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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book told the story of a young woman's spiritual journey from the point of view of various people who knew her, after she has died. The story-telling device is done skillfully- I thought the author did a good job of giving believably different characters voice. What I didn't like was the young woman in question went rapidly from being a seeker to a teacher, with no real idea what she was doing. This seems to smack of hubris, and is ethically suspect and emotionally dangerous. The end of the book also defused and confused the Christ-story that the book had seemed to have going.
I finished this book last night hoping for a juicy conclusion to a mediocre novel, but I was disappointed. I just never got into it. The format was interesting, but it lacked a character or motif that I could get attached to.
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Genre : fantasy, literature
Rating: 4/5
Books like this make me remember why I started reading in the first place. To provoke my mind, to understand new perspectives. I obtain this more efficiently through non fiction books. But rarely, fiction books could make the same effect.
At first, I did not like The Witch of Portobello. The narration seems absurd, the characters seem delusional, and the plot was so thick. And yet as I continued reading, I realized that Paulo Coelho did this on purpose.
He was making readers go through the same concept his characters had been through. Because the characters in the book had to learn that to understand something new: we need to step out from our comfort zones.
To acquire something divine, we need to embrace the absurdity of new concepts and then start adjusting our perspectives, eventually changing our souls.
As a reader, I was put in the most abstract and conflicting position. I was thrown off balance by this story. It was as if Coelho purposely provoked readers, as Athena provoked her followers to make them ‘see’ and it’s amazing that the way we perceive things shape our attitude and life, is one of the theme of the book. That from the beginning, Coelho’s writing style had been from various perspectives of characters around Athena.
The way Paulo Coelho combined philosophy, religions, cultures, various form of art: dancing, calligraphy, teathre -I admire the writer’s depth and determinance to show that the world arround us have more meaning and life than we ever realized. And to make use of those surrounding into the plot.. It was like reading The Alchemist all over again. But there was a slight difference. Athena had a mission, which was to spread the belief she had found.
This book contains highly spiritual and philosophical materials. It is a heavy story, I tell you. One that will make you feel ‘uncomfortable’ but nevertheless it managed to tug that invisible string of my ‘mind’ or ‘soul’ and changed it slightly. I don’t know if it’s a good change or bad. Yet. All I can say is that @paulocoelho has thrown me off balance. He has put me in an abstract and conflicting situation. Because he has provoked me, through The Witch of Portobello, to change. At one point, he has become one of my teachers.
As much as I love what the book has done to me, I must say that from a reader’s perspective I still find the plot a little bit all over the place. And truth be told, I grew bored at some of the ‘divine explanation’ perhaps my young age hinders me from connecting so thoroughly with the ‘soul’ and ‘divine’ concept. It felt repetitive sometimes and again, abstract. Therefore I cannot rate the book 5 stars.
•
My final rating is 4/5
Rating: 4/5
Books like this make me remember why I started reading in the first place. To provoke my mind, to understand new perspectives. I obtain this more efficiently through non fiction books. But rarely, fiction books could make the same effect.
At first, I did not like The Witch of Portobello. The narration seems absurd, the characters seem delusional, and the plot was so thick. And yet as I continued reading, I realized that Paulo Coelho did this on purpose.
He was making readers go through the same concept his characters had been through. Because the characters in the book had to learn that to understand something new: we need to step out from our comfort zones.
To acquire something divine, we need to embrace the absurdity of new concepts and then start adjusting our perspectives, eventually changing our souls.
As a reader, I was put in the most abstract and conflicting position. I was thrown off balance by this story. It was as if Coelho purposely provoked readers, as Athena provoked her followers to make them ‘see’ and it’s amazing that the way we perceive things shape our attitude and life, is one of the theme of the book. That from the beginning, Coelho’s writing style had been from various perspectives of characters around Athena.
The way Paulo Coelho combined philosophy, religions, cultures, various form of art: dancing, calligraphy, teathre -I admire the writer’s depth and determinance to show that the world arround us have more meaning and life than we ever realized. And to make use of those surrounding into the plot.. It was like reading The Alchemist all over again. But there was a slight difference. Athena had a mission, which was to spread the belief she had found.
This book contains highly spiritual and philosophical materials. It is a heavy story, I tell you. One that will make you feel ‘uncomfortable’ but nevertheless it managed to tug that invisible string of my ‘mind’ or ‘soul’ and changed it slightly. I don’t know if it’s a good change or bad. Yet. All I can say is that @paulocoelho has thrown me off balance. He has put me in an abstract and conflicting situation. Because he has provoked me, through The Witch of Portobello, to change. At one point, he has become one of my teachers.
As much as I love what the book has done to me, I must say that from a reader’s perspective I still find the plot a little bit all over the place. And truth be told, I grew bored at some of the ‘divine explanation’ perhaps my young age hinders me from connecting so thoroughly with the ‘soul’ and ‘divine’ concept. It felt repetitive sometimes and again, abstract. Therefore I cannot rate the book 5 stars.
•
My final rating is 4/5
Let's be honest. This book sucked so badly I couldn't finish it.