and the nuns) all served to embody different elements of the church (the scholarly side, the powerful side, the cruel side and the benevolent side e.t.c.) without becoming stock characters. So the book has plenty going for it.
What bothered me was that sometimes I found my immersion completely broken, because the story was circling back to its central theme of god, and how knowledge of Him is possible. The dialogue sometimes slipped into this unnatural pseudo-platonic style (a style which is fine in a Platonic dialogue, where it belongs, but jarring in a novel). Less noticeable was the way the plot circled so tightly around the point. It was done skilfully, without any vastly out-of-character decisions or random events, but it still struck me as contrived.
It's entirely possible that I'm being unfair and picky in my complaints. After all, before this I was reading a stupid fun romance novel, so I might not be in quite the right mindset to appreciate this. I don't think it was a bad book, I just can't imagine wanting to read it again.
August 27, 2009
I read this for my AS Level English Literature, and unfortunately it was a closed book exam (meaning that I could not take the book into the exam room with me), meaning that I had to take this exam twice before I got an even bearable grade, and I know several people who actually ended up taking the exam at least three times - not cheap, I assure you!
It's not that this is a bad book, because I like the ideas and message behind it, I just found it an incredibly difficult read. At times it was very intense, and if you're not drawn into it pretty quickly you're fairly likely to fall into the trap that I did and find yourself not really having a clue what on earth is going on.
Despite this, the book is intriguing as it flits between the story of a man stranded in a religious society and dares to declare his atheism, and the story of a savage girl raised away from human beings and being forced into it, whilst being completely unaccepted by the world around her.
I wonder if my main issue with this book, is really down to my own atheism, meaning that I found it extremely difficult to understand the dilemmas of the people having to deal with one person who has denounced God and another who has no idea about God.
There was also a rather creepy and luckily very short chapter where the atheist encourages sex between a young couple. I found the whole thing really weird and out of place!
Since finishing College seven years ago, I have often considered re-reading this book, but have never been able to find it in my local Library, however, looking back on it, I don't think that by re-reading it I would ever learn to like this book. Maybe I'm just stubborn...
It's not that this is a bad book, because I like the ideas and message behind it, I just found it an incredibly difficult read. At times it was very intense, and if you're not drawn into it pretty quickly you're fairly likely to fall into the trap that I did and find yourself not really having a clue what on earth is going on.
Despite this, the book is intriguing as it flits between the story of a man stranded in a religious society and dares to declare his atheism, and the story of a savage girl raised away from human beings and being forced into it, whilst being completely unaccepted by the world around her.
I wonder if my main issue with this book, is really down to my own atheism, meaning that I found it extremely difficult to understand the dilemmas of the people having to deal with one person who has denounced God and another who has no idea about God.
There was also a rather creepy and luckily very short chapter where the atheist encourages sex between a young couple. I found the whole thing really weird and out of place!
Since finishing College seven years ago, I have often considered re-reading this book, but have never been able to find it in my local Library, however, looking back on it, I don't think that by re-reading it I would ever learn to like this book. Maybe I'm just stubborn...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2017
Kitaplığımda okunmamış kitapları bitirme girişimimin ilk kitabı buydu. Yanılmıyorsam bir-iki sene önce İzmir Kitap Fuarı'ndan satın almıştım ama bir türlü okuyasım gelmemişti. Başlarken güzel şeyler bekliyordum çünkü kitabın arka kapağında Bana Gülün Adı'nı hatırlattı tarzı bir yorum görmüştüm. Fakat az da olsa hayal kırıklığına uğradım. Kitaptaki sorgulamalar, tartışmalar beni düşündürmedi değil ama daha epik bir hikaye bekliyordum. En azından daha epik bir anlatım... :/
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