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SPIRITUAL SEARCH FOR A SOULMATE
I have a lot of pending book reviews, but I thought I’d review this one first because if I leave the review for a few more days, I probably won’t be able to pinpoint what about this book I don’t like. This is seriously one of the weirdest books I have read. Though I got the gist of what Coelho wanted to convey, but I still think it was convoluted and strange.
Brida, a young girl wanting to learn about magic, meets a Magus in Ireland. The Magus recognizes the presence of a Gift in the girl, and agrees to become her Teacher. During the course of her travels, Brida meets Wicca, a witch, who teaches her the Tradition of the Moon. Thus advances her travel into the land of sorcery and spirits, to fulfill the ultimate quest of finding her Soulmate.
The book is essentially about searching and finding The One (as they say in chick-flicks), but it was couched in mystical terms, which I personally didn’t much like. There is much discussion about witchcraft and occult practices, but the descriptions, though wordy, are vague. Coelho’s style of writing remains nice, but the content failed to touch a chord. If I wanted to get an idea about magic, I would be left with a few rituals and not much of an insight into Wiccan practices. The book also talks about plunging in and daring to live your dreams, but as I said before, I didn’t like the mysticism surrounding it. And I also thought this book stretched a little more than necessary; near the end I was checking how many pages I still had left. I guess liking this book depends on taste: the concepts of spirituality propounded wasn’t quite up my road.
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Gah, I hated this book. But then again, I hate Paulo Coelho, period :P So yeah, I understand the problems you had with it.
I know this author and can not put my finger on what else he wrote and too early for me to want to look it up...LOL
The cover looks great anyway. :)
never read any works from this author. If there's too much mysticism and mumbo jumbo it's probably something I wouldn't waste my time with. Sure I like paranormal stuff but if there's a lot of jargon that goes with it, it takes the fun out of reading.
hmm, interesting. Thanks for the honest review. I agree if it's hard for me to relate to the ideas in a book like that it's sometimes hard to enjoy the book.
I really should try at least one Coelho book one day, but you know how it is. Too many books, and not enough time
@ Nymeth: I agree. I read Witch of Portobello some time back and I didn't like it. AT ALL.
@ Sheila: Coelho is famous for the Alchemist, which is a pretty nice book
@okbolover : I agree, the mystic aura just made the book irritating
@ Jenny: I know. Especially in books that try to convey an idea or a teaching, if I can't relate to it, I find it hard to read it.
@ Blodeuedd: I would suggest Alchemist. It's a short read
I'm really looking forward to reading this one. BTW: I like your blog!