The Zahir
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The Zahir
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3.51 of 5 stars

The narrator of "The Zahir" is a bestselling novelist who lives in Paris and enjoys all the privileges money and celebrity bring. His wife of t... read full description


reviews

Dec 17, 2009
Sylvia rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I believe the quotation below will be sufficient to show how brilliant Coelho is:

‘Marie, let’s suppose that two firemen go into a forest to put out a small fire. Afterwards, when they emerge and go over to a stream, the face of one is all smeared with black, while the other man’s face is completely clean. My question is this: which of the two will wash his face?

‘That’s a silly question. The one with the dirty face of course.’

‘No, the one with the dirty face More...
2 comments like (49 people liked it)
Dec 16, 2009
nadia rated it: 3 of 5 stars
wow. do you know how and when i discovered this author? at the airport bookstore- at la guardia, the american terminal-the one next to the dunkin donuts/baskin robbins that one must ignore... you know how difficult it is to find something worthwhile to read in the airport bookstore, and i was about to buy something else- this book was in the low corner pocket and i saw it. the cover, and the title, are enticing, but could have been just over the top. but i usually test drive books buy opening th More...
1 comment like (6 people liked it)
Aug 03, 2011
Ashley rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This book was nothing like I expected. The back description was misleading - as a novice traveller I saw that the narrator of the book was going to go through "Spain, France, Croatia" etc in order to find the love of his life. Do not be fooled, there is little to no description of these places. In fact, there is no description of Spain at all. Thoroughly disappointing.

Besides that the book itself was... interesting. I admit it is a much different story than I have eve More...
2 comments like (4 people liked it)
Dec 28, 2007
Jen rated it: 2 of 5 stars
So far my least favorite of Coelho's books. Awoman leaves her husband with no explanation to find out how to be happy. She leaves no note, no messenger, takes nothing, just seems to disappear. He finds himseelf in the journey and learns he needs to look for her because he loves her, not because he is obsessed. Along the way other hearts get broken.

Quotes:

"When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive - I'll find love again."

" More...
0 comments like (11 people liked it)
Apr 14, 2011
Odai rated it: 3 of 5 stars
هذه الرواية الثانية لي مع باولو كويليو ولا ادري ان كانت الترجمة هي المشكلة في هذا السرد الممل ام هو اسلوب الراوي .الرواية فيها تطويل ممل ووصف رتيب لدرجة انك تفقد القدرة على اكمال القراءة .احداث الرواية تدور في محور ضيق فيها بعض المشوقات والعبر الجميلة .ولكن اعتقد ان هناك ما يستحق القراءة اجود بكثير .
More...
1 comment like (5 people liked it)
Apr 27, 2011
hafsae rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Une vraie quête de soi. Un livre qui va au fond des choses, en quête du sens de la vie, de l'amour, ..A lire encore jeune pour éviter les erreurs du personnage dans l'hisoire : laisser la vie nous submerger et nous faire perdre ce qui compte le plus à nos yeux. A lire absolument.
15 comments like (5 people liked it)
May 18, 2011
Nabil rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Peut être qu’on est victime d’une histoire mal racontée, la preuve est qu’on vit dans un monde où on obéit à des règles, à des lois sans chercher à les comprendre, sans même demander pourquoi, on les considère tout simplement comme une pure vérité, contrairement aux clochards qu’ont choisi de rester à l’extérieur de ce monde organisé mais quasiment triste.

Un célèbre écrivain commence à poser des questions après la disparition mystérieuse de sa femme Esther : Pourquoi m’a-t- ell More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Apr 26, 2010
Nile daughter rated it: 3 of 5 stars
The (Zahir) is a concept that was totally new to me , I had to do some further research to find out that it is related to the Sufi , I read the book in English but after noticing the Arabic edition , I would have preferred if it was titled (Al zaher الظاهر ) as a translation not as a repetition !
I liked the definition he reached at the ednd :
(The zahir was the fixation on everything that had been passed from generation to generation ; it left no question unanswered , it looks up all More...
11 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jun 23, 2009
Yusra Zainab Laghari rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This book was not of the same quality as Alchemist but still presented some noble and elevated concepts as presented in all of paulo's books and perhaps the reason I read his books is that they always tend to feature some sort of spiritual quest. There is also a aspect of Sufism in Paulo's books which make them more eminent.

