A box of Latin manuscripts comes to light in an Argentine flea market. An apocryphral invention by some 17th or 18th century scholar, or a transcript of what it appears to be — hitherto unheard of letters to St Augustine from a woman he renounced for chastity? VITA BREVIS is both an entrancing human document and a fascinating insight into the life and philosophy of St. Augustine. Gaarder's interpretation of Floria's letter is as playful, inventive and questioning as Sophie's World. About The Author: Jostein Gaarder was born in Olso, Norway on August 8, 1952. A former high school philosophy teacher, he now writes novels for children and adults. His best known work is Sophie's World. He has received numerous awards including the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1994 for Sophie's World, the Buxtehude Bulle in 1997, and the Willy-Brandt-Award in 2004.