Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Another one I couldn't read.
I decided to read Paulo Coelho's books, because I really liked the first ones I read.
Veronika decides to die, Adultery, The Devil and Miss. Prym, The Alchemist... Those were 4 books that I enjoyed reading, which held me captive and had a very pleasant reading.
But the rest are being so doughy! The themes are very repetitive, the characters are so boring!! I quit. I will stop here with Paulo Coelho's books.
I decided to read Paulo Coelho's books, because I really liked the first ones I read.
Veronika decides to die, Adultery, The Devil and Miss. Prym, The Alchemist... Those were 4 books that I enjoyed reading, which held me captive and had a very pleasant reading.
But the rest are being so doughy! The themes are very repetitive, the characters are so boring!! I quit. I will stop here with Paulo Coelho's books.
Although it is true that we believe in matrial stuff more than spirtual ideas due to not seeing them with our own eyes, but we have to start believing in them and taking time from all what is around us to think of the world and the reason behind our existence.
I disliked the wife leaving without an explanation and getting pregant in the end and I am surprised that the husband is happy about it but at least the journey he took has some truth in the way the world works.
I disliked the wife leaving without an explanation and getting pregant in the end and I am surprised that the husband is happy about it but at least the journey he took has some truth in the way the world works.
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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 provides an easy mix of romcom and spirituality. Throughout the story, the narrator ostensibly chases after his missing wife while going through his own spiritual journey. One of the drawbacks of this journey is that the narrator often compares himself and his marriage with the people around him and their marriages which inadvertently always falls short of what he believes to be the spiritual ideal. The narrator could be more tolerant and open minded to how other people believe they should live their life instead of superimposing his own ideals on them. The mix of romcom and spirituality leads to an often arbitrary and shallow narration style where time and location is not always clear and conversations that clearly want to convey spiritual messages fall short because sentences and paragraphs logically don’t connect with each.
Maybe is just me, but Paul Coelho is so overrated ... I was disappointed with The Alchemist, since it had so many good reviews and thought that maybe just wasn't my style, but his other books are kinda bad, too. At least his books are easy to read and sometimes you find quotes worth highlighting.
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Paulo Coelho can be a bit irritating sometimes, so I think you have to be in the mood for him. This is a very good "analysis of relationships" book and what are or should be the limits. It makes you think about whether our behaviour in a relationship is natural or conditioned by our culture. It also mentions the cathedral in Vitoria which Paulo Coelho visited and in the book it provides him with some kind of spiritual enlightenment.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God. This is the first Paulo Coelho book I've picked up, and boy is it going to be the last.
I...do not know where to start on how bad this is.
The author writes it as an attempt at both fiction and philosophy: failing fantastically in both.
As for the fiction:
The base of the plot (guy has to set off on journey to find back his lover) is...kind of cliché , to start with, but eh, it could've been done well...had he not gone on to ruin it with so many damn flaws. What flaws in the plot, you may ask. Well, how about:
I...do not know where to start on how bad this is.
The author writes it as an attempt at both fiction and philosophy: failing fantastically in both.
As for the fiction:
The base of the plot (guy has to set off on journey to find back his lover) is...kind of cliché , to start with, but eh, it could've been done well...had he not gone on to ruin it with so many damn flaws. What flaws in the plot, you may ask. Well, how about:
- The guy is sleeping with another woman when his wife goes missing
- The guy immediately takes up another girlfriend, yet continues his 'search' for his wife
- Girlfriend stays with him despite knowing he is still attached to his wife, whose thoughts he himself describes as filling his soul and mind.
- Basically, all the characters in this are obnoxious. Pretty much every single one of them. I thought his wife was the only half-decent person here, until I came across the ending.
And then, of course, you have the horrible ending, which I will talk about in the end.
And then, there is the whole 'philosophical' aspect:
This isn't philosophy. It's pseudo-philosophy. Sure, you could describe it as 'spiritual', but to me, it seems more of a load of bullshit and less of spirituality.
If you believe in 'visions' (of which, throughout the book, the author keeps on trying to convince us that they are totally, definitely not epileptic fits), 'the voice', 'divine energy', and a load of such bullshit that half the book is based on, then this book is for you. But if you can't take those seriously, then it's probably best to avoid the cringe and move on. If the book wasn't set in a resembling-reality way, then it'd have been fine.
