Vita avventurosa di Sant'Agostino: L'avventurosa vita di Sant'Agostino

by Louis de Wohl

Una vita tumultuosa quella di Sant' nato ricco e immerso in una cultura pagana, il suo percorso tormentato lo condusse fino a diventare uno dei massimi teorici del Cristianesimo del primo millennio, nonché uno dei più grandi pensatori nella storia dell'umanità. Questo è il romanzo di una conversione, in cui un giovane vanesio, con un insaziabile desiderio di scoprire il senso della vita e un'attrazione altrettanto insaziabile per il peccato, non solo diventò credente, ma si trasformò in un intellettuale geniale che ha lasciato un'impronta indelebile nella storia. Raccontando le curiosità private della sua vita e i personaggi che lo influenzarono, dalla figura eroica della madre, santa Monica, al grande Ambrogio vescovo di Milano, Louis de Wohl tratteggia il ritratto vigoroso di un personaggio immortale, mai così vicino a ognuno di noi.

Genres: Catholic, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Faith, Religion

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Mr. de Wohl was a Knight Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and his wife (nee Ruth Magdalene Lorch, whom he married in 1953) is a Lady Commander of the same Order. His fifty books include The Living Wood (Lippincott, 1947), Imperial Renegade (id., 1950), The Restless Flame (id., 1951), Throne of the World (id., 1949; published in England as Attila), The Golden Thread (Lippincott, 1952), The Second Conquest (id., 1954), Set All Afire (id., 1953), The Spear (id., 1955), and St. Joan, the Girl Soldier (Farrar, 1957) in the Vision Books series.

Reviews

[Don Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Wohl aveva un indubbio talento per rendere vivi i personaggi che racconta. Le sue biografie romanzate riescono a dare un'idea non solo delle vicende vissute, ma proprio di come era la persona. La cosa che più mi piace, forse il vero motivo del suo successo, è che nel proporre principalmente figure di santi, riesce a mostrarne l'itinerario spirituale e i drammi interiori.

E ovviamente sant'Agostino si presta in modo particolare a una drammatizzazione, vista la sua vita movmentata e potendo disporre di quel capolavoro di autobiografia interiore che sono "Le Confessioni".

A tratti ho pensato però che l'autore "drammatizzi" troppo. Sceglie di descriverci un Agostino prima della conversione duro ed egoista, leader amato dai suoi amici, ma prepotente e superbo. In compenso troviamo intorno ad Agostino personaggi cui il lettore si affeziona facilmente: la mamma Monica, la schiava-amante Melania, il fedelissimo amico Alipio.

Stupisce che un narratore così capace cada poi in difetti narrativi "da dilettante": dialoghi pretestuosi per dare informazioni al lettore (al prezzo di far sembrare ottusi i personaggi), oppure lunghi monologhi per spiegare un concetto. Qualche volta si dilunga in disquisizioni che rallentano e appesantiscono la narrazione. Ma sono peccati minori, che si perdonano volentieri presi dalla gradevolezza di storia e personaggi.

Una nota negativa per la traduzione, talvolta sciatta, qua e là vittima di "falsi amici" (traduzione a orecchio?). L'edizione è impoverita anche da non pochi refusi.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

ENGLISH: Biographical novel about the life of Saint Augustine, based on The Confessions of St. Augustine. Perhaps for this reason the novel skips about forty years of Augustine's life, starting at his conversion. Only his last two years have been added at the end of the novel, as book eight, where someone recounts what had happened before.

The novel invents conversations and coincidences, some of them improbable, such as the coincidence of the news of his father's death with his concubine's pregnancy, about which the Confessions says nothing, or the arrival of his concubine and son to Milan the same day Augustine pronounced his panegyric to the child-emperor. Some parts, though, are pretty faithful to what really happened. A few things, on the other hand, have been invented, such as the names of persons, whom Augustine does not name.

