false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178654373m/816720.jpg 816720 60 Multimillion-seller Coelho (The Devil and Miss Prym, etc.) returns with another uncanny fusion of philosophy, religious miracle and moral parable. The Portobello of the title is London's Portobello Road, where Sherine Khalil, aka Athena, finds the worship meeting she's leading-where she becomes an omniscient goddess named Hagia Sophia-disrupted by a Protestant protest. Framed as a set of interviews conducted with those who knew Athena, who is dead as the book opens, the story recounts her birth in Transylvania to a Gypsy mother, her adoption by wealthy Lebanese Christians; her short, early marriage to a man she meets at a London college (one of the interviewees); her son Viorel's birth; and her stint selling real estate in Dubai. Back in London in the book's second half, Athena learns to harness the powers that have been present but inchoate within her, and the story picks up as she acquires a "teacher" (Deidre O'Neill, aka Edda, another interviewee), then disciples (also interviewed), and speeds toward a spectacular end. Coelho veers between his signature criticism of modern life and the hydra-headed alternative that Athena taps into. Athena's earliest years don't end up having much plot, but the second half's intrigue sustains the book. (May) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. 52475 book 2006 ساحره‌ی پورتوبلو / A Bruxa de Portobello total:5260|5:1028|4:1531|3:1666|2:754|1:281| 5260 18051 8312 1017 4 35 false false Sun Mar 09 23:00:38 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 10 20:51:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 7 false false Tue Oct 30 06:14:43 -0700 2007 Fri Jan 04 07:17:18 -0800 2008
I didn't always like Paulo Coehlo's work. I tried to read The Alchemist in college and the novel just didn't do it for me. But a fri...more...]]> 1 5 true false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 23 20:43:58 -0700 2008 Fri May 15 23:11:48 -0700 2009
You can turn to any page and find a really hackneyed phrase. Kahil Gibrain's psuedo-religious...more...]]> 2 3 false false Wed Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 08:46:52 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 09:01:26 -0800 2008
On a positive note, Paulo Coelho has one of the great names in contemporary fiction, one that exudes a sor...more...]]> 2 4 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 18:36:50 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 09 14:25:27 -0700 2007
But ...

I found this novel and its ideas on the natur...more...]]> 2 2 false false Mon May 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 14:30:33 -0700 2009 Mon May 25 13:25:38 -0700 2009 after her death. So we never know anything from the "primary s...more...]]> 4 3 false false Thu Sep 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 04:03:59 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 02:13:05 -0700 2008
Another friend ...more...]]> 5 3 false false Wed Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 14:23:13 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 26 16:38:43 -0700 2008 while reading this book, i felt inhibited by every feeling and gesture, and was possessed by Athena, the woman who is everything each and everyone of us want to be, but is afraid of becoming. The book certainly questions organized re...more...]]> 2 4 false false Fri Feb 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 01 09:13:14 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 01 15:26:19 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 2 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 18 15:18:37 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 29 15:32:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 4 false false Sun Mar 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 30 22:18:56 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 30 22:28:35 -0700 2008
Most of the book is taken up in various people talking...more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Feb 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 04:46:32 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 05:00:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 2 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 22 14:57:34 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 22 15:15:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 4 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 12:58:34 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 13:12:04 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 08:44:04 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 08:48:46 -0800 2009 5 1 false false Wed Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 12:08:20 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 17 11:02:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Jun 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 25 10:05:02 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 13:37:42 -0700 2008
From early childhood, I have bee...more...]]> 4 1 false true Tue Mar 11 23:37:13 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 18 01:19:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 7 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 10 20:59:56 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 23:17:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 10 06:26:20 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 10 06:27:07 -0700 2008 This Athena, t...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=816720