Tina O’Rourke – Book Review

I am a big fan of Paulo Coelho’s books, which started when I first picked up “The Alchemist”, (published in Brazil in 1988). Since then, Paulo has sold over 86 million books in over 150 countries worldwide and his works have been translated into 56 languages.

“The Zahir”, Paulo latest book, continues his unique view of the world, sprinkled with characters that are confronted with a deepening insight into themselves and the world around them.

“The Zahir” is about understanding love and destiny, the central character, a renowned author, discovers his wife, a war correspondent has disappeared. His life goes on, but his obsession with the loss of his wife increases, gradually occupying his every thought, until he can think of nothing else.

This is a wonderful book that explores the nature of love and obsession as it guides the reader through one man’s journey to find himself before he can find love. That said though I would recommend reading “The Alchemist” first as an introduction to Paulo Coelho style of writing, before moving on to “The Zahir”.

“The Zahir” is published by Harper Collins and is available in most bookshops or online at www.amazon.com  For further information, on the author, log onto www.paulocoelho.com

This article was first published in News and Views Sept. 2006