ESPAÑOL: Novela biográfica sobre la vida de San Agustín, basada en Confesiones de San Agustín. Quizá por esta razón el libro, a partir de su conversión, omite unos cuarenta años de la vida de Agustín. Al final de la novela sólo se habla de sus dos últimos años y se menciona lo que había pasado antes.

La novela inventa conversaciones y coincidencias, algunas improbables, como que la noticia de la muerte de su padre coincida con la del embarazo de su manceba, de las que las Confesiones no dice nada, o la llegada de su concubina e hijo a Milán el mismo día en que Agustín pronunció el panegírico al emperador-niño. Algunas partes, sin embargo, son muy fieles a lo que realmente sucedió. Por otra parte, De Wohl ha inventado otras cosas, como los nombres de algunas personas, a quienes Agustín no nombra.

[Fiona Altschuler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know. . . I really liked this book, but I felt that it dwelled way too long on Augustine pre-conversion, and not at all enough post-conversion. I really loved reading about his journey to Christianity, but then it just SKIPPED like FIVE DECADES of his life, and then dwelt mostly with politic leaders until a short couple pages about Augustine at the very end of the book! This book could have been great and just wasn't. So annoying! Although, I DID love the last paragraph, it was so beautiful.

[Nacho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louis de Wohl es un genio y San Agustín un titán. Los personajes muy bien definidos y la historia muy ágil. Libro que transmite mucha esperanza. Muy recomendable para gente joven.

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having dropped The Brothers Karamazov and realizing I will have to resort to Cliff Notes before my book club meets (there's a first time for everything), I am moving on to the next BIG BOOK they chose. The Confessions by St. Augustine.

Now I love St. Augustine. He is my first "saint pal" so to speak. However, I've tried several times to read The Confessions and always gotten bogged down in the early pages. (I must add this was not due to the book itself but to the fact that I got tired of Augustine going on and on about his tutor beating him when he was young.) As I was girding my mental loins for the prospect of throwing myself into the fray again, a Goodreads friend recommended one of Louis de Wohl's Christian historical fictions.

I tried de Wohl some time ago and found it very simple. Certainly nothing to match my beloved Samuel Shellabarger or Kenneth Roberts. Not even on the par of such Christian historical fiction as The Robe, Ben Hur, or Quo Vadis. (I now believe that perhaps I read one of his books written for younger readers.)

However, I checked out the beginning pages of the recommended book on my Kindle and found that it was more complex and interesting than my long ago sample about Helen and the cross, if I recall correctly. At any rate, in an attempt to get in the mood for The Confessions, I got The Restless Flame from the library and have been enjoying the way de Wohl brings Augustine, Monica, and others to life. This was enhanced by the fact that, having read Saints Behaving Badly I know that Augustine's steadfast friend, Alypius, was a real person who had to fight a serious addiction to blood sports. And so this makes it ring even more true.

The middle of the book was rather slow as it centered around Augustine's philosophy, teaching, and rhetoric of Manichaeism. But such was Augustine's life so I can't really complain about that. It was rather inspiring to see how seriously these young men took the search for Truth and philosophy. I really looked forward to the part where Augustine and Ambrose met. The author surprised me on that bit but seeing how Ambrose stood his ground against the emperor's mother was a treat. This book was thought provoking, stretched me mentally as I jumped with Alcypius behind Augustine from one philosophical concept to the next, and inspired me in its depiction of Monica and Augustine overall.

I've seen many people saying that de Wohl's books are really just for young adults. I'm not sure that is the case. True, this one isn't 600 pages with exhaustive details of Roman, Carthaginian, Milanese, and African living at the time. But that isn't always needed to get a good feel for a person. This one gave this fully adult reader just what was needed.

[Mariangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked better de Wohl's novel about Don Juan de Austria, but I believe the reason is that the Confessions are a much better read. Anyway, this is a well written novel and I would recommend it to a reader who wants to have a first approach to St Augustine.

[MARY GRACE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and inspiring story. Makes me want to read more of Saint Augustine’s writings. I would have liked for there to be more details about certain times in his life. I’m assuming not much information is out there, hence the lack of it in this book.
May God be praised in His saints.

