The Hiding Place: A Novel

Average customer rating:

Don't Waste Your Money....

(4.5) "Third degree damage"

not bad, not great

Hidden Treasure

wonderful

The Hiding Place: A Novel
Trezza Azzopardi
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Family Saga | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0802138594

Book Description

This exceptional novel about family, love, and the innocence and terror of childhood was one of the most applauded and auspicious debuts of the last year. Compared by reviewers to Angela's Ashes and Wuthering Heights, The Hiding Place was the only debut work to be shortlisted for England's prestigious Booker Prize -- in the company of Kazuo Ishiguro and Margaret Atwood -- and went on to become a universally praised U.S. national best-seller. Set in a Maltese immigrant community in Cardiff, Wales, and peopled with sharp-edged, luminously drawn characters, The Hiding Place is the story of Frankie Gauci, his wife, Mary, and their six daughters. With her "unusual gift for letting her characters' interior lives come forth" (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Azzopardi chronicles Frankie's unforgivable betrayal: gambling away his family's livelihood and eventually the family itself. The Gaucis' story is seen through the eyes of Dolores, the youngest daughter and the embodiment of bad luck in her father's estimation, condemned to bear the mark of a family that is rapidly singeing at the edges. Dolores presents an unsparing portrayal of the fear and hopelessness of childhood amid grim poverty and neglect, of children growing up without safety nets and on sunken foundations. Sustained by a tightrope tension and a stark, youthful wisdom, The Hiding Place conjures the coarse sensuality of life among the docks, the smoky cafes and bars, the crumbling homes and gambling rooms of Tiger Bay. "Astonishing and iridescent" (The Times, London), The Hiding Place is a mesmerizing exploration of how family, like fire, can shift suddenly from something that provides light and warmth to a dangerous conflagration, sparing no one in its path. "A harrowing and remarkably self-assured first novel [that] possesses all the immediacy and emotional power of a memoir...." -- Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

Customer Reviews:

Don't Waste Your Money...........2005-12-10

After reading the other reviews, I felt compelled to warn the unwary and gullible people who believe them. This was her first novel, obviously, and in my opnion was atrocious. The characters are poorly created, and the only interesting person with any depth is the mother. I like my share of depressing novels, but this one really just bites the dust.

(4.5) "Third degree damage".......2005-03-07

"My father's love is chance." Frank Gauci is a gambler of Sicilian-Maltese descent who has lost his half of a business and the decent home his family occupied. Now the family of two adults and six daughters live in a few crowded rooms in Cardiff, Wales, while Frank thoughtlessly loses the few possessions left and his wife, Mary, cope with what is left of her dreams. It is hard to imagine a more destitute world than that of the Gauci family.

This is the story of poverty, of the loss of family and the respect of strangers, when the weight of an indifferent world presses against hope until it is extinguished, leaving only despair in its wake. Yet, even in this hollow den of few comforts, a mother's love for her children is indestructible. Delores is born in 1960, another disappointment to Frank, who wishes for boys, only to be denied. When the new baby is burned in a kitchen fire, her left hand permanently disfigured, the family is driven deeper into a black despair. Delores senses the rampant emotions in her house, particularly the anger: "I am breast fed: I get rage straight from the source".

The few small rooms of their home are filled with growing bodies, with no hiding place. Tragedy strikes randomly, leaving all without privacy, sorting emotions that fly through the rooms with nowhere to land as the clamor of need presses the air from the dismal rooms. Four girls who sleep in one room with their mother know everything about each other, form alliances against the weaker ones, especially "the crip", and yearn for space. But even this desperate place is a home, where children form attachments and memories. A raging, cruel father is still a father, a mother meant to be a source of comfort, even as her mind is unraveling.

Eventually, the mother breaks down and the girls are given into foster care, the young girls who crowded the small rooms scattered to the winds, disentangling from sisterhood. Their poor, rattled mother cannot save her daughters from the daily violence that weaves the fabric of their lives. Delores is marked for failure, the badly deformed left hand ruined by the fire; Fran's scars are self-inflicted, a continuation of the beatings that marked her childhood, a self-tattoo etched on the inside of her arm; Celesta rises above the past, her husband's wealth a key to forgetfulness; Luca and Rose are embittered allies with shared disappointments and Marina has long disappeared.

