What is The Confessions of X (2016), a novel by Suzanne M. Wolfe, about? Its narrative is about the concubine, unnamed, of St. Augustine before he became a Christian. Thematically it is about the unbreakable tie between former lovers who have lived without any other lover (or spouse). It is about unexpected conversion and sudden change (a minor example: a saved woman, Perpetua, becomes like a sister to “X” after initially snapping at her for her concubinage). It is about love.
The book is almost always finely, astutely written, even if the characterization lacks admirable depth. Also, I found certain parts of it a bit of a slog, and yet Wolfe’s details are very often memorable. If The Confessions of X is a Christian novel—it was published by Thomas Nelson, and Wolfe possesses a Christian sensibility—it’s probably the best Christian novel of 2016. It’s not the kind of book that comes out frequently.