[Sskous · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'nm not loving this book, a selection of my book group. it's an historical novel based on the life of St. Augustine which, might, I suppose be nice for a young middle school student. perhaps that was the intended audience. I find no errors, but a lack of depth. And frankly, although he's not yet found Christ, I don't like Augustine very much. Ugh!
Finished it. Liked it better toward the end. book group agreed it got better after the first 1/3. also several said that they might not give it to younger children due to augustine's interesting life before Christ. ok.

[Sir Badgerly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was very entertaining and progressed smoothly with growing interest. However about a half of the way through it got bogged down with boring thoughts about Manichaenism, and other thoughts/aspirations before Augustine was baptized into the Catholic faith. For another quarter this continued. Furthermore there were some events the author passed by too quickly, like what happened to his son Adeodatus (“Gift of God”) and Melania? Just when I was really starting to like Melania, St. Monica and Augustine's friends told her to leave his life for his sake because she was of low station in life and they thought she would only prevent him from reaching his full glory. And St. Monica got rid of her just to try to make him a Christian! Melania left out of dedication, love and sacrifice to St. Augustine - even leaving him his child. It talked about how he was upset and depressed about it, but then why didn't he do anything to get her back!

I had to do research no in the book to find out what happened to her because that break was so abrupt and harsh. She ended up devoting her own life to God. I think Melania deserves to be a saint from everything I heard of her in this story and from research. Yet after their break we hear nothing of her or much about Adeodatus (who he let other people take care of) for that matter. He was brilliant but ended up dying young... Where was Augustine for his son? In all honesty I would love to become a monk myself, but I could never leave my daughter. How do you take your child away from it's mother? Or a mother from her child? It's just something you don't do. And I've done some cruel things in my past to women (and I'm not proud of it), but this goes way beyond my own cruelty. Yet I didn't hear much about his son or his wife later in the book. I kept waiting to hear about them again.

What happened? I only know about the death and that Melania wasn't there because at one point he talks about how everything that could tie him from living a monastic life had died or left him. But I didn't even hear much about his repentance about this. I will definitely have to go through the Confessions again which I read earlier in my life in a state where I couldn't appreciate them enough. Anyway, I understand the culture was different then and thus the treatment of an illegitimate wife and child is a different kind of affair than these days (except for low-lives).

So there is this dichotomy to me because I love St. Augustine's mind. I am in the middle of The City of God which is a tome, and he is has a beautiful mind indeed. So too did he help many others. Yet he didn't even have the excuse of Jesus's words YET (which I don't believe were literal) about leaving your family (without saying good bye) if you wish to follow Him. I understand that it is meant that Christ the God Man is to be put above all things in life, including family. However hurting others does not serve Him. I have been told time and again by spiritual directors and priests that the way to serve God is to serve your family and raise your children to the best of ones ability. Leaving your family isn't actually necessary (and in the case of the Gospels, the wives followed them in a group, serving and feeding the disciples) and would more often than not be more hurtful to them and one's own conscience. Unless there is some kind of circumstance like having to go off to war or some job that is supposed to be temporary but doesn't end up being so or at least something where you know you will save tons of people. St. Augustine did end up saving many souls, but he didn't need to leave them to do that, not then. And why no contact later? Did that not sting the conscience?! I kept wondering, when is he going to find Melania. Anyway there may be details missing historically and I know this writer is great so that is what I suspect. Still that lack of resolution regarding Melania and Adeodatus haunted me ever since she Melania left.

That said I do believe God worked through St. Augustine and that whatever happened was providential nonetheless. I mean would he have even come to Christ had it not been for that experience of having an illegitimate family? We don't know. Furthermore, maybe historians of the time tried to cover it up further to make Augustine look more saintly. Maybe he was in contact, history is a often elusive in these ways especially when norms change such as the did since then and now. Whatever the case, God made use of Augustine to save many more souls and at least we know Melania dedicated her life to God.