"Children burnt and children bartered. Someone must be to blame." Finally, the girls gather at the death of their mother, Dol in the lead, as they dredge up the pain of years of betrayal, exposing the withered heart of a selfish father and the desperate soul of a mother who could not protect her children. The past must be purged of secrets, harrowing images, lost childhoods, broken promises and heartless reality.

This book is ferocious, unsparing in its honesty and relentless in search of the truth. The prose is adamant, impossible to ignore. That such a story can be told is a testament to the wisdom and courage of the author, her brilliant prose seductive, yet terrifying, awakening the monsters that root so easily in the soil of abject poverty. But the spirit of survival is not easily extinguished, the innocent, battered souls released to the light. Luan Gaines/2005.

not bad, not great.......2004-06-14

The Hiding Place was a good book but it could have been better. Sometimes I had to read certain sentences or paragraphs over b/c I wasn't sure what was going on.

Hidden Treasure.......2003-05-01

I won't easily forget this book, which is a story about people and remembering people. The most gorgeous aspect of the writing is how a moment or a feeling becomes perfectly captured in brief, humble lines of prose. Azzopardi does not use long discursive explanations which are so often relied upon by authors. Each character becomes flesh and blood through short paragraphs and careful breaths. The sensitivty of the telling draws you in just as much as the tragedy of the story. I am grateful for writers who seek our imagination via the heart. Azzopardi appears to be one of them.

wonderful.......2003-04-29

As in the big world of prizes, The Hiding Place was also shortlisted for our book group's summer selection. I'm glad it wasn't chosen for our discussion as it left me a bit speechless.

T.A. gives you a perfectly drawn world. Her talented writing does not require long discursive explanation (yet the story is far from short). Anyone who appreciates the work of writers like Virginia Woolf would be touched by this novel, which analyzes memory and human nature. It has been described as a book about child abuse but more accurately, it's a book about people and remembering people.

Book Description

Barbie¨ returns as the brave fairy Elina in Barbie™ Fairytopia™: Magic of the Rainbow. Elina is going to fairy school where she must learn to use her fairy powers to perform the Flight of Spring and ward off winter. Unfortunately, the evil Laverna has returned and she's putting the freeze on springtime! Will Elina and her new fairy friends defeat Laverna or will Fairytopia be on ice forever?

Customer Reviews:

Magic of the Rainbow book - good book.......2007-05-13

My 3 year old loves all the Barbie movies and their books! She enjoyed using the stickers that came along with it too.

Average customer rating:

24 years later I still think of this book!
The story will captivate you years from now!
A simple yet touching romance
one hot romance!
A simple,touching love story

Rainbow Season
Lisa Gregory
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

United States | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0446347604

Customer Reviews:

24 years later I still think of this book!.......2007-05-13

I was asked what book I would recommend for a summer read and I replied "Rainbow Season". I read this book for the first time in 1982 and I still think it is a wonderful read.

The story will captivate you years from now!.......2005-12-27

I have worn out more than one copy of this book. The author creates characters so steeped in the late 1800, mid-western culture. Maybe it just appeals to my mid-western roots, but I found this simple tale so romantic, heartfelt, touching and hopeful.
Sarah works and lives on the farm with her parents. Content with things, secretly a wild romantic, and tragically in love with her sister's husband. Or so she thinks.
Digger Turner is the misunderstood man, seen as trashy and bad. With an ingrown sense of fairness, both Sarah and her father see something different in Luke "Digger" and offer him something he has never had before. A chance.
Through unexpected tragedy, Sarah finds herself needing Luke. His honor keeps him by her side. Her circumstances offer him his dream. Together they find love.
It is the most romantic, loving story I've read. Honor, redemption, love and committment in the truest sense of those words.