The unnamed narrator of this story is a writer whose wife, Esther, a war correspondent leaves him suddenly without any information or trace of leaving. When she d More...
1 comment like (3 people liked it)
Jun 29, 2011
Engy rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I am momentarily wordless.. But I will eventually have to say something, if not lots of things, on the exceptional Coelho’s novel The Zahir. I may begin by saying that this novel was like a textbook on real life and true love for me. It introduced me to many new concepts, such as personal history, as well as to many interesting anecdotes that I would pay anything to my memory so it always remembers them. I don’t think that I ever liked as many statements, at some points whole pages, in one book. More...
3 comments like (5 people liked it)
Jan 29, 2012
Majd Mery rated it: 3 of 5 stars
الرّوَايَة جمِيلَة نوْعًا مَا، تحْكِي قصَّة كَاتِبْ مشْهُور ترَكتْهُ زوْجتُه إستَر وهي مراسلة حربية بعد 10 سَنوات زوَاجْ
فلَمْ يتقبَّل رحِيلهَا دُونَ أسبَابٍ تُذْكَر، لتُصْبح الزَّهِير المُلازمَ لهُ، فيَذهب للبحْثِ عنْ نفْسِه أولا ثمَّ ينتقلُ من باريس إلى آسيا الوسطى لييفتح عينيه على الحُب الحقِيقي.

والرّوايَة ملِيئة بالأفكار الفلسفية العمِيقَة تلكَ التي لا تزالُ تشغل البشريَّة

والزهِير كما عرفه المؤلف استنادًا إلى كاتب آخر هو كُل شيء ظَاهر، حاضر لا يمرُّ مرور الكِرام، وإنه More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jun 26, 2010
Hayfa rated it: 2 of 5 stars
رواية أخرى بحجم روعة سابقاتها ، لكن لدي نصيحة صغيرة لكل من سيقرأ نتاج باولو كويلو الأدبي ..

أنصحكم بالاطلاع على كتابه الخيميائي ، لأنك بعد ذلك ستجد اقتباسات وتلميحات وردت فيه عن الراعي عن الكنز عن الأحلام والحب الأوحد ..!

تماما كما شهدت ذلك في كتاب مئة عام من العزلة لغارسيا ماركيز و مجموعاته القصصية التالية للرائعة النوبلية ..

عودة للزهير التي تبدأ بمفاجأة قاسية يقع فيها كاتب مشهور باختفاء زوجته بدون سابق إنذار ،

وبدل أن يتابع حياته مع البديل ، يسيطر More...
2 comments like (11 people liked it)
Aug 24, 2010
Lyn M rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This book has a rather interesting story for me, more interesting than most, lol. I picked this book to read as my Z book for an A-Z Title Challenge. Coinciding with that two things happened. First, one of my book groups here on GR decided to read it as a group read, and then a bunch of my friends decided to read The Alchemist at the same time. With the due date for this one looming, I ended up reading the two books back to back, and I have to highly recommend doing that. While The Alchemis More...
5 comments like (2 people liked it)
Sep 07, 2010
Reshma rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I have to say, at times I found myself obsessed with this book about obsession. At times, it didn't quite flow or seemed to bring in random points, but I felt like I just "got it" and completely understood where he was coming from. Coelho's words resonated deeply within me, and in fact, helped me to "see" and unlock some feelings that I haven't been able to understand for quite some time. In that sense, it was like an Eat, Pray, Love for me. Not to compare authors, literary s More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Oct 23, 2008
Amal rated it: 4 of 5 stars
A woman leaves her husband with no explanation. He finds himself in a journey of self discovery. So people look for other people because they love them or because they obsessed about them? Guess what, read the Zahir to find out. Dahdah of course he is looking for her because he loves her, A+ to my positivity. I guess I agree with the sous-jacent message "The most important thing in human relationships is conversation, Oh high spirit what happened to your people these days, they don't talk More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Mar 03, 2008
Jonathan rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Typical Coelho...lots of really good quotes. whether you agree with them or not does not really matter but he makes you think by hitting the extremes.