Oh, yes, how could I forget the main subject of the book. 'Love'. I have no idea what the author is trying to tell us about love here. Almost every single page in the book talks about love, yet it fails to show or prove what love truly is. The author talks about 'true, free, unrestricted love', repeating that, apparently, true love is giving up the societal norm of lifelong, committed, monogamous relationships. I guess that's the only way the main character can justify being able to both be filled in extramarital affairs (he, while having a wife, takes up a girlfriend, and at the same time talks about how he'd love to seduce another young woman) and yet at the same time claim to love his wife.
And oh, yes, the great ending. I went through all the agonizing pain of finishing this book, hoping the ending would somehow justify it. Up till that point, I might've given the book 2.5 or even 3 stars. But of course, the ending made it even worse.
After a long journey through the steppes, the author finally 'transforms' into a new person (no evidence of this apparent transformation being shown, for he is as arrogant and obnoxious as before) and travels to meet his wife. When they meet, she is overjoyed to see him, says she almost fell in love with a painter there, but that stopped and she still loves him...and then gives him the news that she is pregnant with another man's child, neither the painter's nor her husband's. The End.
The wife was bored with the marriage, after years of her husband neglecting their love and being swamped up in his own career and endless pursuit of fame. What does she decide to do? Not to leave him, but suddenly disappears, abandoning her career, home and husband, to halfway around the world where in order to 'discover herself' and 'erase the memories of her past', she weaves carpets and teaches French. And yes, gets knocked up by someone else, while her husband is having his own affairs back home . I mean, I guess they all got what they deserved.
Oh, also the fact that the MC is based on the author makes me hate Coelho even more. The way the MC brags when talking about his life and previous work (which is conveniently nearly the exact same as Coelho's). As I said, nearly every single character involved in this book is obnoxious.
What a great, wholesome, life-changing novel, isn't it.
And then, there is the whole 'philosophical' aspect:
This isn't philosophy. It's pseudo-philosophy. Sure, you could describe it as 'spiritual', but to me, it seems more of a load of bullshit and less of spirituality.
If you believe in 'visions' (of which, throughout the book, the author keeps on trying to convince us that they are totally, definitely not epileptic fits), 'the voice', 'divine energy', and a load of such bullshit that half the book is based on, then this book is for you. But if you can't take those seriously, then it's probably best to avoid the cringe and move on. If the book wasn't set in a resembling-reality way, then it'd have been fine.
Oh, yes, how could I forget the main subject of the book. 'Love'. I have no idea what the author is trying to tell us about love here. Almost every single page in the book talks about love, yet it fails to show or prove what love truly is. The author talks about 'true, free, unrestricted love', repeating that, apparently, true love is giving up the societal norm of lifelong, committed, monogamous relationships. I guess that's the only way the main character can justify being able to both be filled in extramarital affairs (he, while having a wife, takes up a girlfriend, and at the same time talks about how he'd love to seduce another young woman) and yet at the same time claim to love his wife.
And oh, yes, the great ending. I went through all the agonizing pain of finishing this book, hoping the ending would somehow justify it. Up till that point, I might've given the book 2.5 or even 3 stars. But of course, the ending made it even worse.
The wife was bored with the marriage, after years of her husband neglecting their love and being swamped up in his own career and endless pursuit of fame. What does she decide to do? Not to leave him, but suddenly disappears, abandoning her career, home and husband, to halfway around the world where in order to 'discover herself' and 'erase the memories of her past', she weaves carpets and teaches French. And yes,
Oh, also the fact that the MC is based on the author makes me hate Coelho even more. The way the MC brags when talking about his life and previous work (which is conveniently nearly the exact same as Coelho's). As I said, nearly every single character involved in this book is obnoxious.
What a great, wholesome, life-changing novel, isn't it.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
TERRIBLE, spiritual wanna be
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm starting to realize that I love the first half of Paulo Coelho books. They start to lose me when the plot takes a back seat to philosophy. I enjoy philosophy in conjunction to the plot but not enough of the plot made sense for me to enjoy this book.