The Zahir (edit title)

• Rated 5 stars

“http://abtbooks.blogspot.com/2009/12/book-review-poulo-coelho-zahir.html”

• Rated 5 stars

“i loved this so much
it was a bit autobiographal
so it was very interesting
a bit sad i would say
but i loved it non the less ”

• Rated 5 stars

“Zahir’ in Arabic means visible, present, incapable of going unnoticed. It is someone or something which, once we have come into contact with them or it, gradually occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else. This can be considered either a state of hollowness or of madness.
According to writer Jorge Luis Borges, the idea of Zahir comes from the Islamic tradition. Zahir, in Arabic means visibility, present, incapable of going unnoticed.
The story is about a renowned author who discovers that his wife, a war correspondent, has disappeared, leaving no trace. Was she kidnapped, blackmailed, or simply bored with their marriage? The unrest she causes is as strong as the attraction she exerts. Though time brings more success and new love, he remains mystified – and increasingly fascinated – by her absence.
It’s about love, losing and passionate obsession. It is about the famous writer searching for his wife, Esther, a war correspondent who just returned from Iraq. Esther has left him for no apparent reason. The police began their investigation and various theories was put forward such as kidnapping or she left his husband for another man or she was simply bored with the marriage.
Then the writer decided to find her wife and the truth of his own life. He went all around the world from South America to Spain, France, and Croatia and eventually arrived at the bleakly beautiful landscape of Central Asia. From one country to other country he started to understand the nature of love and the power of destiny.His search for her – and for the truth of his own life – takes him from France to Spain, Croatia and, eventually, the bleakly beautiful landscape of Central Asia. More than that, it takes him from the safety of his world to a totally unknown path, searching for a new understanding of the nature of love and the power of destiny.With The Zahir, Paulo Coelho demonstrates not just his powerful and captivating storytelling, but also his extraordinary insight into what it is to be a human being in a world full of possibility.
Whether he found his wife or not, the reader has to read this book because at the end of the story, the readers are able to feel the various meaning of love and life. A brilliant thought that quotes that meaning is “Things which are important in our life never go away from us. All those things that went away from us are the ones that only we thought were important, but were actually not.” The story is basically non-fiction as it truly reflects the journey of life of Coelho himself.
Two words: dragged out. In spite of being a believer of the listen to your heart, follow your dreams philosophy, to me, this book clearly went over the top. I started reading it late last year and normally should have been able to finish it within two weeks. I took it with me on my trip, and found myself reading the book less, and the lonely planet more.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Loved it!”

• Rated 0 stars

“I love Paulo Coelho”

• Rated 0 stars

“Paolo Coelho's books are very easy to read. A must for book worms.”

• Rated 0 stars

“In Zahir by Paulo Coelho is a novel of obsession, and how that one single obsession or Zahir, can take over your life, and drive you to it, little did our protagonist know that he would end up finding himself, coming to several realizations, and writing best selling books along the way.
I think that I didn’t enjoy this book, and found it hard to read for one reason. It was to mature, it dealt with concepts I have nothing to do with, so I found it hard to relate to. For someone who has lost love I can see how this book would be appealing, and for someone who could find the deeper meaning. Something I struggled to do.
The book was first published in Iran, but banned shortly after, I had a hard time finding exactly why, but an educated guess is the religious reference. In the book Makhil takes him to a “religious” ceremony where people swear they feel the spirit pass through them.
”

• Rated 5 stars

“perhaps amongst the most inspiring stories ever written... i have liked it very much”

• Rated 3 stars

“Gets a bit too complex for me. Though loved the name Zahir and have adopted it in my daily life....”