Augustine's Confessions

Confessions by Augustine of Hippo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a magnificent book. Well, parts of it. Augustine's actual account of his life is beautiful and stirring. I was particularly struck by his love of his mother and his friends.

But when he gets into his ruminations about time and all that, I kept thinking, "What does this have to do with his conversion or his spiritual and intellectual growth? Shouldn't this be in another book?" Maybe that is modern impatience creeping in on my part.

Yet it is all worth it to see not only his devotion, but honesty. More Christian writers, especially memoirists, would do well to read this before thinking their journey is all that special. And even those who are not Christian could benefit from Augustine's story and reasoning. His faith comes not from backwoods ignorance, but from careful thought and an open search for the truth.

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