false 45 213 78 true 5661516 read 4 true 4455881 currently-reading 93 true 4455880 to-read 38 true 4763196 grisham--gardner-sheldon-segal--wal 11 false 4763866 classics 9 false 4764567 politics-international-affairs 6 false 4763603 waiting--in--the--que-reads 6 false 4763912 authors-are-nobel-laureates-pulitze 6 false 4465217 never-will-i-part-with-these 5 false 4763880 autobio-bio 0 false 4764563 spiritual http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51514966 to: Brida (Paperback) by Paulo Coelho
Brida in Paulo Coelho’s “Brida” (ISBN# 798-0-06-I57893-9) is a 21 year old witch and as such the novel is Pantheistic stab at presenting “witchcraft” as a means to spiritual emancipation complete with pre-Christian roots rather than as a malevolent cultural ideology. “Brida” is the spiritual journey of a 21st century witch and this journey takes place in and around Dublin, Ireland in the summer and autumn (1984- 1984) .The word “witch” in this novel does not remotely mean sorceress or magician who can conjure the dead ,cast spells etc. There are no traces of a spooky context . As matter of fact the author brutally smashes such expectations by using this word to describe wise women that prior to 1480 Europe were greatly valued and revered for their expertise in natural healing , communion with their own soul and consequently for their spiritual leadership.
Before I end up sounding as if I believe that “Brida” was written for the sake of negating Malleus Maleficarum or even touting Neo paganism as the only route to spiritual upliftment , I should turn my attention to the purpose of the book as I see it.
One of Paul Coelho’s central purpose in writing this book was to flesh out his claim that for a pilgrim in the spiritual quest of eternal and universal truth “all roads lead to Rome” in other words no matter where , how and when the journey to get in touch with one’s own soul is taken ,it leads to the only truth there is.
The author has himself been a pilgrim and undoubtedly this book reflects his own spiritual journey .Paulo Coelho is the narrator of the novel.
In order to shed light on the raison d’etre of the ancient rituals which are predominantly perceived as having malicious objectives he has ventured into painting word pictures of scenes that the contemporary average layman is socially conditioned to have no taste for. While I belong to this section , I applaud this unabashed effort .The parallels between excerpts of the Christian Bible and the concepts on which the practice of the ancient rituals are based, allude to the pre Christian roots of witch craft and their timeless relevance .

To enjoy this book one has to have a genuine ,unwavering & compelling interest in understanding universal laws of life as well as a suspicion that it is neither possible nor required to ignore the wisdom passed down to us no matter how irrelevant and cryptic the format of the information appears. This book answers a lot of questions asked by people on a spiritual path . And needless to say ends up raising so many more.
The book is written in Paulo Coelho’s signature informal , direct and simple style. In order to convey abstract Pantheistic concepts forcefully with few words ,he has exploited the custom of capitalization. While no prior technical knowledge is assumed, the book contains terminology describing Celtic rituals, history of witch hunting and universal laws.
The author has presented the spiritual development and journey of the protagonist in chronological order. Also has used other characters that are at different point on the same path to present a wholesome and realistic picture of the journey.

The book confirmed my suspicion that the rituals of primitive religions like Hinduism, Judaism or Celtic religions, etc. have substantial basis, which might be obscure but not entirely irrelevant to spirituality. Also, witchcraft no longer has a necessary sinister ring it had prior to this read. The book answers many questions I had about the so called “witch hunting ” in early modern Europe. I do not think it was so much a matter of Christianity objecting to Paganism as it was a political agenda against free thinking , independent women. Traces of which crop up today as “glass ceiling “ in the corporate and the absurd emphasis placed on women’s youth and appearance (deflecting women from intellectual and spiritual pursuits) in media . Last but not the least the Paulo Coelho once again uses his gift in artfully reminding us that the universal laws interact with us to help and guide us along our way, if only we paid attention and had faith .

I highly recommend this book to those people who are willing to pursue the unifying percepts of the various religions of the world, be it Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism ,etc. As with anything, one might not agree / understand it cent percent but there certainly are gems in this book that are worth treasuring for a life time.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51514947 to: The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation (Hardcover) by Paulo Coelho
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51484390 to: Veronika Decides to Die: A Novel of Redemption (P.S.) by Paulo Coelho
I am not sure whether among Paulo Coelho’s goals in writing ‘Veronika decides to die’ was to not only inform the readers of the exact location of Ljubljana, Slovenia but also to stir interest in its political circumstances in and around the year 1997 . If it was, it is safe to say that , that particular mission is accomplished as far as I am concerned. This book was first published in the year 2000 (ISBN # 0-06- 0I9612-2). The central theme of the book, contrary to what its title suggests is, living life to the fullest.

Predominantly set in a mental asylum, the tone and content of the book is cathartic. I salute and thank the author for keeping his promise to himself back in the 60s, the one he made to document the wisdom he gathered from his personal experiences in various mental asylums. Someone needed to speak for the misunderstood and perhaps feared non-conformists across the world. The author has made a case for people that have an inner voice, which they find impossible to suppress in spite of their “best” efforts . When this “disability” surfaces, it overtly , unfortunately and eventually sets them apart. When these people find no support from their families to be true to themselves, they experience what it is to have one’s soul squelched. He describes beautifully what it is to be strangled spiritually and mentally by one’s own parents (and well wishers) out of sheer, raw ,unadulterated love. But more importantly Coelho dips further into his wisdom and largess to offer an alternative to succumbing to this excruciating existence .
I would consider this book a self-help book for those that are non-conformists and for those that are not it is a revealing psychological journey into minds of people that are more in touch with their soul.
Coelho’s trademark style of writing is unmistakable. Precise, accurate but colloquial. In driving the point home to the simplest and the most alienated mind he doesn’t leave comprehension to chance, clearly explaining the technicalities of medicine in layman terms. In order to make all his points realistically he has created more than one character and pointed out the commonalities as well as discrepancies of their circumstances. He has brilliantly used chronology, political milieu, family dynamics, etc. to convince the reader of his thesis. Most fascinating is his usage of an irony within an irony, as he describes the mental asylum as the place where people are not only unexpectedly cured of their maladies but also for the exact opposite reason as the society would imagine academically . Coelho creates the perfect arena to spot light not only the dues one pays to live in a society organized by the majority but also the ramifications of paying those dues for certain individuals who are in minority.

I accidentally came upon this book. And I it consider a gift to society (for his other gifts visit http://www.paulocoelho.com/engl/index.ht...) . It has validated, clarified and accentuated many of my suspicions and beliefs accordingly. The fact that all the characters in this book have/ had families that were well to do is striking and confirms my suspicion, that people that grow up in well to do families run certain risks of being misunderstood that their economically less fortunate counterparts escape. All the characters described are those that have their lives cut out for them by an over indulgent resourceful and expectant family. They are partially self actualized individuals. One is supported by ones own conscience as well as by the society at large when one stands up against abuse. But when one is suffocated and smothered by love it can be extremely confusing to even think of charting an action plan to exit the maze.

Among the many goals of the novel, one is certainly to bring hope to people who dance to the music in their head or march to the beat of their own drum. And this novel does just that brilliantly and not to mention realistically.
I believe everyone comes to a point in their lives when they need this book. When you lay your hands on it, I strongly recommend you to read it and mull over it. There is much to be learnt and accepted in spite of the simplicity of the presentation.

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