Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: As an A-level student studying this novel for my English Lit qualification, I read this book with a degree of suspicion. Afterall, why should I study a book about religion when I could have done an RE A-level? After the first few chapters, however, I realised the actual gravity and social importance this book can play in our post-millenium society. The actual theological content will have you thinking about the role an omnicsient force and play in our life, and may even lead you to question your very own moral code. The allorgorical ties were also very stimulationg, as was the attractive narrative of Amara - the wolf-child. Paton-Walsh gives her characters such an intellectual and ethical grounding that we don't even realise the sometimes damning consequence of their actions. So, if you want a severe moral stimulation, coupled with the lush imagery Walsh is so highly regarded for, then buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: my all time best read
Review: Every single chapter ends with an astonishing line that makes you want to stop and think, to contemplate yet at the same time has introduced a quiet shocking revelation that there is nothing to do but read on, and read and read. The book is clever, is wise but not judgemental. It touches the heart, the soul but is neither sloppy nor politically philosophical. A book to fall in love with, i recommend it to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Good novel, poor philosophy
Review: I have always been fascinated by novels of ideas. I do not think that putting ideas into a narrative is easy and "Knowledge of Angels" is successful in bringing back to life the lively debates of the Medieval theologians. However, when it comes to philosophy the story is weak. It builds on a now somewhat outdated Enlightenment idea of Reason being natural and self-sufficient. Here we have a Prince who comes from an unknown place (a sort of rationalist Utopia of the 18th century) and ends up disputing with Medieval scholars. It is as unbelievable as a story where Plato is tele-transported to the British Library in the 19th century to have a discussion with Karl Marx. On the whole, however, I recommend the book as it is well-written and a good read
Rating:
Summary: one of my favourite books
Review: i read this book 2 or 3 times over the past number of years and never get tired of it. it is one of my favorite books. i love the idea of having inate knowledge and found the book fascinating and i loved the friendship between josepha and amara.
Rating:
Summary: A highly intelligent fable of ideas
Review: Jill Paton Walsh's "Knowledge of Angels" should havewon the Booker Prize. It is arguably the most outstanding yetaccessible of the five novels that made the shortlist in 1994. Set in the medievial ages, KOA is a brilliant and highly intelligent fable of ideas. Controversial perhaps, but timeless. Even today, we continue to debate the question of whether the concept of God is innate to man or acquired through the intellect and the socialisation process. In the middle ages, certainly during the times of the infamous Spanish Inquisition, it was heretical to espouse the creed of atheism. The crime was punishable by torture and death. The story of Amara (the wolf child), brought up and suckled by wolves before being returned to human society, was to be the great experiment by which learned scholars of the day sought to prove the existence of God. Palinor, the castaway who hails from a world where people live by the principles of humanism, finds his life endangered when his unconventional ideas threaten the orthodoxy of the day. Paton Walsh's novel isn't even specifically about religion or humanism. It is about the need for human society in its search for truth to understand the confining nature of paradigms, to continually challenge conventional wisdoms and reinvent itself, and to practice tolerance if the search for truth is to be served. Astonishing, yet not. "Knowledge of Angels" is a beautifully crafted and highly entertaining novel of ideas that should be read by those who love good literature. I can't recommend it highly enough. END
Rating:
Summary: Knowledge of Angles
Review: Knowledge of Angles by Jill Paton Walsh is one of the best books of our time. Its richly illustrated plot was truly unique. We read this book for a high school English class and both agreed that it was one of the best books we've ever read. The story of a wolf-girl slowly interwines with that of a man unjustly persecuted because of his beliefs. A young girl, raised by wolves, is captured by men and brought into the human society. A kindly boy finds help from the Cardinal who in turn decides to perform a religious experiment with her. She is brought to a secluded cloister where she is to be kept without any mention of God in her presence. In this way, the Cardinal tries to find out if there is actually a high spirit, that seems to guide you. This careful experiment soon leads to surprises, that would best have been left unknown. The story of a wrongly persucuted man makes "The Knowledge of Angles" even more amazing. Palinor, a king from an unknown "perfect world" fell off a boat and swam to a nearby island. He is immediatly thought to be an athiest because he neither knows that God exists, or knows that He doesn't. Palinor was put into prison, then released and taken to talk to the Cardinal. His arguments are so convincing that he even has the Cardinal somewhat doubting his faith. The two stories come together to create a very important theme, one of love, hate, God, and sympathy.
