The Zahir (edit title)

• Rated 0 stars

“A bit irritating (Don't ask)”

• Rated 5 stars

“hummm.......worth reading......another great work by coelho....”

• Rated 5 stars

“i think i like this author a little too much. this book was a little confusing at the start because youre trying to figure out if its a memoir or if hes just borrowing events from his life to make it seem more authentic. the fluidity comes in after awhile and you forget to be confused about that and you just accept it because it doesnt really matter. its authentic without all of the add ins. he once gave an interview in which he said that in writing his books he never set out to send a message, to teach, to offer new beliefs. he just wrote. and its incredible because in his writing the messages are so thick you could eat them with a spoon (and i do my dears, i do) they are profound in the simplest way and they give the feeling of power. they make you want to change. Finished in 3 days.”

• Rated 0 stars

“A beautiful work about spirituality and love
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• Rated 4 stars

“According to the author, “In Arabic zahir means ‘visible; present; incapable of going unnoticed.’ It can refer to an object or a person, and that object or person gradually takes over our every thought until we are unable to think of anything else. This could be considered a state of holiness or a state of madness.” In the novel, our narrator is an author whose wife disappears unexpectedly. She becomes his Zahir, and this “novel of obsession” details his journey (both spiritual and physical) to find her. Like many of Coelho’s other novels, it is a story of love, spirituality, redemption, and growth, among other things.

I like this book, although I like all of Coelho’s other books. This one is fairly similar to his other books; however, it’s different enough that I get something new from it. I generally have more questions than answers by the time I finish reading him, but I like books that make me think. I also really liked the truly international flavor of this book. Coelho takes us through France, Kazakhstan, Croatia, and Brazil, along with reminiscences from the United States, Afghanistan, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, North Africa, and probably others that I’ve forgotten. Overall, it wasn’t quite as good as some of his others, but it was very good.”

• Rated 4 stars

“This book was my first encounter with Paulo Coelho. The first thing that attracted me to the book was the style of writing, for although I know it is a translated text, and although this means that quite an efficient translator was behind me admiring it, it would not have been that touching and impressive unless the original text was really very impressive. In this book, Coelho takes us into the realms of spirituality. The narrator throughout the book is searching for his wife who disappeared suddenly; she might have been murdered, kidnapped or just escaped a marriage that left her unfulfilled. During the journey, the narrator discovers that it has been actually a journey of discovering himself. The only thing that frustrated me was part of the ending which I was shocked and annoyed when I read. Otherwise, if you are interested in a book that is quite spiritual, this book would be a good choice.”

• Rated 0 stars

“not quite the same as Alchemist but quite intriguing.”

• Rated 0 stars

“awesome ”

• Rated 5 stars

“Paulo Coelho has a way of describing the most fundamental conflicts people go through and I realte to this book.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Paulo Coelho's style of short and simple sentences has translated surprisingly well into the wordy french language. Bravo to the translator!”