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A review by zamakodknjiga
Vita Brevis: A Letter to St Augustine by Jostein Gaarder
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75
I still feel shudder in my body after finishing this book. Once again, this book has proven why I enjoy reading amazing creations by Jostein Gaarder. Let's be clear at beginning - this wasn't type of books I love to read definetly. For some reason, the medieval philosophy is most uncomfortable for me. Jostein Gaarder still has incredible skill to make me fall in love in anything he has written and to start looking it from another perspective.
The scariest thing about this book is that it's based on true events. The author's "job" was 'just' to translate it from Latin to Norway.
One part, I think it's VIII or IX letter from Floria made me feel so anxious. I find myself in Floria and find my ex in Augustine. Both of them became theologists. The way Augustine treated Floria when he thought she's the reason because he can't find peace within himself was red flag for my previous relationship.
While I was reading whole book I had the same thought: "How are theologians, who consider themselves as God's envoys, so simple that they only consider their beliefs as true and judge everything which is opposite - and often their beliefs are the most primitive and the most subjective which just prove that they are unable to portray God who represents 'universal' and who was so diligently making the whole world."
It looks like they are so depressive and lonely so they twist the truth which the God has send to them. (This is just my opinion, that doesn't mean it's right!)
I was a little bit bored when Floria told Augustine the same thing for the fifth time, but I guess that she's just trying to let betrayal she feel out. If we analayte how he treated her, he made a lot of sins for a Saint. He spend his whole life betraying himself and he thought that's will bring him closer to the God. Maybe it did, but I don't think that mindset is healthy.
We are talking about 4th century, but mentality hasn't change a lot. It seems like people use faith to wash people's brain and manipulate. That's might not be truth. I believe God is more then what He's envoys try to show us.
UPDATE FROM 2023. (3 YEARS LATER)
Wow, okay... This was really deep. I'm very happy that I was able to re-read this book from whole other perspective - when I healed a lot after a break up with theologist. I did identify with Floria then, but it was right after the break up... Now, I identify with her even more! And I feel enormus pain for what she had gone through!
I think that Floria's confession was really important document to show how blindness and obsession with something can turn into something so unhealthy even if it seems like it makes you feel good... At the other side, it shows the diferent perceptions of God and how the Christianization society then... It was rather creepy what she has to go through so Augustin could feel "clean" in front of God. And, it does show her view of life being to short to spend it numb to all of the earth experiences when you're living on it.
Some parts of her confession was repetitive, but I didn't really mind it because I could understand why she's bringing it up. It was really healing to read this one! Floria is indeed one really smart person.
The only "problem" I saw was that there's a lot of references and I have to check it even if I don't need it and that grabbed my attention and slowed down the reading of the relatively thin book.
And for the end, I must say that I love the backstory of how Jostein find the letters in the first place!!! <333
The scariest thing about this book is that it's based on true events. The author's "job" was 'just' to translate it from Latin to Norway.
One part, I think it's VIII or IX letter from Floria made me feel so anxious. I find myself in Floria and find my ex in Augustine. Both of them became theologists. The way Augustine treated Floria when he thought she's the reason because he can't find peace within himself was red flag for my previous relationship.
While I was reading whole book I had the same thought: "How are theologians, who consider themselves as God's envoys, so simple that they only consider their beliefs as true and judge everything which is opposite - and often their beliefs are the most primitive and the most subjective which just prove that they are unable to portray God who represents 'universal' and who was so diligently making the whole world."
It looks like they are so depressive and lonely so they twist the truth which the God has send to them. (This is just my opinion, that doesn't mean it's right!)
I was a little bit bored when Floria told Augustine the same thing for the fifth time, but I guess that she's just trying to let betrayal she feel out. If we analayte how he treated her, he made a lot of sins for a Saint. He spend his whole life betraying himself and he thought that's will bring him closer to the God. Maybe it did, but I don't think that mindset is healthy.
We are talking about 4th century, but mentality hasn't change a lot. It seems like people use faith to wash people's brain and manipulate. That's might not be truth. I believe God is more then what He's envoys try to show us.
UPDATE FROM 2023. (3 YEARS LATER)
Wow, okay... This was really deep. I'm very happy that I was able to re-read this book from whole other perspective - when I healed a lot after a break up with theologist. I did identify with Floria then, but it was right after the break up... Now, I identify with her even more! And I feel enormus pain for what she had gone through!
I think that Floria's confession was really important document to show how blindness and obsession with something can turn into something so unhealthy even if it seems like it makes you feel good... At the other side, it shows the diferent perceptions of God and how the Christianization society then... It was rather creepy what she has to go through so Augustin could feel "clean" in front of God. And, it does show her view of life being to short to spend it numb to all of the earth experiences when you're living on it.
Some parts of her confession was repetitive, but I didn't really mind it because I could understand why she's bringing it up. It was really healing to read this one! Floria is indeed one really smart person.
The only "problem" I saw was that there's a lot of references and I have to check it even if I don't need it and that grabbed my attention and slowed down the reading of the relatively thin book.
And for the end, I must say that I love the backstory of how Jostein find the letters in the first place!!! <333