When i get time i will type my favorite two pages which I think summarize the whole book. here are some others.

"Although I know that I may have lost forever the woman I love, I must try to enjoy all the graces that God has given me today. Grace cannot be hoarded. There are no banks where it can be deposited to be used More...
1 comment like (7 people liked it)
Feb 03, 2008
Toby rated it: 4 of 5 stars
A great book for anyone struggling with attachment or ownership of something that you love.

"I heard other people speaking in the name of freedom and the more they defended this unique right, the more enslaved the seemed to be to the parent's wishes, to a marriage in which they had promised to stay with the other person "for the rest of their lives," to the bathroom scales, to their diet, to the half-finished projects, to lovers to whom they were incapable of saying " More...
0 comments like (3 people liked it)
Jul 09, 2008
Falina rated it: 3 of 5 stars
OK, this book offers an extreme perspective on relationships more towards the stereotypical guy extreme. Granted, not all guys are like this and some guys are capable of monogamy, but I have never heard of a woman that follows that path. This woman is what most guys crave, one who doesn't mind if her guy cheats as long as he comes back and is passionate about their relationship. Anyways, this book offers a path to rediscover yourself and your expectations of relationships in your life. It's More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Oct 05, 2007
Emily rated it: 3 of 5 stars
i have only about 50 pages to go, so i am sure i will finish this book this evening on the metro ride home... so far i have enjoyed the book and i am glad that i am reading it. it reminds me a lot of the alchemist though, and they actually reference the main character's trip to santiago numerous times - the zahir focuses on love and it's power in our lives and how it can change our destiny. i don't necessarily agree with a lot the things coelho says in the book, and a lot of the lessons he sp More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Nov 26, 2007
Clare rated it: 1 of 5 stars
I was diasspointed with this and I would consider myself a fan of Paolo Coelho. I just don't think this lived up to his usual work. The plot was weak and there was a lot of annoying, sentimental stream-of-consciousness drivel about the meaning of love and the meaning of life. It's true that these are Coelho's usual themes but I think he's gotten a bit carried away with all the sentiment in this novel and forgotten the story in the process. The only thing that kept me reading until the end was my More...
4 comments like (3 people liked it)
Oct 19, 2007
Mahdi rated it: 3 of 5 stars
اینکه همه ما از روی عادت زندگی می کنیم یک چیز مسلمی است. اصلا اینکه بدون فکر هر کاری را می کنیم یک معضل هست ولی دلیل نمی شود که تمامی کارهایمان غلط باشد و یا اینکه لزومی داشته باشد فرقه ای جدید یا آیین جدیدی ایجاد کنیم.
نویسنده در پایان به همان مطلبی دچار می شود که چند صفحه قبل از آن ناراحت بود, یک پایان خوش برای داستان عشقی More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Jan 27, 2012
Srinivas rated it: 5 of 5 stars
this book opened my mind in many way....
about how to love a person??
what real love meant??

it made me to understand better about the love, lost love, life, soul, freedom and other emotions which are always confused me..

most importantly...how to not fall in ZAHIR ???
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Dec 10, 2008
Reinhold rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Der Icherzähler des Romans, ist ein äußerst erfolgreicher Schriftsteller, der plötzlich von der Situation steht, dass ihm seine Ehefrau abhanden gekommen ist. Er wird verhaftet, bald wieder freigelassen, sucht sie wie verrückt und wird doch nicht fündig. Ihre Ehe war immer eine sehr offene Beziehung, wo beide immer wieder Affären hatten; und so scheint es diesmal so zu sein, dass Esther ihn wegen eines jüngeren Mannes dauerhaft verlassen hat. Dies zu verarbeiten scheint zunächst nicht unmöglich More...
0 comments like
Dec 30, 2011
Dr.Mohamed rated it: 4 of 5 stars
تاني عمل ادبي اقرأه للعالمي باولو كويليو بعد الخيميائي
لم يخيب ظني اطلاقا .. اسلوب متميز ..حكمة رائعة مع كل صفحة

