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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this book based solely on the cover and the name. It was a tale told by many characters that made for some difficulty reading. It made it both interesting and cumbersome.
2015 PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book based entirely on its cover
2015 PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book based entirely on its cover
I really am not sure what I thought of this book. I am a fan of Paulo Coelho's. There was something about this book that stalled for me. I enjoyed the different points of view and parts of the story. Then there were parts where I was bored. I would recommend it if you are a Coelho fan but not if you have never read Coelho. That is why I gave it 3 stars. Because it is Paulo Coelho.
Probably deserved closer to a three than a two but selected my rating based on the Goodreads tooltips where 2/5 means that "It was OK" and 3/5 means that "I liked it". I think if you're into books that make you think - and, in this case, books that make you think about religion/spiritualism - you may enjoy this. I think I prefer stories. That said, I quite liked the approach the author took to writing this where each chapter was an interview with a different character - and the twist at the end was pretty cool too :) It's easy to read so worth a try. Just not really my cup of tea.
Coelho is a wonderful writer, however the main character in this books was pretty annoying. Very philosophical (not that I don't like philosophical), but not very believable. However, this may be because the main character is "dead" when the story begins and the chapters consist of the memories of important people in her life trying to figure out how she died.
Not a light read but Coelho never intends to be.
Not a light read but Coelho never intends to be.
This was an interesting take on the reemergence of the divine feminine, or the "female face of God", and only the second one I've read written by a man. (Anastasia by Vladimir Megre is the other one, written as a memoir.) Women tend to explore the 'irrational' and 'magical' with much more comfort and are less likely to attempt to ground it or explain it in relation to masculine traditions. Interestingly, Coelho's Athena reminded me of Megre's Anastasia and I can't help but wonder if one somehow influenced the other.
I didn't find the epistolary approach too effective. In fact, in the midst of longer passages, I often had to go back and check who was speaking because their voices tended to blend together into one. Each character had a unique experience with the protagonist (Athena), but they all expressed their feelings with the same cadence and tone. In a way, they all seemed to be the same person.
Throughout the story, Athena is supposed to have had a boyfriend who worked for Scotland Yard, but he never makes an appearance. I was beginning to wonder why Coelho even bothered including that detail when it didn't seem to serve any purpose to the story. And then we finally hear from him, in the last few pages. Really though, what he says simply softens the impact of the story -- he just wasn't necessary.
Having said all of that, I can't help but immerse myself in Coelho's prose whenever I pick up one of his books. I love how he creates these spaces for spiritual reflection throughout the narrative, and I can't even count how many passages I've marked with little sticky tabs so that I can go back and read them again and again.
I didn't find the epistolary approach too effective. In fact, in the midst of longer passages, I often had to go back and check who was speaking because their voices tended to blend together into one. Each character had a unique experience with the protagonist (Athena), but they all expressed their feelings with the same cadence and tone. In a way, they all seemed to be the same person.
Throughout the story, Athena is supposed to have had a boyfriend who worked for Scotland Yard, but he never makes an appearance. I was beginning to wonder why Coelho even bothered including that detail when it didn't seem to serve any purpose to the story. And then we finally hear from him, in the last few pages. Really though, what he says simply softens the impact of the story -- he just wasn't necessary.
Having said all of that, I can't help but immerse myself in Coelho's prose whenever I pick up one of his books. I love how he creates these spaces for spiritual reflection throughout the narrative, and I can't even count how many passages I've marked with little sticky tabs so that I can go back and read them again and again.
The Witch of Portobello is about lots of things, but mostly it’s about doing something different and letting The Spirit guide. Coelho writes about characters who overcome their fear of themselves. They learn to be still enough to find God, The Old Wise Man, and/or the Great Mother by doing what most people are afraid to do—listening to the earth and our inner selves and trusting that we have the power to affect change. When I read his books, I want to be like his characters. I want the power to move the masses to justice and healing and I begin to believe that I have it. Then I close the books and believe I have been self-indulgent and only special people are called to greater purposes and why would I be among them. I suppose thinking that at all moves me one step further away from the paralysis of everyday life and towards greatness.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was not my favorite by Coelho, but it surprised me. It’s not as predictable as I thought it would be.