St. Monica was made understood from this book however and that I appreciated. She was very much alive though much more thoroughly in the first half of the book. Granted she was getting older... She is the mother who never stops ceasing to pray for her children and ends up saving them. A powerful and very respectable woman. As Augustine's friend called her, a queen of a sort indeed. You can see just how she passes on her strong will and energy to St. Augustine, how they are much more similar than he and his father. In some ways St. Augustine's very greatness is derived from St. Monica. Without her, he would not be half the man he was.


Things pick back up when Augustine converts and then things speed up a bit too fast. The ending was rather rushed. However the story and perspective on the fall of Rome and of Carthage was quite impressive. Very sad for North Africa in particular as they never regained Christianity which was (and still is, if America falls, it will be for lack of Christianity / morality) very much a civilizing factor. Think "ora et labora" (pray and work). Once Christianity left North Africa and worse when Islam took it, it fell backwards into tribal barbarism. And I never knew that it was due to inviting tens of thousands of Vandals as supposed allies (that turned on them)! I never would have thought that yet how alive this was made in the book. And the Vandals were savage murderers before Christianization themselves. In fact its the story E. Michael Jones always talks about how north of the Rhine was uncivilized with pagans running wild chasing pigs meanwhile south of the Rhine a great civilization endured. Why? Because of Christian values, particularly Catholic values (i.e. "ora et labora"), tradition and erudition (including writing itself!) that came with the Church.

Anyway, this book was good. But not as good as say, "The Spear" by the same author which kept me interested, read smoothly (this got choppy after the first half as mentioned) and was more cohesive as a whole. That said this is a harder topic than the life of St. Longinus because St. Longinus wasn't known for his philosophy whereas St. Augustine's thought was inserted into this book particularly because St. Augustine was such a great thinker. Furthermore, I still love St. Augustine and am not going to judge him some 1600 years later. Even though this story did challenge my thinking of him and what happened to his "illegitimate family..." The first half was captivating however and I'd give it 5/5 stars whereas the third part of the book I must give 2/5, the fourth 3/5 (it would have been 4/5 stars if not for missing holes that one looks for in an ending like his family and it seemed rushed as mentioned).

Still worth the read. Just brace yourself for a change in pace half way through and a chopper kind of writing style.

[Natalie Votipka]

An enjoyable read, but not the first de Wohl book I’d recommend.

The first 80% of the book is about Augustine’s intellectual journey to Catholicism, which de Wohl managed to include in a readable way with philosophy-heavy dialogues complementing the overall narrative. Unfortunately, (pre-conversion) Augustine is therefore rather unlikeable for the majority of the book. The remaining 20% about his life as a Christian was not as well done, IMHO. Most of it was dialogue among other prominent men enumerating Augustine’s accomplishments and the introduction of a new and complicated political and military setting. He certainly sounds saintly but that’s more told than shown (which I think is the strength of most of de Wohl’s novels).

Pre-conversion Augustine was insufferably prideful and led many people into error with his brilliant rhetoric. Worse, though, was his treatment of his concubine, Melania, and son whom he would occasionally up and leave for another town with no notice (he did leave them financial means). Conveniently for him, they were always available at his beck and call when he wanted them back.

I hate to say this, but this book did not endear me to the saint-behind-the-saint: Monica. She is revered throughout the book but comes off as a faraway suffering saint rather than a flesh-and-blood mother. Unfortunately that doesn’t help balance what seems like her own terrible treatment of Melania (to this modern reader). Although I’ll have to check up on the historical factuality of the retelling, Monica convinced Augustine’s beloved but low-born Melania to leave the continent for good -- not so much for the sake of Augustine’s virtue but rather his career. With designs to get Melania out of the way, Monica helped arrange Augustine’s engagement to a twelve-year-old from a wealthy family (obviously they never ended up marrying). Yikes! I don’t doubt St. Monica’s sanctity (I realize canonization doesn’t mean every decision a saint made was perfect), but unfortunately that’s what made the strongest impression on me about her after reading this book.