Rating:
Summary: Knowledge of Angles
Review: Knowledge of Angles by Jill Paton Walsh is one of the best books of our time. Its richly illustrated plot was truly unique. We read this book for a high school English class and both agreed that it was one of the best books we've ever read. The story of a wolf-girl slowly interwines with that of a man unjustly persecuted because of his beliefs. A young girl, raised by wolves, is captured by men and brought into the human society. A kindly boy finds help from the Cardinal who in turn decides to perform a religious experiment with her. She is brought to a secluded cloister where she is to be kept without any mention of God in her presence. In this way, the Cardinal tries to find out if there is actually a high spirit, that seems to guide you. This careful experiment soon leads to surprises, that would best have been left unknown. The story of a wrongly persucuted man makes "The Knowledge of Angles" even more amazing. Palinor, a king from an unknown "perfect world" fell off a boat and swam to a nearby island. He is immediatly thought to be an athiest because he neither knows that God exists, or knows that He doesn't. Palinor was put into prison, then released and taken to talk to the Cardinal. His arguments are so convincing that he even has the Cardinal somewhat doubting his faith. The two stories come together to create a very important theme, one of love, hate, God, and sympathy.
Rating:
Summary: Tour de Force
Review: This book cries out for a different rating system - perhaps a 1-10 scale. Even then one would have to reward an "11" for this magnificent tome. I could not find a single flaw in the entire reading - character development and portrayal was realistic yet unforgettable, the setting mesmerizing (one is instantly transported back to the time of the Inquisition and the faith-filled, simple lives of the city dwellers) and the plot was perfect. I have read criticism that the tale was not realistic or made suppositions and assumptions that are not exactly correct in the historical sense. But what one should remember is that this tale is an allegory, not a documentary. The fictional city is in Spain and the Inquisition is at its high point when a stranger appears. He is intelligent, interesting, and friendly but an unbeliever. He tells of a land in which belief is arbitrary and where one can change their religion - or choose to have no religion at all. This is too much for Church officials for in their eyes murder, torture and lying can be forgiven but also blessed. A trial of sorts is proposed. Now we have the second story and the joy is how the two are seemlessly weaved into one arc. A child found among the wolves is being raised by nuns. She is not to be given any religious instruction and if she comes to a belief in a Supreme Being the visitor will be found guilty, otherwise he will be judged to be innocent. The battle is not between atheist and believer. It is a civil war between two schools of thought within Catholicism - the plain folk and their local leaders and a grand inquisitor who employs "unusual" methods for "protecting the faith". The wolf-girl finally is made to make a statement that can be interpreted as belief and Palindo, the visitor, is tortured to confession. When he refuses to follow this up with another confession (which would then validate the previous "confession") he is sentenced to be burned alive at the stake. A lowly follower trades all her material goods for a balm that will bring instant death upon being heated. The aftermath is a short but appealing denouement. The bishop's assistant announces he cannot believe in a God that seeks obedience through torture. The wolf-girl returns to her solitary mountain home but not before catching a glimpse of a vast naval armada from the foreign land streaming toward the city that burned its citizen. The rewards of sin...
Rating:
Summary: Tour de Force
Review: This book cries out for a different rating system - perhaps a 1-10 scale. Even then one would have to reward an "11" for this magnificent tome. I could not find a single flaw in the entire reading - character development and portrayal was realistic yet unforgettable, the setting mesmerizing (one is instantly transported back to the time of the Inquisition and the faith-filled, simple lives of the city dwellers) and the plot was perfect. I have read criticism that the tale was not realistic or made suppositions and assumptions that are not exactly correct in the historical sense. But what one should remember is that this tale is an allegory, not a documentary. The fictional city is in Spain and the Inquisition is at its high point when a stranger appears. He is intelligent, interesting, and friendly but an unbeliever. He tells of a land in which belief is arbitrary and where one can change their religion - or choose to have no religion at all. This is too much for Church officials for in their eyes murder, torture and lying can be forgiven but also blessed. A trial of sorts is proposed. Now we have the second story and the joy is how the two are seemlessly weaved into one arc. A child found among the wolves is being raised by nuns. She is not to be given any religious instruction and if she comes to a belief in a Supreme Being the visitor will be found guilty, otherwise he will be judged to be innocent. The battle is not between atheist and believer. It is a civil war between two schools of thought within Catholicism - the plain folk and their local leaders and a grand inquisitor who employs "unusual" methods for "protecting the faith". The wolf-girl finally is made to make a statement that can be interpreted as belief and Palindo, the visitor, is tortured to confession. When he refuses to follow this up with another confession (which would then validate the previous "confession") he is sentenced to be burned alive at the stake. A lowly follower trades all her material goods for a balm that will bring instant death upon being heated. The aftermath is a short but appealing denouement. The bishop's assistant announces he cannot believe in a God that seeks obedience through torture. The wolf-girl returns to her solitary mountain home but not before catching a glimpse of a vast naval armada from the foreign land streaming toward the city that burned its citizen. The rewards of sin...
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story
Review: This story is an especially pertinent discussion of religious intolerance, and how to live a beautiful, joyful, inquisitive life in the face of it. A revealing look at the genuine sources of wonder life grants us.
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