paulo coelho

atc

hi guys .... am pretty new to this board thing and am trying to catch up with all your likes and dislikes .... recomendations and throw in the fire(if any of us have any real fires left) anyways i'm a big reader i'l pretty much read anything ... you can learn something from anything i believe... my favs range from mr king, mr barker, ms austen, vampire collections... the list is toooo long... anyways to get to the point i've recently come across mr coelho and am on his 4th book ( i have to go in order, think i might be a bit ocd in that compartment..lol) i was just wondering what a lot of you might think of him... he is different to say the least but he does seem to get his point across.... i just think in the age we are living in its nice to find literature that gives us hope?????? ..... anyone agree am open to comments negative and positive...

Blush_01

I have no idea what order I'm reading his books in, but I like his writing style.

Coelho has such an elegant but basic way of writing, it's utterly readable.

To date I've read:

The Witch of Portobello
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
The Alchemist
The Fifth Mountain
Veronika Decides To Die

Currently reading: The Zahir

I'm slowly working my way through his works.

EskimoErased

I read The Alchemist and absolutely loathed it. I'm not even sure what I disliked about it; just something about the story really annoyed me.

That's just my opinion anyway, feel free to read it yourself to find out.

Svalbard

EskimoErased wrote: »

I read The Alchemist and absolutely loathed it. I'm not even sure what I disliked about it; just something about the story really annoyed me.

That's just my opinion anyway, feel free to read it yourself to find out.

I read The Alchemist, Veronica Decides to Die and another I can't remember. Some people rave about Coelho. I liked Veronica ok and I liked the idea of The Alchemist, but the book itself I found smug and preachy. His message, over and over again, is live for the moment, follow your dreams or be utterly miserable. He has a point to make, I know, but stop bashing us over the head with it!

Dades

Svalbard wrote: »

I liked the idea of The Alchemist, but the book itself I found smug and preachy.

+ 1
It just annoyed me.

peustace

I think he's an outright spoofer. People will disagree but, like above, it's just my opinion.

Seres

read the alchemist and thought ya it was a nice book to read but thats about it , i havent read any other of his books so cannot comment there

Crash

Cuelho and his writing style irritate the snot out of me. I think, to be honest, he's pretty much marmite.

Lainabaina

I think I need to read another of his books as the decider; I read the Alchemist, really didn't enjoy it, then read Veronika Decides to Die and thought it was completely different and, actually, quite touching.

Any recommendations from what you've read so far, atc or Blush?

kerry4sam

To date I have read:
- The Alchemist
- By the River Piedra I sat down and wept
- The Valkyries
- Manual of the Warrior or Light
- Life (quotes from all his books)
- Veronika decides to die and lastly
- Eleven Minutes

of the above apart from the Alchemist, I would recommend By the River ; Veronika and Eleven Minutes

MonicaBing

I loved The Alchemist, but i was in a particular place inmy life at the time that it touched me, and its inadvertently responsible for some major changes in my life. I know i'll prob get bashed for having said that, but like i said people, i was enduring a pretty rough couple of years when i read it, so do with me what you will.

I was in a mad rush then to read his other's but couldn't connect with them, The Zahir Irritated the feck out of me as did Veronika decides...so maybe i was just meant to read The Alchemist...:o

Lainabaina

I don't think you can be bashed for liking a book that meant something to you at the right time MonicaBing! That's just good timing and being in the right place in your life, to sound a bit mind-body-spirit about it all

At least they're little books, page-wise, so it's not too drastic to read one and not enjoy it. I think I'll give 'Down by the River' a go, once I have some time to read for pleasure again!

Blush_01

Lainabaina wrote: »

I think I need to read another of his books as the decider; I read the Alchemist, really didn't enjoy it, then read Veronika Decides to Die and thought it was completely different and, actually, quite touching.

Any recommendations from what you've read so far, atc or Blush?

The Witch of Portobello. It's my favourite.

kerash

Having never read Coelho, the library didn't have The Alchemist so I borrowed 'by the river Piedra I sat down and wept'. I was expecting something interesting, different, inspiring maybe... I read it yesterday and was thoroughly disappointed, not that it was so so bad it was just.... forgettable, and I had been so looking forward to reading it

hatful

I read the Alchemist a few years ago, can't see why people detest it so much its just a simple fable in the same vein as a tale from the 'Arabian Nights'.
Paulo Coelho has never claimed to be a guru or to have any message. It's not his fault booksellers keep shoving his books in the self help section.

aarthilal

THE WINNER STANDS ALONE is a masterpiece: it talks about values lost and never found again. It looks like a thriller, but it is not - the characters are trapped and manipulated by the people Coelho calls "The Superclass". Once more Coelho made it. And I also believe Coelho is one of the few writers that are always exploring unknown seas, instead of repeating the same plot over and over again. Kudos to him.

Dades

Paulo? Is that you? :pac:

Blush_01

aarthilal wrote: »

THE WINNER STANDS ALONE is a masterpiece: it talks about values lost and never found again. It looks like a thriller, but it is not - the characters are trapped and manipulated by the people Coelho calls "The Superclass". Once more Coelho made it. And I also believe Coelho is one of the few writers that are always exploring unknown seas, instead of repeating the same plot over and over again. Kudos to him.

I disagree. Coelho seems to have one very strong philosophical plot, he just changes the geographical setting and character names. It doesn't mean I don't find his writing style attractive, but I don't think he's some kind of supreme genius, I just like his writing.