Funny you should mention this. My Augustine class, which I took many moons ago, lingered on this very topic, though it was mostly a translation class. The guy I assisted convincingly argued that the structure of the
Confessions follows the structure of the
Aeneid. I do not remember the arguments, but I do remember being convinced

.
I have no Secondary Literature to cite, so I cannot help you on that front. I will give my own opinion just to think out loud. Maybe I can shame myself into shutting up.
I find Augustine's prose in the
Confessions to be a delight to read.
The Confessions read like a long prayer. It is peppered with Psalms and actually reads like a Psalm in many places.
magnus es, domine, et laudabilis valde. magna virtus tua et sapientiae tuae non est numerus. et laudare te vult homo, aliqua portio creaturae tuae, et homo circumferens mortalitatem suam, circumferens testimonium peccati sui et testimonium quia superbis resistis; et tamen laudare te vult homo, aliqua portio creaturae tuae. tu excitas ut laudare te delectet, quia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te. da mihi, domine, scire et intellegere utrum sit prius invocare te an laudare te, et scire te prius sit an invocare te. sed quis te invocat nesciens te? aliud enim pro alio potest invocare nesciens. an potius invocaris ut sciaris? uomodo autem invocabunt, in quem non crediderunt? aut quomodo credent sine praedicante? et laudabunt dominum qui requirunt eum: quaerentes enim inveniunt eum et invenientes laudabunt eum. quaeram te, domine, invocans te et invocem te credens in te: praedicatus enim es nobis. invocat te, domine, fides mea, quam dedisti mihi, quam inspirasti mihi per humanitatem filii tui, per ministerium praedicatoris tui.
Augustine is chasing his tail a bit here, but his tone has always struck me as meditative.
Balchazzy Carducci has a really good book of selections from the Confessions. If memory serves, the hefty intro is really helpful.
When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him. ~Swift