الرواية بصفة عامة بتخلينا نعيد التفكير في حياتنا ونطرح علي نفسنا سؤال
هل انا سعيد ام تعس ؟؟
هل انا سعيد حقا أم اتظاهر بالسعادة ؟؟
هل نعيش الحياة ام تمض بنا الايام؟؟
كيف نسعي وراء اهدافنا ؟ وده نفس المعني في الخيمائي -السعي وراء اسطورتنا الشخصية-

في الرواية عابرات كتير جميلة اكتفي باقتباس عبارة واحدة منها

"ان ثمن الحرية More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Dec 21, 2011
محمود rated it: 4 of 5 stars
الزهير - باولو كويلو -
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التعصب هو الطريقة الوحيدة لوضع حد للشكوك التي تكدر روح البشر على الدوام
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التعاسة سببها اننا لانملك الشجاعة لتتبع العلامات والاحلام والاشارات
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يجب ان تكون شخص راى العالم على حقيقته وليس كما اخبروه انه يجب ان يكون
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عندما يمدحنا الناس علينا ان نراقب تصرفاتنا عن كثب
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اظهر بعض الاحترام لوقتك على هذه الارض
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يولد الحب من طبيعتين متناقض More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Oct 25, 2011
Rawan.f.z added it
My favorite part was this:


‘Marie, let’s suppose that two firemen go into a forest to put out a small fire. Afterwards, when they emerge and go over to a stream, the face of one is all smeared with black, while the other man’s face is completely clean. My question is this: which of the two will wash his face?

‘That’s a silly question. The one with the dirty face of course.’

‘No, the one with the dirty face will look at the other man and assume that he looks like More...
0 comments like
Aug 06, 2011
Mustafa rated it: 3 of 5 stars
a great novel. it demonstrates the importance of living a good life by forgetting personal history and try to move on and continue living it with the love flowing inside out and outside in throughout you and the environment you're living in! in his search for his wife, he discovers things far more important than just to go and figure out why, the woman he was waking up to every morning, left him without a single word! he discovers what went wrong in their relationship and his past life, learns t More...
0 comments like
May 24, 2011
Sássára rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Este livro tem uma história engraçada. Era Janeiro de 2010 e não fazia a mínima ideia do que devia dar ao meu namorado, que estava quase a fazer anos. Ele não é muito fã de livros, mas tinha lido O Manual do Guerreiro da Luz e tinha adorado. E eu, que queria que ele também lesse alguma coisa, decidi dar-lhe outro livro de Paulo Coelho. No entanto, não sabia qual devia dar, até que uma conhecida me disse que O Zahir era bom e significava "alguém que está sempre no nosso pensamento". Ele More...
0 comments like
May 22, 2011
Abdullah rated it: 1 of 5 stars
تتحدث الرواية عن "إستير" مراسلة حرب تختفي فجأة فيحاول أن يعرف زوجها مكانها وسبب إختفائها. يتساءل إذا ماكانت قد هجرته زوجته أم أنها قد خُطفت أو حدث لها مكروه.

الرواية مملة لحد الجنون. أنهيتها بمشقه وكانت الثواني ساعات أثناء قراءتي لها. الترجمة كانت سيئة جدا ولم تعجبني على الإطلاق! أتمنى لو يقوم صالح علماني بترجمة أعمال كويلو لأن ترجمته من أفضل الترجمات التي قرأتها. كنت سابقا قد قررت قراءة جميع أعمال باولو كويلو, لكني بعد قراءة الزهير قد أغير رأيي تماما إن كانت جميع أعماله بهذ More...
6 comments like
Mar 14, 2011
Ian Drew rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This book was a change from what ive read of Paulo, because it seemed to portray his person as a snobbish, rich, and pretentious famous author who has lost his spiritual way. The fountain part where he dares the ice was way over the top, but the tribe section was very entertaining as well as the bar where love is discussed. There were many dissident passages, I particularly liked him challenging the guests of the supper to discuss how much money they had.
Here are some quotes that I wanted More...
0 comments like