A simple yet touching romance.......2003-07-12

The amazing thing about this novel is that the plot is simple and clear, no twists what so ever, and yet it was captivating in that their romance is so pure.

one hot romance!.......2003-04-02

Wow! This book is not only well-written, it is also one really HOT love story! The sexual tension and build-up between the main characters is incredible (can you say anticipation??!). I absolutely fell in love with Luke's character. He is the quintessential gorgeous, haunting, tortured man that only the love of a woman can save and redeem. Thank you Lisa Gregory!!!

A simple,touching love story.......2001-11-13

What is so unique about this book is that it is a good old-fashioned believable love story. The main characters are flawed, as in real life. Another unique aspect of this book is that the hero is just as vulnerable as the heroine. He is not described as an emotional "rock", always there to save the day. Lisa Gregory, aka. Candace Camp has shown in this novel that there are no social barriers in love and that everyone deserves a chance to live down a bad reputation. I have read this novel four times. I believe anyone who reads it will end up reading it again and again. Truly a tasteful, sensitive, well-written novel.

The Rainbow Circle of Excellence: Lessons from a Championship Season

Average customer rating:

A great book for ball players and fans

The Rainbow Circle of Excellence: Lessons from a Championship Season
Riley Wallace , and Michael D'Andrea
Manufacturer: Watermark Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Success | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Basketball | Sports | Subjects | Books

College & University | Basketball | Sports | Subjects | Books

Essays | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0970578768

Book Description

In this fascinating sports/motivational title, University of Hawaii head basketball coach Riley Wallace recounts how a multicultural group of college players from all over the world earned a bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament. Co-written with team psychologists Michael D'Andrea and Judy Daniels, The Rainbow Circle of Excellence shows how lessons learned on the court can help members of any group lead successful, more satisfying lives.

Customer Reviews:

A great book for ball players and fans.......2003-05-09

Riley Wallace, the long-time head basketbal coach at the University of Hawai'i, is one of college basketball's best. What's more, Wallace is one of the true class acts in sports.

This book is a reflection of all that Wallace is, what he stands for and how he coaches. It is a very valuable tool for communicating to the young ballplayer (middle school and high school players should read this over and over), as well as provides insight for the basketball fan.

Customer Reviews:

Nicely photographed book of how things change.......2001-12-20

With crisp, colorful photographs, this simple book illustrates how plants, seasons, animals and other things take on changes.

Book Description

Xiao Chiu dreams of becoming a great Chinese chef, always has the urge to cook food when she's in the kitchen, and cuts vegetables whenever she has a knife in her hands. Her passion for cooking was rewarded when she found a well-paying job - to be Lei's personal chef for a month. But Lei is arrogant, smokes, has a bad temper... and is very picky about food. He has a sensitive stomach and will throw up if something he ate does not agree with him. He also will not eat anything that doesn't suit his taste. What a hard-to-satisfy guy! Lei just happens to be her classmate, too! Poor Xiao Chiu! Even worse, after one month, having spent day and night together, they develop tangled feelings towards each other! Xiao Chiu feels confused. In seeing the one-month deadline approaching, she decides to run away. But, if she does not cook for him, Lei may get sick again... Xiao Chiu, what are you going to do?

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful story and excellent art........2006-05-28

Delicious Seasons is expertly drawn, and the storyline is very well developed, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

However, as many probably have noticed, the English is not first rate. I, myself, live in Shanghai China, and I read this first out of a magazine (somewhat similar to the US's Shounen Jump) and it was originally in Chinese. The dialogue in Chinese is perfectly fine, and only later did I read it the very first part of it in English. The English indeed is rather poor, which is slightly a shame.

I suppose that it can't be changed, but hopefully, readers can bear in mind that the artist is Chinese, not illiterate. ^^;;

As a side note, the girl's name is "chiu" which means autumn, and the "xiao" in front of it, pronounced "shiao", is a common part of Chinese culture, and it basically puts the word "little" in front of people's names. In English, it'd translate to "little chiu" or "little autumn", but xiao is not actually part of her name. As for Lei, I think Lei is his last name, but I'm not entirely sure about that. Xiao Chiu's little brother's name, "xiao xue" means "little snow".

