Zahir

Paulo Coelho

I had a long conversation with a friend, about if we can call some experiences as a...more

I had a long conversation with a friend, about if we can call some experiences as a “common-share human experiences”, if there are any ideas that we would share. In most of our conversation, we disagreed. He claims that nothing is universal, where I’m still sure that there are some experiences that define us as humans, and that we would react the same as love. Where we sometimes agreed on common points, he prefer to call them “Advanced Experiences”, I prefer to call them “ Back-to-roots Experiences”. The Zahir, for me was a Proof Of Concept. Where everyone has his own Zahir, my personal experience was much more than our writer friend. I have been there and I knew from the beginning that he was asking the wrong questions, as most of us do, but he had to go all along to find his answers. It was somehow reading my own diary, same meaning different expressions. The book was not that exciting from me, as I knew what was going to happen, but I did enjoy the details and how that they can be universal. May you all have peace with your own Zahir.   hide

An inpsiring love story. The story of love and obsession begins with the parting of a couple. The...more

An inpsiring love story. The story of love and obsession begins with the parting of a couple. The love exists between a novelist and a woman that has left him. The story may be one of losing love but the trade off is the discovery of self. Through this emotional journey of this lost love the novel explores many different situations that affect the human condition. Coelho explores all aspects of love. Love of self, erotic love and universal love. The novel correctly points out that our relationships are reflections of self. In order for a relationship to flourish you have to start with yourself. Our relationships are just part of our journey..they allow us to grow and develop and are presented to allow us to see things that we wouldn't recognize within ourselves. The novel is a beautifully written love story with a spiritual twist. It is not your typical boy meets girl etc....there is great character developement as well as amazing insight into the journey that we are all on. Beautifully done.    hide

This is an interesting take on love, obsession, and freedom. While reading this book, one must...more

This is an interesting take on love, obsession, and freedom. While reading this book, one must consider how these ideas necessarily intertwine. Beautifically written, at times the story seems secondary to the ideas in this novel. Characters are interesting not because they are unique or necessarily well-developed, but rather because they are "everyman" characters. Readers will relate to the feelings of confusion, desperation, obsession, and love as universal experiences. In some ways, the characters seem less important than the concept and the treatment of concepts. As with many of Coelho's novels, there is a definite strand of spirituality that weaves throughout the story--sometimes actually distracting from the story and the idea suggested in his subtitle. Still, Coelho's smooth and poetic writing style makes the novel worth the reading.   hide

I absolutely loved this book. People slate his work, because it is not deemed proper literature, as...more

I absolutely loved this book. People slate his work, because it is not deemed proper literature, as the emphasis is on the spiritual side of life and some people remain largely dissappointed when faced with the alien. His books suit a time, a place and a person; and, the sort of thing one reads, when one wants to understand something through uncomplicated reading.. It's basically about love, loss; the understanding of loss; the resulting obsession and what lies beyond that, in terms of the self. Love and life are explained thorugh various different characters/encounters, the obsession of loss moves him closer to himself, as he seeks to undersatnd why his wife left him..... Although it has a primitive nature; it you are into it; it moves you beyond yourself. The only thing that I would say is it's no mystery what the main characters struggle is and if you are not interested in using the book for your own personal gain, you may come to the a brick wall....as the 1st para...   hide

One often feels the need to plunge into something of substance when reading; something that...more

One often feels the need to plunge into something of substance when reading; something that provokes both mind and spirit to new heights. As ever, Coelho delivers. The Zahir is semiautobiographical, based on evens in the life of the author, who, as protagonist, in emboiled in a quest to find the wife who has vanished. Coelho's easy, approachable writing comes across like a Mystery play in print, leading the spirit on in a way just beyond comprehension of the mind and physical senses. The protagonist finds himself ranging far and wide, much like Santiago in Coelho's 'The Alchemist' and findfs in the end a lesson elusive to him previously. The Zahir not only erects a temple within the soul of its reader, it also calls attention to the wide and beautiful space left empty within it; a true Zen garden of a book.   hide