Book Review 27: Manuscript Found in Accra

Manuscript Found in Accra
Paulo Coelho

Imagine this. Your city is under siege. There is panic, blood and fear on the streets. What would you do? Run? Hide? Fight?

A group of people decided to hang around a wise man.

This book is a compilation of all the wise man's advice to the people under siege in the city.
It has everything about love, regrets, sex and everything in between.

Some of the quotes from the books.
"Love is free and is not ruled by our will or by what we do."
"Elegance lies not in the clothes we wear but in the way we wear them."

It is a good read and something that will probably you want to read twice.

Book Review 15: The Valkyries - Paulo Coelho

Valkyries
Author: Paulo Coelho


Valkyries are angels of death who take fallen Vikings to Valhalla. This book from Paulo Coelho has no reference to the Vikings’ legend.

Female motorcycle gangs, a wife, a sorcerer and a trip to the Mojave Desert.

In short, Paulo finds a motorcycle gang who are also into magic and they help him find his, angel.

He brings along his wife Chris, who learns a little about herself and the magic practices of her husband, Paulo.

What is the secret to find your guiding angel? There are 3 rules

• Break a pact
• Accept forgiveness
•  And make a bet

The meaning of each rule will be different for every person seeking his or her angel. Still with me so far?

This is one of those books where an open mind is required from the start to the end. Put logic away and drift into the world of magic and possibilities.

Book Review 6: Eleven Minutes - Paulo Coelho

Eleven Minutes
Author: Paulo Coelho



This is the story of Maria, a girl from the interior of Brazil who had a twisted perspective of love. For Maria, love was physical beauty and she manipulated men with it.

 

After meeting a stranger in Rio de Janeiro, Maria's life was turned inside out. Arriving in Europe as an exotic dancer, she pursued her dream to become a fashion model. However, as usual, life had other plans. In desperation for money, she became a prostitute.

She is highly intelligent, read during the day and worked in red light district at night. During this time, she found that it only took eleven minutes for a man and woman to achieve climax. Hence the title of the book.

And during one of her walks in the day, she met a painter whom she was secretly attracted. Here, an unlikely romance unfolds.

I personally liked how the story is told. We dwell deeper into Maria's life through her diary. I would have preferred if the entire story was told from the perspective of her diary. At some points, the narrator's perspective was just repeating the thoughts of Maria from her diary. It was just redundant. 

Eleven Minutes is definitely different for Paulo Coelho. He gave the book's background story in the first few pages and the reason he felt compelled to write it. In true essence, this is another girl meets boy story.

Book Review 5: The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

Alchemist
Author: Paulo Coelho



Alchemy according to Wikipedia simply means philosophical and protoscientific tradition practiced throughout Europe, Egypt and Asia. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of "base metals" (e.g., lead) into "noble" ones (particularly gold); the creation of an elixir of immortality; the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease; and the development of an alkahest, a universal solvent

I guess an alchemist would mean a person who dabbles in such practices. And while the book itself doesn't teach you how to transmutate lead to gold it does something very similar.

I have read several of Paulo Coelho's books but this is where it all began.

Touted as the fable about following your dreams, if you have never read a Paulo Coelho you should read this one.

A dear friend gave me this book and if there was point in my life, which I could reflect and say,

"This was the moment my life changed for the better."  I guess this would be it.

No spoilers but these are a few words on the back cover.

"Dreams are meant to be followed, life is meant to be lived."

Award winning and life changing. A must read

Book Review 1: The Devil And Miss Prym - Paulo Coelho

The Devil and Miss Prym
Author: Paulo Coelho

I like this book but then again since reading The Alchemist, I have to say Paulo Coelho has left a deep impression in me, about life in general.

The Devil And Miss Prym has a more darker theme than the Alchemist.
It wrestles with the idea of choices, greed, vengeance and ancient sacrificial ritual with some excerpts from the Bible thrown in.

Anyway not to give too much away, I had little difficulty picturing the town of Viscos and the time it was set in. At first, I thought it was set in the 1900s but with the introduction of the Stranger suddenly it became apparent it was in modern times-ish.

Some of the best quotes from this title include, "Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed."

Another gem, "If you want to control someone, all you have to do is make them feel afraid."

Finally, "One thing I can tell you with absolute certainty: life can seem either very long or very short, according to how you live it."

For other gems in this book, it will depend on how you lived your life.
One word, read it.