I would recomend this to anyone who can bring themselves to look past the second-rate English and can enjoy the story and the art. ^_^

I spent $8.......2006-02-02

First off, I'd have to agree with the other reviewer-- the art is really good. But the writing is TERRIBLE.
The English is choppy and doesn't agree in number and gender; it would be safe to say it wasn't proofread and/or was written by someone whose native language was not English.
Sadly, that took away enough from the book. If I pick this small manga up again, it'll only be to look at some highly screen-toned pictures.

Excellent artwork and storyline!.......2004-05-31

First I must say, I LOVE how these characters are drawn! This is an addictive little story following an adorable aspiring chef and her attractive friends. Three recipes for non-vegetarian (blah!) dishes are incorporated into the story, courtesy of the main character's passion for cooking, and a classic two way love connection is in full swing with a hint of some third party yaoi for spice. School, relationships, making homemade soup... that's the gist of this first volume. By the way, when the male main character first appears, he looks just like a little Ryouki from Hot Gimmick!

Here is the description given on the back of the book:

"MANGA
ROMANCE/CAMPUS

Product Description

Track Listing: 1. I Like Me; 2. My Senses; 3. Things I Like; 4. Mealtime Rhyme; 5. Rainbow Colors; 6. Who Has Blue On?; 7. 'Cause I'm Big; 8. I Can; 9. Five Tiny Tadpoles; 10. Caterpillar Caterpillar; 11. Song of the Seasons; 12. Rain Rain Go Away. Published 1997 by Hampton Brown. Limited Edition Red Audio Cassette Tape.

The Rainbow Box: A Book for Each Season & A Peace Poster (containing Peace Box, Magic Box, Rabbit Box, and A Box of Sun)

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The Rainbow Box: A Book for Each Season & A Peace Poster (containing Peace Box, Magic Box, Rabbit Box, and A Box of Sun)

Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HGIVR6

Rainbow Parrot (Literacy Tree, Times and Seasons)

Average customer rating:

Rainbow Parrot (Literacy Tree, Times and Seasons)
Janet Stott-Thornton
Manufacturer: Rigby
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RU116A

Average customer rating:

The Rainbow Season
Lisa AKA Candace Camp Gregory
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000P1H1CY

Average customer rating:

Rebus Chants Volume 1 - For All Seasons
Vera Trembach
Manufacturer: Rainbow Horizons Publishing Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

Product Description

Vera Trembach's highly sought-after Rebus Chants provide the perfect compliment to your "Special Days" theme. Comes with "Halloween Colors", "Haunted House", "Snowman", Christmas-A Night Filled With Love", "Let Us Thank", "Leaves, Leaves, Leaves" and "It Is Autumn".

Book Description

Whether doing business with the Hutts or trying to get a decent haircut on Coruscant, Beeps, Bleats, and Boskas is an invaluable guide for anyone traveling through unfamiliar sections of the galaxy. Vividly illustrated by Sergio Aragones, this handy volume covers the basic situations galactic travelers may find themselves in--plus guidelines for

¸  Greetings--H'chu apenkee, o'grandio lust: "Greetings, glorious host" in Huttese. It doesn't hurt you to be nice, and it might hurt you not to.
¸  Travel arrangements--Zat x'ratch keezo bompaz ha sheep: in Bocce, "That scratch was there when I rented the ship."
¸  Asking directions--Chi ita lungee: "I am lost," in Ewokese. Don't be afraid to seek help in the forest.
¸  Dining--Dis foosa isa berry good: "this food is good." It's always best to compliment your Gungan hosts.
¸  Bargaining for your life--Huwaa muaa mumwa: "Can I buy you a drink." in Wookiee-speak. Try it. It just might work.

A MUST HAVE WHEN TRAVELING WITHOUT YOUR PROTOCOL DROID!

Bonus!--An exclusive "Behind the Sounds" look at making of the Star Wars movies from Academy Award-winning Sound Editor Ben Burtt. Discover the secrets behind the roar of Chewbacca, the chatter of the cantina crowd, and R2-D2's unique eloquence.