On the other hand, I loved reading about St. Ambrose, who really seems epic.

I’d like to read Confessions to get a different angle on St. Augustine’s story and see how the details line up (although de Wohl is usually pretty spot-on).

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre passionnant, qui a attiré mon attention dès les premières pages et m'a laissée totalement captivée, de sorte que je ne pouvais arrêter la lecture.
C'est une très bonne introduction à Saint Augustin, Ste. Monique, et tout leur entourage.
J'espère lire les Confessions prochainement, et je crois que la lecture de ce livre m'aurait vraiment aidé à m'orienter dans les contexte historique des temps où vivait Augustin.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Wohl knows how to end books. It was going to be four stars right up until the last 10%… writing a novel about Augustine is a big undertaking. De Wohl deserves credit for what he has put out.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook review. I was not overly impressed with the audio quality or Christopher Check’s halting reading style. I had a difficult time with the names and would have preferred to read this book.

ETA: I just found a copy of this ebook on my Kindle - I could have read it!

[Carissa Norris · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Wohl does a marvelous job of incorporating historical facts about the life of Augustine into his novel. As someone who has read some of Augustine's works and studied his life, I found it fun to identify the way De Wohl interweaves these facts into the story. I also liked seeing Augustine as someone who was passionate and full of fire with a restless search. When I read Augustine myself I seem to fall into the common view of seeing him as a calm priest, but he was so much more. It was enlightening to get such a different perspective. I also loved the story arch of Alypius' own journey as he followed Augustine. Well done. I even got teary at the end. My only negative would be I would like to have seen more of the novel dedicated to Augustine's life after he became a Christian so we could have seen that same passion in the love of the Lord as he fought the good fight against heresies.

[K.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredible book for any intellectual teenager. It is appealing, engaging, and somewhat of a different read from St. Augustine's "Confessions" since it is in novel form. Do not be taken aback by the amount of pages. It is an awesome read!

[Guille Heff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an interesting insight into the life of Saint Agustine, and the title really tells you the way his soul felt towards his insatiable search for God. Until he found Him and his life changed forever. It makes you feel like even as a sinner, we have an option and Hope.

[Lujan Cane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantó. Una historia novelada de un lindo santo, con una historia de vida muy admirable. Los cambios por los que paso San Agustin para llegar a lo que llego son impresionantes. Lindos personajes y anécdotas. Muy enternecedor!

[Pablo Sotomayor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si San Agustín es mi ídolo y Louis de Wohl uno de mis favoritos, ¿imagínense qué puedo pensar de este libro? ¡Simplemente genial!

Yo soy Alipio.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really awesome. Louis de Wohl really knows how to tell a story.

[Fr. Daniel Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I actually bought it for my brother Justin after reading it. It inspired me to learn more about Augustine and to read another of his books.

[Cami Bledel · Rating 5 out of 5]

De mis preferidos!!!! Vida se San Agustin, recomendado por Profesora de Filosofia

[Francesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

A me De Whol è sempre piaciuto molto, le sue "biografie romanzate" dei Santi mi hanno sempre affascinato. L'albero della vita su Costantino e La liberazione del gigante su San Tommaso d'Aquino sono due romanzi storici - al netto di un po' di dettagli storicamente poco accurati, ma che quando sono stati scritti i romanzi erano precisi - che sono quasi storie di avventura.

Questa biografia romanzata di Sant'Agostino invece mi è piaciuta molto meno.
Intanto perché Agostino è un insopportabile sotuttoio che "vive di assoluti" e che comanda a bacchetta tutti quelli che gli stanno intorno dall'alto della sua superiorità intellettuale.
E poi perché le parti più interessanti della sua vita - cioè le conversioni prima al manicheismo e poi al cattolicesimo - non vengono raccontate direttamente ma vengono narrate da altri.

