A warrior of
light values a child’s eyes because they are able to look at the world without
bitterness. When he wants to find out if the person beside him is worthy of his
trust, he tries to see him as a child would.
(The Manual of the Warrior of Light).
Paulo Coelho, the literary
alchemist, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 1947. He was a highly
successful songwriter for the rock star Raul Seixas until he met with his
mentor who advised him to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. This
walk changed his life and he converted to Christianity. This life-defining
journey forms the theme of his first novel The
Pilgrimage, published in 1987. He advocates through this book that “the
extraordinary is always found in the way of the common people."
Coelho’s second book The Alchemist has become a universally
admired modern classic because of its allegorical nature. It describes the
journey of a young Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago to the pyramids of
Egypt in search of a treasure and the philosophy of the book is lies in these
lines: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to
achieve it."
Brida is Coelho's third novel and narrates the story of young woman
who experiments with sorcery and other magical traditions. In this novel, he
dealt with the theme of the feminine face of God, which was a strange idea to
most people.
The Valkyries is about the exorcism of personal demons and
discovering one's strength. This autobiographical novel narrates how Paulo and
his wife Chris go on a spiritual quest to the arid Mojave Desert to meet the
Valkyries, a group of warrior women who travel the desert on motorcycles.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, Veronika Decides to Die and The Devil and Miss Prym are part of a
trilogy called "On the Seventh Day". This trilogy is a week in the
life of someone ordinary to whom something extraordinary happens.
The Fifth Mountain is based on the story of Elijah from the Bible
and explores the prophetic questioning of authority, rebellion and liberation.
At the same time the novel is a powerful metaphor of human self-confidence and
strong desire for self-fulfillment by helping other humans.
The Manual of the Warrior of Light is a collection of Paulo
Coelho's teachings summed up into one volume. It includes proverbs, extracts
from the Tao Te Ching, the Bible, the book of Chuang Tzu, the Talmud and
various other sources, and is written in the form of short philosophical
passages.
Eleven Minutes narrates the story of Maria, a young girl from a
remote village of Brazil, who goes to seek her fortune in Switzerland, only to
find that reality is lot harder than she expected. But when she least expects
it, she experiences love.
The Zahir is about a bestselling
novelist who enjoys his luxurious and peaceful life, until the inexplicable
disappearance of his wife from their Paris home. Coelho compares a marriage
with a set of railway tracks which always stay together but cease to come any
closer. This novel is journey from a stagnant marriage and love to the
realization of unseen but ever increasing gravity between the two souls.
In Like the Flowing River, Coelho offers his personal reflections
on a wide range of subjects from archery and music to elegance, travelling and
the nature of good and evil. He shows us how life has lessons for us in the
greatest, smallest and most unusual of experiences.
The Witch of Portobello starts with the death of the main character
Athena and is narrated from the perspectives of many people who knew her. They
each provide a different view of her, describing not only what they saw and
experienced but adding their own impressions, interpreting her through their
own beliefs and fears.
The Winner Stands Alone is set at Cannes during the Film Festival
and narrates the epic drama and tension between the three main characters-
Igor, Hamid and Gabriela in a 24 hour period. He offers a novel full of
suspense, a mirror image of the world we live in, where our commitment to
luxury and the success of any cost often prevents us from hearing what the
heart actually whispers. He points out that money, power and fame are what
drives most people.
Aleph is an autobiographical novel that depicts his search for
spiritual renewal and growth. Coelho decides to travel, to experiment, to
reconnect with people and the world. This journey helps him to open up to
friendship, love, faith and forgiveness and be stronger in the challenges of
life.
Coelho has written more than
twenty novels and his recent work Manuscript
found in Accra deals with the story of an Englishman who discovers a
manuscript that figures an ancient alchemist named Copt, who answers questions
of a crowd who are gathered inside the city gates of Jerusalem in 1099. What is
success?” poses the Copt: “It's being able to go to bed each night with your
soul at peace.” His works focus on the discovery of the self as means of
spiritual fulfillment.