Customer Reviews:

an unsual concept that works very well.......2005-08-04

"The Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide" is an unusual concept and one that works surprisingly well. While a guide book, it is written of course for entertainment value and reads quickly. The book is packed with humorous drawings, expressions and cultural suggestions so that one never commits a faux pas, something which could get a traveler killed on the wrong system. One humorous extraction is that there is no word for "please" or "thank you" in Huttese. From the deep core to the outer rim, learn to count and speak basic phrases in Huttese, Bocce, Ewok, Wookiee, Jawa and even Gungan. While the Star Wars universe has no equivalent to a work like "the Klingon Dictionary," this is not only the next best thing, it's more enjoyable. From young children to adults, all Star Wars fans will enjoy this linguistic adventure.

Excellent addition to the library of any Star Wars fan........2004-06-24

This invaluable resource is a necessary guide on the basics of effective communication for anyone planning to travel through the Star Wars universe.
Written in an easy-to-read, humorous style and divided into eleven chapters, part one of this volume covers many commonly used phrases and terms in languages that range from Huttese to Bocce to Droidspeak. It also offers essential cultural advice and protocol rules that you will need to familiarize yourself with in order to increase your chances of survival as you come across numerous different situations in your voyage. All the phrases presented are printed out phonetically, so no bothersome pronunciation guidelines are given or needed.
Part two, "Behind the Sounds," is an engrossing, well written, 43-page account, complete with behind-the-scenes photos, of the author's journey of inspiration and creation of the sound effects and languages of the original trilogy films. Included in his story are fascinating technical details mixed with often hilarious anecdotes such as having spent a whole day recording bear sounds to be used when putting together Chewbacca's speech, and mixing and re-mixing mechanically and electronically generated beeps, chirps and bleeps to give R2-D2 an "emotional" voice.
Printed in an attractive pocket-sized format, this book is thoroughly illustrated in the best Star Wars style with laugh-out-loud drawings by Sergio Aragones of MAD Magazine fame.
As a bonus, an appendix with selected scenes from A New Hope and Return of the Jedi is included to help you practice your alien speech.
Although this book doesn't contain any information on the Star Wars universe subsequent to The Phantom Menace, it is an entertaining, fun and enjoyable way to explore the societies, their languages and activities, of the galaxy far, far away. As the Ewoks would say, this book is "yun yum di goot" (very good).
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar

The essay inside by Burtt is thoroughly interesting!.......2002-08-25

I bought this book chiefly because I am a fan of Sergio Aragones' artwork; I am only a mild fan of Star Wars stuff.

I was not blown away by the quality or humor of the Aragones illustrations herein: there are not a lot of them, and none of them are really very funny. Plus, Aragones did not do the cover art. But if you're one of those people who collect everything Aragones does, then this is a must-have. If you're just looking for some Sergio stuff on Star Wars, I'd recommend a comic that came out a couple of years ago called "Sergio Stomps Star Wars." That should be enough for you; this book doesn't really add anything to that.

As for the section on the translations of various alien phrases to be found in the Star Wars universe, it's strictly for pre-teens. Doubtful you'd spend more than a few minutes with it.

What makes this book a winner, though, is the 43-page gem of an essay by Ben Burtt, the sound prodigy on the Star Wars movies, on the creation, inspiration, and various techniques for his award-winning effects. I wasn't expecting much from this piece, but it turned out to be well-written and completely engrossing. This essay alone (and I'm not aware of its being available from any other source) justifies the price of admission.

Here is a typical excerpt:

"Anyway, the sounds for the Tusken Raiders were inspired by the odd and often chilling donkey braying the crew heard in Tunisia during the location shooting. Donkeys were used to pack the tons of film equipment into the remote locations. Occasionally they would burst into barks and screeches during the shooting and be audible in the background of a take, thus ruining it. But their vocals echoing off the canyon walls proved weird and scary, so they were recorded and sent back to me. I added more to this collection back in the United States and incorporated some other elements of animal breathing and wheezing. Cut and blended together, the result was the speech of the Tusken Raiders." [p.139]

If you find this kind of stuff interesting, you're unlikely to rue purchasing this book.