Il personaggio migliore è l'amico Alipio, colui che lo insegue costantemente per tutta la vita in tutte le sue avventure con la consapevolezza che Agostino ha un cervello che funziona per entrambi quindi se lui decide che una cosa è giusta Alipio si adegua perché sa che quella decisione è stata lungamente ponderata e ha una sua ragion d'essere. Agostino diventa manicheo? Alipio lo segue. Agostino va a Roma? Alipio lo precede e gli trova una casa. Agostino diventa Cristiano? Oh, ti ho seguito in tutte le cose vuoi che non ti segua nell'avventura che finalmente dà un po' di pace alla tua anima inquieta?

Diciamo che mi aspettavo qualcosa di più epico, con qualche scontro dialettico con Sant'Ambrogio, invece il romanzo "si limita" a rendere maledettamente bene la celebre frase dell'incipit de Le confessioni"fecisti nos ad te, (Domine), et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te!"

[Sebastian Fricke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably haven't read enough Augustine so far; I had a different image of him in my mind than that which Louis depicts here. Within this story, pre-conversion Augustine comes across like an arrogant and overly sensible genius, whereas I would have thought him to be more of a quiet genius. But anyway, that's just besides.

This is not my favorite De Wohl novel, but it is definitely a worthy book to read, and it reads very nicely. That is no surprise to me, given his writing style. Writing a novel about Augustine is, to my mind, quite a task, given that this father of the church was a genius, which opens the big question of how to highlight his brilliance and even depict some examples and the transitions from the earlier philosophy stages in his life, without overwhelming the reader and making it boring and tedious to read. And I think, given that challenge, Louis did a good job.

I especially liked the stage in Milan and the very end. But I gotta say I would have hoped for a bit more post-conversion story, as most of the book is within the pre-conversion stage. That stage is important and interesting, but the book basically ends with him being a well-known and awesome bishop, and I would love to know something about that stage of life, how he acted as a priest and bishop and so on.

Long story short, please read this book :).

[Marta Mata · Rating 3 out of 5]

En esta novela Louis de Wohl narra la vida de San Agustín desde sus gamberradas de pequeño hasta su muerte como un auténtico santo. Cuenta con detalle sus múltiples viajes, hace hincapié en las conversaciones con sus amigos, pone de relieve cómo sus creencias van de un lado a otro (desde el maniqueísmo hasta el cristianismo). También recoge con mucha ternura la figura de Santa Mónica y del Obispo Ambrosio. Es un buen libro pero me ha costado seguirlo por los nombres tan peculiares que tienen los personajes (que los he ido liando y ni aun al final del libro me he enterado de quién es quién) y porque al ser del s. IV, trata de lugares que ya no existen; por lo que se me hace complicado situarlo geográficamente. Creo que lo leería después de situarme un poco en la época o de leerme otra biografía más sencilla. Además, está tan novelado que no cuenta datos como tal de San Agustín ni de sus obras, echo de menos esa parte más “teórica/narrativa” que queda sustituida por diálogos casi constantes.

[Federica · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Wohl ha scritto romanzi storici dedicati, nella maggior parte, a storie di grandi santi, quali Paolo ed Elena, Caterina e Francesco (il mio preferito però, quello che ritengo uno dei migliori, è quello dedicato a San Leone Magno ed Attila).

Sono narrazioni semplici, alle quali tutti i lettori si possono approcciare, come questo volume dedicato ad Agostino, retore, maestro, filosofo e poi vescovo di Ippona.

