Simply ........... The Zahir

Paulo Coelho, who is he exactly, why does he write in such philosophical riddle? According to HERON RYAN a Journalist - “People create their own reality and then become their victim”. This is how I see Paulo, he created each character in his books and the reader will wonder which one you are?

I came across his book when I was living in the Middle East, you see many faces there, yet each face wears a mask. You try to understand but you just cannot, they are so elusive. They were lost in the standards that they perceive as the norm, I saw people turning to alcohol for solace, becoming a prostitute to be affordable, living in the discos because they were afraid to be known as the outsider.

The first of his book that I read was, By the River Piedra I sat Down and Wept, he wrote about how in every love stories, there will be something that moves us, as love almost hold with it all the secrets in the world. I was hooked to his style of writing, very philosophical and mesmerizing. Then, it was Veronika Decides to Die, here Paulo gave us the choice of decision in every second of our live. It is weird though, how I interacted with each character of his books. It is so true how living in the Middle East turn you into a person that you are not; you become mad literally, because you have to face so much of prejudices. They showcase their live as the metropolitans, yet they are the people who enjoy oppressing others, be it their own women, or just woman, and the lower income foreign workers. I concluded that this is not the place for me; it was creating a furor in me to fight for justice, which I know is not possible.

The Alchemist, is not as sensational to me because as much as I try to understand the conversation within conversation, I was lost, so I suggested to hubby to read this book (who was then just my friend :P). I never follow up with him on his thought of this book.

I went on to reading more of Paulo’s book, The Pilgrimage, The Devil and Miss Prym, The Valkyries and the last one was The Zahir. I read this book nearly twice now, and I would recommend to anyone, anyone at all, please just pick up the book and read. The insight of what to be a human being is so vast; the horizon is not the end of the stage. People are not just players or actors, they are beyond. You will not understand the meaning of possessiveness till you read The Zahir. He wrote on page 41….. “We just don’t all have the courage to follow our dreams and to follow the signs. Perhaps that’s where the sadness comes from”, so true don’t you agree?

On page 208 of The Zahir "How does one go about abandoning the story one was told?" ... "By repeating it out loud in meticulous detail. And as we tell our story, we say goodbye to what we were and, as you'll see if you try, we create space for a new, unknown world. We repeat the old story over and over until it is no longer important to us" (To my kids and hubby who always laugh at me for repeating my story).

Anyways, the reason why I am writing this entry today is because my little princess (who is the most thoughtful little person) bought me another book of Paulo titled: The Witch of Portebello, on mother’s day. I have not started reading the book yet, so I could not make any comment, however, I am sure that it will give me as much pleasure of reading as the rest of his books do.

Thank you Amal (you are a real angel).