Regrettably, Burtt's essay was written just the Attack of the Clones came out, so that movie is not discussed.

Also note that this is one of those smallish, subsized paperbacks. Handsomely printed, though.

Like studying spanish in school except fun!.......2002-06-23

An amazingly funny and informative little book. It is really a textbook on several different languages from the Star Wars universe, but with all the comedic phrases and cute comics, you will soon forget that.

This book is truly very informative when it comes to alien languages, from huttese to bocce, and even droid-speak! this book will have you saying such phrases as; "Da beesga coo palyeeya pityee bo tenya go kaka juju hoopa!" or "Wua ga ma uma ahuma ooma!" or perhaps if you are like me, "Kavaa kyotopa bu whirlee backa?"

Overall, this is a fantastic book, and if you don't buy it to learn another language, buy it for the supercute family of Aleenas on the front and back! Mee jewz ku, coo ya maya stupas!

Learn the Languages of Star Wars.......2002-06-17

This is a funny little book. In it, Ben Burtt has compiled a lexicon of several languages from the Star Wars movies. Among the languages that you can learn are Jawa, Ewok, Tusken Raider, Hutt, Neimodian, Bocce, Wookie, Droid and Gungan. This is a pretty impressive list. Each species has their own spotlight, and a list of phrases that are in their own language and in Basic (English). These include for example: Smeekeeya whao toupee upee. (Huttese: Smile when you say that.) and Mesa greeting, In peace mesa comen. (Gungan: I come in peace.)
For die-hard Star Wars fans, this is a must to have. Try memorizing it. ;) Burtt writes this with a funny and upbeat tone to it.
In addition, there is a section on how Ben Burtt (The author and sound technition for all the movies.) came up with the various noises that we hear in the films. This is interesting to read.
Lastly, there is a section with the movie script in it, for A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, so you can impersonate Greedo or the Ewoks.
However, I did find some problems with this book. One is the price. It is about $[money], which is a lot for a small book. The novels are less than that.
Secondly, the words are hard to pronounce, and there is no pronounceation guide included. It would make saying the things so much easier.
Third, I would have liked to have seen more languages, so hopefully they will update this with some dilects from Attack of the Clones.
This is a cool little book to have. If you like Star Wars, check it out!

Customer Reviews:

Tough read....IMPORTANT concepts..........2006-03-23

Any serious student of Western philosophy,theology or history of ideas must eventually confront this icon of Western thought and Church Father ultra non plus,St.Augustine of Hippo.The man is the West's first--premier--EXISTENTIAL psychologist.His response to "angst"(found in Intro to THE CONFESSIONS)is yet unsurpassed and probably unsurpassable:LORD WE WERE MADE FOR THEE...AND OUR HEARTS ARE FOREVER RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE.

His CITY of GOD vs.The PAGANS is prodigious philosophy of history surpassing both Hegel and Mercea Eliade(History as "slaughter bench";and history as "Terror")because Augustine..."heretic extraordinary" before conversion...understood SALVATION History is chart of Man's True Destiny(with Crucifixion and RESURRECTION of CHRIST as axis and entlechy).Ana Benjamin and L.H.Hackstaff's translation of On Free Choice of the Will(De Libro arbitrio Voluntatis)remains classic "interpretation" of this essential study on the NATURE of Fallen Man;Original Sin and degree of FREE WILL subtending the Human condition.