Un volume di 350 pagine delle quali ben 290 sono dedicate alla storia della sua vita e della sua conversione. De Wohl preferisce infatti raccontare non l’Agostino grande nella sua “santità” ma un uomo che sta facendo un cammino, un santo non ancora tale, la cui cifra è l’inquietudine, sentimento molto condiviso con l’uomo moderno. Agostino, la cui intelligenza colpiva chi lo incontrava – dagli amici, agli studenti, ai potenti – saprà, grazie all’incontro con Ambrogio, riconoscere alla fine la Verità cercata ogni giorno della sua vita e da quel momento vivere per essa. Quella Verità era l’incontro con Cristo.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. I think this is one of de Wohl's best, and I've now read 5 of them. I'm an avid reader of (St.) Augustine of Hippo, yet I think this book does a good job of giving the devotee a setting and context for his life. There isn't a nemesis in the background (like Frederick in The Quiet Light), but instead a sense that Augustine drew those around him into his whirlwind intellect. As with all de Wohl's historical fiction novels, there's just enough philosophy and theology (he's dealing with saints after all!) to make them challenging, but certainly nothing over the top. It would be easy to get caught up in the myriad themes and topics that Augustine took on, but de Wohl mainly sticks to his thirst for knowledge and the slaking of the thirst in God and true religion. I was sad to have to finish with this one, but edified because I read it.

[Sergio Velazquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

No supero las emociones que me dio la novela de Santo Tomás y la de San Francisco. ¿Por qué? Porque los primeros años de San Agustín fueron turbios. No es lo que los desconociera. Ojo, el libro es muy bueno. Tanto, que me hizo repeler al Agustín joven. Sentía ganas de dejar el libro por alejar al Agustín maniqueo. De Wohl hace un gran retrato de San Agustín. Su vida nos deja una gran luz. Nos afanamos por muchas cosas y querer buscar la verdad, y la verdad está al alcance de nuestras manos. Pero, la queremos moldear a nosotros. Por eso nos puede llegar a chocar el cristianismo. Debemos hacernos como niños , sabernos inmerecedores del amor divino. No nos alejemos de Dios ni creamos que necesitamos hacer algo. Él ya nos ama. Quiere sólo que nuestro corazón lo busque a Él. Habrá tropiezos, lo importante es levantarse y seguir luchando por el amor y por amor.

[Simone Trivisani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciò che fa della vita di Agostino un'avventura così avvincente è la sete di verità di quest'uomo e la caparbietà con cui l'ha presa sul serio, gettandosi con tutto sé stesso in quel che intravedeva di vero: prima il manicheismo e il fascino della sua giustificazione del male, poi Platone e Plotino, infine l'incontro silenzioso con un uomo eccezionale, il vescovo di Milano Ambrogio. A seguirlo, sempre e fedele, la figura di una grandissima donna: Monica, madre del futuro santo della Chiesa. Il romanzo indugia per tre quarti della lunghezza su questa incessante ricerca del vero, sui rapporti intensi e veri di Agostino coi suoi amici, Alipio in primis, per poi concludersi con il grande incontro, quello con Cristo, che cambierà radicalmente la concezione che Agostino ha di sé e la sua intera esistenza.

[Hildie Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an OK telling of the life of the great St. Augustine, but it was slow and stiff. No doubt, the 1950's writing style didn't help. Also, in more modern books, a map would be included, as well as a who's who in the tale. Some locations referenced no longer exist, while others do, so a map would have been helpful. Additionally, the great jump from Augustine in his 30's to him in his 70's toward the end of the book, was bizarre. While the author did have a paragraph on how he became the Bishop of Hippo, and wrote a bit about his written works, there was no story line for this later, and more encapsulating, time of this Saint's life. If you are interested in reading about St. Augustine of Hippo there are likely better books than this one.

[Ananda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Si legge bene perchè scritto in una prosa molto essenziale e con alcuni escamotage stilistici che spingono il lettore a continuare la lettura un capitolo dopo l'altro.
Le ultime 60 pagine, tuttavia, cioè dalla conversione in poi il libro sembra trasformarsi in una specie di messale, con inni riportati, preghiere, e altre cose così.
Sicuramente il libro è pensato per un determinato target di lettori però a mio parere questa scelta ne taglia fuori un'altra fetta, magari quella più "interessante" che potrebbe essere spinta proprio da questa lettura ad approfondire.
Inoltre non serviva fare un minibignami della filosofia di Sant'Agostino condensato in 5 o 6 pagine, sempre in quest'ultima parte, e per le stesse ragioni.