Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Ok I dont know if it was the book itself of the dramatic way it was read in Spanish but I just laughed at it waaaaay too much...hahaha and I don't think it was meant for me to laugh....
‘There are two kinds of world: the one we dream about and the real one.’
In this novel, an unnamed, internationally famous author is left by his wife Esther, suddenly and without explanation. He becomes obsessed with Esther’s disappearance: she becomes ‘the Zahir’ and haunts him day and night. (According to information in the novel a Zahir is someone or something which, once we have come into contact with them or it, gradually occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else. The word, Zahir, is Arabic).
It isn’t clear where Esther has gone, nor is it clear why she has left, and the narrator is suspected of playing some role in her disappearance. He wonders whether she has been abducted, or has she abandoned their marriage? And, if she has abandoned their marriage, what is his role in this? Even though the narrator forms other relationships once Esther leaves, he is unable to move beyond her. He may (sometimes) be satisfied, but he is incomplete. Eventually, with the help of Mikhail (one of Esther’s friends) the narrator comes to realise that he has to find himself in order to find her.
And so, the narrator embarks on his own personal odyssey to find Esther. He learns that she is living in a village in the steppes of Kazakhstan weaving carpets, and teaching French. On his journey from Paris to Kazakhstan the narrator explores various different meanings of love and of life. In this odyssey, the narrator becomes a modern somewhat muted version of Ulysses with different heroic attributes. The original Ulysses’s physicality is replaced with a newly found sensitivity. The journey and the outcome may be similar in some ways but the process of arriving at the outcome is very different. Likewise, while there are similarities between Esther and Penelope, Esther has established a life which she can live without the narrator. The differences between the odysseys are as important as the similarities.
I liked this novel. I especially liked the way the narrator came to realise what mattered in his life, and why.
‘We humans have two great problems: the first is knowing when to begin, the second is knowing when to stop.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In this novel, an unnamed, internationally famous author is left by his wife Esther, suddenly and without explanation. He becomes obsessed with Esther’s disappearance: she becomes ‘the Zahir’ and haunts him day and night. (According to information in the novel a Zahir is someone or something which, once we have come into contact with them or it, gradually occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else. The word, Zahir, is Arabic).
It isn’t clear where Esther has gone, nor is it clear why she has left, and the narrator is suspected of playing some role in her disappearance. He wonders whether she has been abducted, or has she abandoned their marriage? And, if she has abandoned their marriage, what is his role in this? Even though the narrator forms other relationships once Esther leaves, he is unable to move beyond her. He may (sometimes) be satisfied, but he is incomplete. Eventually, with the help of Mikhail (one of Esther’s friends) the narrator comes to realise that he has to find himself in order to find her.
And so, the narrator embarks on his own personal odyssey to find Esther. He learns that she is living in a village in the steppes of Kazakhstan weaving carpets, and teaching French. On his journey from Paris to Kazakhstan the narrator explores various different meanings of love and of life. In this odyssey, the narrator becomes a modern somewhat muted version of Ulysses with different heroic attributes. The original Ulysses’s physicality is replaced with a newly found sensitivity. The journey and the outcome may be similar in some ways but the process of arriving at the outcome is very different. Likewise, while there are similarities between Esther and Penelope, Esther has established a life which she can live without the narrator. The differences between the odysseys are as important as the similarities.
I liked this novel. I especially liked the way the narrator came to realise what mattered in his life, and why.
‘We humans have two great problems: the first is knowing when to begin, the second is knowing when to stop.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Awful. Do not read unless you want to die of boredom. This was a waste of time
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found the book a great way of self reflection as well as a good bit of entertainment. I sometimes became confused and felt myself not as immersed in the story, but overall it was a great story to explore spirituality and love.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Empezo medio lento, pero al final no podia hacer otra cosa que seguir leyendo. No se como explicar libros de coelho, tienen que leerlos para entender sus palabras. Me encanta que una hoja me haga pensar tanto y termino filosofando sobre el mundo en que vivimos. Personalmente me parecio genial y la historia es algo lenta pero justamente no importa el fin sino el recorrido. LOVED IT
i don't know how i really feel about this book. i love paulo coelho and there are parts of this book that i love and hold onto (the bit about the firemen and seeing one's face in the face of your lovers comes to mind), but the book also felt dense and preachy at times. the main character was largely unlikeable in most of the novel, but not for the reasons mikhail or anyone criticized him for--the parts of him that were actually abhorrent were glossed over and assumed to be normal.
i can see why people would love this book, i can see why people would hate it. i've never really loved anything in speckles before, but that's how i feel about it.
i can see why people would love this book, i can see why people would hate it. i've never really loved anything in speckles before, but that's how i feel about it.
Un beau parcours, une belle recherche, une introspection et beaucoup de questionnements sur l'amour et nos relations. Un peu dur à aborder au début, le livre devient plus aisé à lire ensuite. Certains passages m'ont touchés, certaines phrases interpellés mais j'ai eu du mal à m'attacher à l'histoire dans sa globalité. Reste quelques beaux enseignements.
اذا تعلمت شيئاً واحد من هذه الروايه هو ان اعطي كويلو فرصه ثانيه ❤️
One of those books that makes you question the way you are living your life. Well, I guess that was the main objective of the author. :)