PLATONIC dialogue format of the treatise is readable but daunting. Augustine...never a modest man...does his best with pseudo-paradox of All Knowing/Loving God and radical EVIL. Augustine's concept of Original Sin bending/denting pristine Free Will is interesting if not totally convincing.(St.Thomas Aquinas will do better with foundational LOGOS interpreted through Aristotle rather than gnostic Plato). Still it is game and important effort that meets "Modern" questions of NURTURE vs. NATURE in the drama of Good vs.Evil better than slews of psychologists from Freud to May;Nietzschean nihilists;or Hideggerian PM anti-Christians.Augustine's sometimes tortured logic(which often devolves simply into God is THE GOOD and Man chose to screw-up in defiance may not satisfy the pseudo's who want man to be "free" but blame God for Evil).In the end, however,it's not Evil that is ultimate "outcome" of Free Will. It's(proven)CAPACITY FOR SACRIFICE and LOVE that's the Answer to homies who want to reduce Mankind to chemical reactions and tropisms.Again:FREE CHOICE is tough read. "The hip" will find St. Augustine's not infrequent forays into Manichaeian heresy-"occult" theology amusing(10 years as initate in this pre-New Age prototype would screw-up even genius like St.A) Nevertheless,St.Augustine of Hippo(read PETER BROWN'S peerless biography)remains one of The MEN in history of defining Western thought(his ideas comprised Logos of entire Medieval epoch).ON FREE CHOICE OF THE WILL is sine qua non Augustinian reading.(4 & 1/2 stars).

excellent text for considering the impact of Christianity on Platonism and vice-versa.......2005-08-31

If you were looking for a significant and representative but introductory level medieval Christian philosophy text, you would be hard pressed to find one better than this. When I teach intro to philosophy, I often choose representative texts from the ancient, medieval, early Modern, and roughly contemporary periods. I start with Plato, either the Apology or the Meno or both. Then we read this book. Then Descartes' Meditations. Finally, we read something from Nietzsche, de Beauvoir, or from an early American philosopher (e.g. Thoreau).

This book is an excellent part of the sequence because it introduces free will, and introduces it in a way that is very relevant to Descartes' discussion of will in connection with error. Plato (and the ancients generally) didn't really have a notion of the will: our choices are dictated by our level of understanding. Augustine understood that the Christian notion of sin entails something more radical than mere ignorance -- I must, he thought, be in some real way capable of unmotivated choice if I am to be blamed for my actions.

There are other great bits in this dialogue -- one that it IS a dialogue and so forms a nice segway from Plato's dialogues. Another is its articulation of a proof of existence that prefigures Descartes' cogito and a proof of God that is remarkably similar (though very different in intent) to Descartes' first proof in the meditations.

Not St. Augustine's Best Work.......2004-11-18

St. Augustine's dialogue on free will is not worded for the layman. The rhetoric becomes so involved that one has to wonder if St. Augustine knew what he was writing at times. That being said, I will present as brief of a synopsis as possible.

God, being omnipotent and omnibenevolent, can not create anything bad. Everything he creates is good. God allows humans to have free will, which was a just and appropriate decision. We grow to a more perfect being by performing good deeds. It is through life's turbulence that we advance toward knowledge and peace, through which a blessed life is achieved. Without free will, no righteous act could be performed. Thus, without free will, the whole reason for our existence is null and void. Of course, with free will comes consequeces. People can develop lust and greed in their hearts, causing them to sin. Sin is the side effect of free will, which God realizes and accepts.

I personally enjoyed reading confessions much more than "On Free Choice of the Will".

Excellent.......2003-11-14

Excellent work on the "problem of evil" in religion. For serious intellectual contemplaters only. Whether you ultimately agree or disagree with Augustine's premise, you will certainly appreciate the depth in which he addresses an issue that the world's most prolific religions readily ignore. If God is all good and God is the creator, why is there bad?

An Interesting Start.......2003-10-10

This is one of Augustine's early writings, from soon after his conversion. It records a conversation between himself and Evodius regarding free will. ... Augustine had very little access to Plato, and at this point in his life, probably nothing not quoted by another source. The dialogue is in fact based upon a real conversation, and not just a literary creation (a result of the philosophical community that Augustine lived in for some time after his conversion). However, Augustine edited it and added material (most of Bk. III) before publishing it.

The main things I thought a reader ought to note when reading this short work are (1) This is still the beginning of work on the will - it was not a major issue in philosophy until Augustine, although bits and pieces may be found, e.g. in Cicero; (2) Augustine's style is quite different from what most people are used to, especially since this is a record of an actual conversation; (3) the problem of evil for Augustine is of a different nature then that promulgated in modern times; (4) the only two people who had a paradigmatically free will were Adam and Eve - everyone else has a less than free will and requires God's grace to will effectively, even when they wish to do good.

