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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
I'm really not sure what to feel with this book. From the jacket description I had numerous expectations, some of which were met and some which feel so far from what I thought that I can only wonder what it is I'm truly feeling. I'm glad I read it, and have seen wonderful transitions in people's lives throughout the story, which I now know is the point of this book, rather than a travelogue style memoir.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
Quite bad. Not sure why someone translated it.
The upside was that it gave brief glimpses into a world long gone. The idea of going to Machu Pichu and just walking into one of the ruins and sleeping there, for instance.
The upside was that it gave brief glimpses into a world long gone. The idea of going to Machu Pichu and just walking into one of the ruins and sleeping there, for instance.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
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
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Although there’s no real plot, which many dislike this book for, I enjoyed reading it. I don’t think there always has to be a big plot. In a way, there was a plot. Regardless, it was nice to read a glimpse into another life, a life that is very different from my own, yet has similarities in values and ideas. Connection is key.
When I was seventeen, I read "The Alchemist" in order to impress a girl. Much to my surprise, I found myself enraptured with Coelho's most famous offering and summarily pronounced him the greatest living author in any language. This sent me on a binge, and over the course of the next three or four years, I read approximately a dozen of his books, immersing myself in the Brazilian scribe's metaphysical narratives and attempting very sincerely to adopt his deep and meaningful worldview.
But over that same stretch of time, I also did some living - went to college, traveled a bit, exposed myself to challenging writing of all sorts - and by the time I finished "Love" sometime in 2011, I had seen enough of him for a lifetime. His writing no longer grabbed me the way it had. It felt cheap and easy - a mixture of tired cliches and pretentious characters.
But there is a still a nostalgia that comes with falling in love with a writer and their work, and when I came across "Hippie" this year, I thought he might be worth revisiting. Perhaps I'd become jaded in college and gave his work an unfair shake. As it turns out, that was not the case. "Hippie" is every bit as unambitious, pompous, and shallow as I had feared. Coelho (who I am sure is a fine person) leans on the language of vague mysticism to prop up a semi-autobiographical retelling of a mediocre story. The dust jacket promises a story of an adventure, set against the turbulent backdrop of the hippie movement. Instead, we get endlessly pedantic discussions about the nature of the universe and love, none of which would seem out of place in a freshman dorm room. Add to this the fact that Coelho can't write dialogue to save his life (every character speaks in stilted, melodramatic tones which conveniently underscore his philosophy) and you've got a book that just isn't worth your time.
The ending is a fitting punchline to this half-baked attempt at a memoir. In spite of the lovingly hand-drawn map in the opening pages, which shoes the winding journey all the way to Kathmandu, Coelho doesn't even make it halfway to Nepal before abandoning his journey. His trip peters out in Instanbul, more than 3,000 miles from his destination. And thank God for that, because I seriously doubt I would have survived the Asian continent with Coelho as my guide.
But over that same stretch of time, I also did some living - went to college, traveled a bit, exposed myself to challenging writing of all sorts - and by the time I finished "Love" sometime in 2011, I had seen enough of him for a lifetime. His writing no longer grabbed me the way it had. It felt cheap and easy - a mixture of tired cliches and pretentious characters.
But there is a still a nostalgia that comes with falling in love with a writer and their work, and when I came across "Hippie" this year, I thought he might be worth revisiting. Perhaps I'd become jaded in college and gave his work an unfair shake. As it turns out, that was not the case. "Hippie" is every bit as unambitious, pompous, and shallow as I had feared. Coelho (who I am sure is a fine person) leans on the language of vague mysticism to prop up a semi-autobiographical retelling of a mediocre story. The dust jacket promises a story of an adventure, set against the turbulent backdrop of the hippie movement. Instead, we get endlessly pedantic discussions about the nature of the universe and love, none of which would seem out of place in a freshman dorm room. Add to this the fact that Coelho can't write dialogue to save his life (every character speaks in stilted, melodramatic tones which conveniently underscore his philosophy) and you've got a book that just isn't worth your time.
The ending is a fitting punchline to this half-baked attempt at a memoir. In spite of the lovingly hand-drawn map in the opening pages, which shoes the winding journey all the way to Kathmandu, Coelho doesn't even make it halfway to Nepal before abandoning his journey. His trip peters out in Instanbul, more than 3,000 miles from his destination. And thank God for that, because I seriously doubt I would have survived the Asian continent with Coelho as my guide.
Un libro simple, bonito y espiritual. Un viaje por el mundo y por el alma. Una mezcla de conocimientos espirituales, culturales y enfrentamientos sociales, traumas y finamente paz. Se lee con musicalidad ya que esta escrito de forma poética. Entretenido y agradable. Esperaba encontrarme con el momento culminante de iluminación en la india y resultó ser en Estambul mezclado con el encuentro con el amor la belleza y el ser. Lleno de imagenes que inspiran hacia la practica de la contemplacion del ser, el universo y el infinito, tambien las ganas de embarcar en un viaje, tanto exterior como interior, ambos fusionandose en uno. Recomiendo la lectura, es facil y te deja con una tranquilidad si estas en un momento de descubrimiento de tu ser.