The Pilgrimage : A Review

This is the 4th Paulo Coelho book I've read, and my least favorite so far. I may be little harsh in saying this, but I really hated this book. I know the character in this book is on a spiritual journey to find himself, but I thought It would be similar to "The Alchemist" with some philosophical thoughts. But the story made no sense, and key parts of it were left unexplained (what is RAM? what is The Tradition?). Here Paulo Coelho details his journey across Spain along the legendary road of San Tiago, which pilgrims have travelled since Middle Ages.The entire book is mostly about rituals and "The Tradition" whatever that is. It was difficult for me to get into the book, but I got through it. The only good quality was that it was short and went quickly. I think this is his first book as a writer and probably one of the reason that it failed to make an impressive mark. I could see his evolution as a writer after this.

Only one thing to quote here..

When you are moving toward an objective, it is very imporant to pay attention to the road

My Rating :

The Zahir : A Review

This book starts with a mystery, A woman leaves her husband with no explanation. She leaves no note, no messenger, takes nothing, just seems to disappear. He finds himself in the journey and learns he needs to look for her because he loves her, not because he is obsessed.It really attempts to analyze how we fall in love, as well as how we maintain it. We never realize how we are drifting away from it when we start taking things for granted. We only realize the importance of it when it is over. This book was not of the same quality as Alchemist but still presented some noble and elevated concepts as presented in all of paulo's books. Typical Coelho...lots of really good quotes.

"When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive - I'll find love again."

"That is why it is so important to let certain things go. To release them. To cut loose. People need to understand that no one is playing with marked cards; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Don't expect recognition for your efforts, don't expect your genius to be discovered or your love to be understood. Complete the circle. Not out of pride, inability, or arrogrance, but simply because whatever it is no longer fits in your life. Close the door, change the record, clean the house, get rid of the dust. Stop being who you were and become who you are." 


My Rating :

Eleven minutes : A Review

This book is a story about Maria, a young girl from brazil who do not settle for being just ordinary country girl. Her jouney begins when one day she went for vacation, and a stranger offered her to working abroad as a dancer. Her life changed on the day she accept the offer. She leaves her country for adventure, possibly to become a model or a famous actress, but ends up becoming a prostitute for a year. She learns a lot about sex and what it actually means. There is a difference between sex for the sake of sex, and doing it with meaning. In this journey she will fall in love with a painter Ralf and the story goes on. Discovering Ralf makes Maria discovering about herself. 

Another thought provoking book from Paulo coehlo..I would say Coehlo kicks some serious ass about and love and sex in this book.. Why is it that we all long for love, yet it is so elusive to so many? Is sex an expression of love or merely a physical act? These are some of the questions that were addressed in this book.

I did find several quotes that I really liked in this book...

"The strongest love is the love that can demonstrate its fragility.."

"Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.."

"I am not a body with a soul, I'm a soul that has a visible part called the body."

My Rating :

The Alchemist : A Review

I am a big fan of Paulo Coelho's work. I can say that he is my favorite author. I discovered this author when I visited my friend's house on a boring sunday, and since then I must admit that I am love in with his books. I finished this book in two sittings on the way to my hometown. This review has been long due now, almost two months.

The Alchemist is all about following your dream and about taking the risk of following your dreams, which is actually so difficult to do and there are very few people in this world who actually do, I mean risk it all, just to follow your heart and your dream. It was written from the point of view of a traveling shepherd, telling us how he dealt with problems he encountered through his journey. When he had dreams about a hidden treasure, he had to chose between living his normal, plain shepherd life, or to follow his heart and search for a treasure that he wasn't 100% sure that even existed. He decides to leave everything behind sells his flock of sheep and leaves Fatima, the beautiful girl he fell in love with. He was robbed at the beginning of his journey and recuperated by working with a crystal merchant. When he finally reached the pyramids in Egypt, where the treasured was buried, he was robbed again.While he was digging for the treasure he finally realized that the treasure that he traveled so far to find, was hidden in the place he started all along, There are a lot of hidden messages and themes here...one needs to be fully present to fully appreciate what Paulo Coelho is doing.

Some really good quotes in this book..

"when you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it"

"-What's the world's greatest lie? the boy asked, completely surprised. -It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."

My Rating :