It is an interesting work but still represents the early thought of Augustine. Those without a Neoplatonic background will find some of its arguments strange. There is no good introduction to Augustine - in my experience, you have to read a great deal of him in order to understand the typical way he thinks and the concepts he relies upon implicitly. Some Plotinus is probably useful.

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Fathers of the Church: Saint Augustine : The Teacher, the Free Choice of the Will, Grace and Free Will (Fathers of the Church)
St. Augustine , and Robert P. Russell
Manufacturer: Catholic Univ of Amer Pr
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More great stuff from Augustine.......2001-06-01

The table of contents of this collection is as follows:

The Teacher (Introduction by Russell)

The Free Choice of the Will (Introduction by Russell)

Retractions, Book 1, Chapter 9, concerning "The Free Choice of the Will")

Grace and Free Will (Introduction by Russell)

General Index (Russell)

Index of Holy Scripture (Russell)

All of the works are translated by Robert P. Russell, who also wrote a short introduction to each, provided footnotes, and added the two indices. The introductions mostly serve to indicate when and for what purpose the work was written, generally based on Augustine's own comments in his "Retractions", and also the historical significance of the work. Augustine seldom needs an interpreter, and interpretive commentary is therefore brief. The abundant footnotes concern translation issues, scripture references, other references (both to other authors' and Augustine's own works), and occasionally points of interpretation.

The first work in the collection "The Teacher", which was written in the form of a dialogue between Augustine and his son Adeodatus, whose early death may have led to the dialogue's composition. The dialogue does have historical substance behind it, as it does reflect conversations that Augustine and his son actually had.

The subject of "The Teacher" is language, or more properly, signs. The structure of the argument begins with a discussion of words as signs, then moves to consider that words themselves can be the objects of signs, and that signs do not have to be words. Initially, the argument is that the purpose of signs is to teach, but by the end, the argument has moved to stress the active role of the listener in learning and (briefly) of God as the ultimate source of all knowledge. In character, the work is much more philosophical than scriptural.

The second work in the collection is "The Free Choice of the Will", which like "The Teacher" was written in the form of a dialogue. Also like "The Teacher" it is much more philosophical than scriptural in character. The purpose of the work is to defend man's free will with regard to good and evil against the Manichaean view of man as a passive battlefield for the cosmic war between good and evil. The work got him into some trouble as it was later used as a support by Pelagius in his argument for the sufficiency of free will against the necessity of grace. Russell takes pains to document this by footnoting exactly what passages Pelagius cited. Augustine himself devoted space to this subject in his "Retractions" (that chapter is included in this collection) defending that he was not denying grace in this work and that his general position on grace and free will was coherent.

The third work in the collection is "Grace and Free Will", which was written against Pelagius. It argues for the necessity of grace and denies the sufficiency of free will. The form of the work is heavily scriptural. Augustine seeks to demonstrate that the Pelagian position is incompatible with scripture, while at the same time taking pains to avoid erring in the opposite direction - that because grace is necessary, free will does not exist. While Augustine does present a positive account as to how grace and free will can be reconciled, I did not think he presented it nearly as clearly as he did in "Admonition and Grace" (as found in the collection "Fathers of the Church: St. Augustine : Christian Instruction, Admonition and Grace, The Christian Combat, Faith, Hope, and Charity"), a work that I admire enormously.

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The collection as a whole is interesting in part because it showcases the variety of styles Augustine used in writing: dialogue vs. straight prose and philosophical vs. scriptural, and also because it shows Augustine as a defender of a complex position against oversimplifications in two different directions. Before I read Augustine, I admit that my eyes had glazed over at the thought of reading anything to do with "Manichaeanism" or "Pelagianism" - after all, why should I care about arguments against long-extinct sects? Well, the reason is that a good heresy never dies, it just changes its name and moves to a new address. Far from being a dusty exercise, I found Augustine's writings on these controversies to be very much of current interest and well worth anyone's time.

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The Teacher, the Free Choice of the Will, Grace and Free Will (Fathers of the Church (Paper))
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