Wow, I am just trying to gather my thoughts on the book The Confessions of X by author Suzanne
M. Wolfe. First off, this book was
written in such a beautiful lyrical prose, as if I were the one tasting the
dust of Africa, smelling the spices at the market, and seeing Rome for the
first time with the characters. This
story is about Augustine of Hippo’s concubine whom we don’t really know much
about. Drawing from her imagination and
what we know of in history, the author has written a story about one woman’s
journey through life: the society in
which she lived and made the rules that forbade her marriage to the man that
she loved and who loved her as well, her and her father’s relationship through
her growing up years, her aunt and other extended relatives, to Augustine the
man she loved, being a mother to her son, to all the women she became friends
with and helped deliver children, life and death of those she loved, to the
fall of Rome, and what was thought as the end of the world.
This is a very different sort of story than you usually find
in the Christian market. This tale is
not a happily ever after, but does give a human face to this unknown woman who
had many of the same concerns and worries that we do today. This would make an excellent book club choice
with not only a story with meat but also included are thought provoking
discussion questions. The author’s notes
are great in explaining where she got her ideas and the how’s and whys of the
culture in those ancient times. I look forward to more well told tales by
Ms. Wolfe as I won’t soon forget this one.
I received a copy for an honest review from the Fiction Guild and the
opinions are my own.
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