Aleph - Paulo Coelho

Once again, I have finished YET another one of Paulo's book.

This one goes to the Paulo's book black list. Another book that I didn't quite enjoyed.

So, let go straight to the plot line:

In 2006 Paulo was unsure about his magical skills and how he could make use of it, he was starting to loose his faith on what he believed for so many years. He then decides to go on a trip to the Tran-Siberian train. Before that, he meets a 21 years old Turkish girl, called Hilal, whom due to her persistence ended up also travelling through the Tran-Siberia with Paulo and his team.

The author published the book in Brazil in 2010, which according to his own blog,  he has taken so long to write about this pilgrimage because it took him three full years to actually understand it.

The book is basically about how the two of them, Paulo and Hilal see the Aleph ("a point where everything, the whole universe is contained"). That meant they both experienced what was once their past life. Standing in the Aleph was the right place containing the right energy for them to get 'there' together.
Paulo has been 'there' before with another 4 women, so this was nothing new for him, although he was apprehensive because none of the other 4 women wanted to see him again after finding out what happened in that 'past life', so shocked they were. The fact being, in his past life - some 500 years ago - he was one of the judge condemning 8 woman to burn in the stake, and Hilal was one of them.

So that was basically the book's story.

I wouldn't say he regained the faith he once lost, but he was at least reconnected with what he was losing touch.
I think I have to take a break reading Paulo's book for a while.
And no quotes this time...

(From Farnham library)

The Pilgrimage - Paulo Coelho

So I finished my 6th book by Paulo Coelho, and so far my least favorite :(
Least favorite because it was way too magical for me.

It is hard to believe that the story is based on Paulo's prilgrimage to Santiago of Compostela in Spain.
To summarise, Paulo vowed to undertake the pilgrimage after meeting a man whom he refers to in his writing as 'my Master', who inducts him into something called the Order of Ram (Regnus Agnus Mundi, or Rigour, Adoration, Mercy), a Catholic sect for the study of symbols (though efforts to verify its existence outside of Coelho's oeuvre have proved frustratingly futile). The thing is, Paulo is a member of the "Tradition" which is like an initiation to be a wizard, but he fails to accomplish his initiation by not receiving his sword, so in order for him to understand the reason why he hasn't accomplished that, he is requested to cross the 700 km Road to Compostela, starting in Roncesvalles, France. The Pilgrimage is concerned mainly with Coelho's efforts to locate a sword left by his Master somewhere on the road to Santiago a quest underlined by the appearance of a guide called Petrus who teaches Coelho various yogic-style Ram exercises. Along the way Coelho wrestles with his personal devil, who turns out to be a black dog named Legion, achieves a state of agape – or 'the love that consumes' – and foresees his own death. Quite how literally we're supposed to take all this is a moot point.

I thought the book was about his finding as he goes but as a normal person, instead, his finding is of a very mystical person. I thought the mystical appearance in his books were part of his style, but turns out this is something he actually follows, like a religion. The reading itself is good as always, but I just don't believe what he was describing as his real life experience. So if you take the book as a fiction it's ok.

Paulo's books are always full of good quotes. So here are a few that I liked it

"The boat is safer anchored at the port; but that's not the aim of boats"

“A disciple...can never imitate his guide's steps. You have your own way of living your life, of dealing with problems, and of winning. Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself”

“The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the good fight”

“We always know which is the best road to follow, but we follow only the road that we have become accustomed to”

“I wept because I was re-experiencing the enthusiasm of my childhood; I was once again a child, and nothing in the world could cause me harm”

“When I asked you if you wanted to, I was not testing your courage. I was testing your wisdom”

“We are always trying to convert people to a belief in our own explanation of the universe. We think that the more people there are who believe as we do, the more certain it will be that what we believe is the truth. But it doesn't work that way at all”

These are the order of the RAM exercise taught by Petrus:
The Seed Exercise
The Speed Exercise
The Cruelty Exercise
The Messenger Ritual
The Arousal of Intuition (The Water Exercise)
The Blue Sphere Exercise
The Buried Alive Exercise
The RAM Breathing Exercise
The Shadows Exercise
The Listening Exercise
The Dance Exercise

(From Farnham library)

Manuscript found in Accra - Paulo Coelho

So I found another three books by Paulo Coelho at the local library, I got all of them and not satified by reading a Brazilian author in English I now have ALL his e-books in Portuguese, so bear with me because the name Paulo Coelho will repeat many times still to come.

This book was written in 2012 and I could not write about the plot line better than wikipedia, so here it comes:

The action is placed in 1099 in Jerusalem while the city awaits the invasion of the crusaders. Inside the city’s walls, men and women gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious Greek man– known as the Copt. The people begin with questions about their fears, true enemies, defeat and struggle; they contemplate the will to change, and the virtues of loyalty and solitude; and ultimately turn to questions of beauty, sex and elegance, love, wisdom and what the future holds.

It's a beautiful book that probably should be read every now and again, probably a good gift to give someone. It makes one reflect about its own life.

A few quotes I liked:

“For those who are not frightened by the solitude, everything will have a different taste. In solitude, they will discover the love that might otherwise arrive unnoticed. In solitude, they will understand and respect the love that left them. In solitude, they will be able to decide whether it is worth asking that lost love to come back or if they should simply let it go and set off along a new path. In solitude, they will learn that saying ‘No’ does not always show a lack of generosity and that saying ‘Yes’ is not always a virtue. And those who are alone at this moment, need never be frightened by the words of the devil: ‘You’re wasting your time.’ Or by the chief demon’s even more potent words: ‘No one cares about you.’ The Divine Energy is listening to us when we speak to other people, but also when we are still and silent and able to accept solitude as a blessing. And when we achieve that harmony, we receive more than we asked for”

“If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself”

“And if I'm alone in bed, I will go to the window, look up at the sky, and feel certain that loneliness is a lie, because the Universe is there to keep me company"

“Solitude is not the absence of company, but the moment when our soul is free to speak to us and help us decide what to do with our life”

“A rose dreams of enjoying the company of bees, but none appears. The sun asks: “Aren’t you tired of waiting?” “Yes,” answers the rose, “but if I close my petals, I will wither and die"

“Because we managed to keep our heart open, despite the pain. Because we realized that the person who left us did not take the sun with them or leave darkness in their place”

“The great wisdom of life is to realize that we can be the master of the things that try to enslave us”

And my favorite:

“When everything seems to be going well and your dream is almost within your gasp, that is when you must be more alert than ever. Because when your dream is almost within your grasp, you will be assailed by terrible guilt. You will see that you are about to arrive at a place where very few have ever set foot and you will think that you don’t deserve what life is giving you. You will forget all the obstacles you overcame, all that you suffered and sacrificed. And because of that feeling of guilt, you could unconsciously destroy everything that took you so long to build"

(From Farnham library)