Books 1-7 follow a rather monotonous storyline. Most of it is a litany of Augustine's confessions. But from Book 8 onwards, things start picking up. And then things start to get real in Book 10 (and 11).
There were three instances in the reading that stuck out to me: Augustine's conversion, the death of his mother, and his thoughts on why there is evil in the world. I found these to be major 'plot drivers' in the sense that they marked major points of tension that arose in his spiritual maturation.
One way to understand the structure of Confessions is to think of each of Augustine's stories as tension points. They build up in pressure and suspense but are always followed by a cathartic release. Each time he is troubled, he finds solace and support in God. Book 8 is where Augustine's search for truth reaches a culmination as he chooses the word of God over the secular. The equivalent of a climax could perhaps be found in 8.29, where he hears a child singing "Pick up and read," which inspires him to pick up a religious book containing a quote that galvanizes his instant conversion to God and renunciation of the secular.
This leads to the second point about Monica, Augustine's mother. The single term I would ascribe to Monica after reading all this is "servant." Although somewhere in the footnotes there is mention that she had done un-Christian things and engaged in alcoholism, she is portrayed by Augustine as the single most important reason he finally believed in God. And she is, for the most part, somewhat the ideal Christian homemaker. In Augustine's words, "She exercised care for everybody as if they were all her own children. She served us as if she as a daughter to all of us." (8. 22)
In one of Monica's final intimate conversations with her son, she says that Augustine's submission to God was all she wanted her whole life, and so she had nothing else to live for. She says, "I see you despising the world's success to become his servant. What have I to do here?" (8. 26) The key point here is the word "servant." Being a good Christian is, apparently, being one who is subservient to one's Creator and His will. And so, the interesting point I see here is that Monica embodies subservience. Augustine's conversion in a garden at Milan marks a similar transition into becoming a servant of God.
Finally, the discussion on evil in Book 7 marks another major point that is less of a plot-driver, and more of an example where the "confessions" of Augustine become a rhetorical device; he seems to be doing more introspection and thinking and less confessing. He begins to describe a major theological problem that still faces the church today: that is, if there is an Almighty Creator, and if he is perfect and good in every aspect, then why are his creations so horribly wretched and capable of great evil?
He so far seems to only describe the problem, and does not directly address it. Augustine topically addresses this issue by saying that in the universe, "there are certain elements which are thought evil because of a conflict of interest." (7. 19). It's not a clear-cut answer he gives, but I do realize that he delves more into this issue later on. [In Book 11 he goes on to say that there was "no time before creation" and how the nature of time can be used to resolve this issue. I myself am not clear about it.]
[If you're interested ten-dollar philosophy terms like "distension of time," you should definitely read into Book 11. I thought it was part of the required reading so I read into it, and it was mind-blowing to say the least.]
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