Search results for 'Paulo Coelho'

“Superabundant talent, stunning originality, an elegant way with words… The Zahir is something more.”

-- Los Angeles Times

The narrator of The Zahr is a bestselling novelist who lives in Paris and enjoys all the privileges money and celebrity bring. His wife of ten years, Esther, is a war correspondent who has disappeared along with a friend, Mikhail, who may or may not be her lover.

Was Esther kidnapped, murdered, or did she simply escape a marriage that left her unfulfilled? The narrator doesn’t have any answers, but he has plenty of questions of his own. Then one day Mikhail finds the narrator and promises to reunite him with his wife. In his attempt to recapture a lost love, the narrator discovers something unexpected about himself.

A haunting and redemptive story about obsession, The Zahir explores its potential to fulfill our dreams, and to destroy them.

New York Times Bestseller

“An incredibly beautiful read.” – Seattle Post-Intelligencer

How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves—even if we are unsure of who we are?

That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho’s profound work The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well—or hardly at all.

The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice.

New York Times Bestseller

A Story of Love and Obsession

In The Winner Stands Alone, Paulo Coelho takes us to the Cannes Film Festival, where the so-called superclass—those who have made it in the dreammaker’s world of fashion and cinema—gathers. At stake are money, power, and fame—things that most people are prepared to do anything to keep.

At this modern vanity fair we meet Igor, a Russian millionaire; Middle Eastern fashion czar Hamid; American actress Gabriela, eager to land a lead role; ambitious criminal detective Savoy, hoping to resolve the case of his life; and Jasmine, a woman on the brink of a successful modeling career.

Who will succeed in identifying his or her own personal dream among the many prefabricated ones—and succeed in making it come true?

Rise to Your Destiny

Warrior of the Light is a timeless and inspirational companion to The Alchemist—an international bestseller that has beguiled millions of readers around the world. Every short passage invites us to live out our dreams, to embrace the uncertainty of life, and to rise to our own unique destiny. In his inimitable style, Paulo Coelho helps bring out the Warrior of the Light within each of us. He shows readers how to embark upon the way of the Warrior: the one who appreciates the miracle of being alive, the one who accepts failure, and the one whose quest leads to fulfillment and joy.

“A highly original, moving, and ultimately life-affirming book.” – Sunday Mirror (London)

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything – youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. So, one cold November morning. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting to never wake up. But she does—at a mental hospital where she is told that she has only days to live.

Inspired by events in Coelho’s own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Bold and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.

When You Love, You Change the World

Why is it that we destroy the things we love most? This is the question Paulo Coelho faces in this touching story about his confrontation with his past. In The Valkyries, Paulo and his wife, Cristina, embark on a forty-day quest into the starkly beautiful and sometimes dangerous Mojave Desert, where they encounter the Valkyries, strange warrior women who travel the desert on motorcycles. A masterful blend of the exotic locales, dramatic adventure, and stark storytelling for which Coelho’s fictional works are renowned, this true-life odyssey is at once a modern-day adventure story and a poignant message about letting go of the past and believing in the future.

A Journey for the Ages

The Pilgrimage paved the way to Paulo Coelho’s international bestselling novel The Alchemist. In many ways, these two volumes are companions—to truly comprehend one, you must read the other.

Step inside this captivating account of Coelho’s pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. This fascinating parable explores the need to find one’s own path. In the end, we discover that the extraordinary is always found in the ordinary and simple ways of everyday people. Part adventure story, part guide to self-discovery, this compelling tale delivers the perfect combination of enchantment and insight.

“The Devil and Miss Prym is a simple tale, with the meaning of life and spiritual guidance at its core.”

-- The Guardian

A community divided by greed, cowardice, and fear. A man haunted by the ghost of a painful past. A young woman in search of happiness. Seven days, a short period during which good and evil will wage a decisive battle, and each character will decide on which of the two sides they belong. The small village of Viscos is the setting for this disturbing fight. With the arrival of a foreigner, the entire town becomes an accomplice in a perverse plot that will forever mark the history of its inhabitants.

The foreigner has traveled from far away and needs to find the answer to a question that torments him: Are human beings, in essence, good or evil? At once an evocative novel and a suspenseful page-turner, The Devil and Miss Prym captures one moment in our eternal struggle for self-knowledge, asking a question that all of us have stopped to reflect on at some point: What is the essence of the human being? 

From Paulo Coelho, author of the bestselling The Alchemist, comes a poignant, richly poetic story that reflects the depth of love and life.

Rarely does adolescent love reach its full potential, but what happens when two young lovers reunite after eleven years? Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader. She has learned well how to bury her feelings . . . and he has turned to religion as a refuge from his raging inner conflicts.

Now they are together once again, embarking on a journey fraught with difficulties, as long-buried demons of blame and resentment resurface after more than a decade. But in a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of the River Piedra, a most special relationship will be reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life’s biggest questions.

New York Times Bestseller

“In Brida, my third novel, which I wrote just after The Alchemist, I tell the story of a young woman who dives into sorcery and her experiences with different magical traditions. I explore many themes that are dear to me, such as the Great Mother, pagan religions, and the perceptions of love.”

-- Paulo Coelho

This is the spellbinding tale of Brida, a beautiful young Irish woman, and her quest for knowledge. On her journey, she meets a wise man who teaches her about overcoming her fears, and a woman who teaches her ancient rituals. They see in her a gift, but must let Brida make her own voyage of discovery.

“More ambitious than The Alchemist. A thought-provoking tale.” – TIME magazine

In The Fifth Mountain, Paulo Coelho takes us back to the ninth century, to the turbulent Middle East, where the prophet Elijah is struggling to keep his faith alive in a world of constant upheaval, tyrannical royalty, and pagan gods.

Elijah’s story is a lesson in persistence, an exercise in hope, and a journey you will never forget. Inspired by a circumstance that forever altered Coelho’s own life, The Fifth Mountain is a testament to the truth that tragedy in life should not be considered a punishment, but a challenge of the spirit. Gripping in its narrative and graceful in its prose, The Fifth Mountain teaches and inspires like no other novel. This is a timeless story for the ages, a tale of the past that resonates powerfully today.

In his new novel, Paulo Coelho, best-selling author of The Alchemist and Adultery, brings to life one of history’s most enigmatic women: Mata Hari. 

HER ONLY CRIME WAS TO BE AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN
 
When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless.  Within months she was the most celebrated woman in the city. 
 
As a dancer, she shocked and delighted audiences; as a courtesan, she bewitched the era’s richest and most powerful men. 
 
But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari’s lifestyle brought her under suspicion. In 1917, she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs Elysees, and accused of espionage.
 
Told in Mata Hari’s voice through her final letter, The Spy is the unforgettable story of a woman who dared to defy convention and who paid the ultimate price.

Alchemy: 2015 Coelho Calendar

“The book casts a curiously sweet spell.” – Entertainment Weekly

Eleven Minutes tells the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that “love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer.” A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune, yet ends up working as a prostitute.

In Geneva, Maria’s despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria must choose between pursuing a path of darkness—sexual pleasure for its own sake—or risking everything to find her own inner light and the possibility of true love.