The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession by Paulo Coelho (Epub)

Description

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.

User’s Reviews

Review “Likely to entrance even the most cynical of readers.” From Publishers Weekly The press chat cites 65 million copies of Coelho’s eight previous novels in print, making the Brazilian author one of the world’s bestselling novelists (150 countries and 56 languages). This book, whose title means “the present” or “unable to go unnoticed” in Arabic, has an initial staggered laydown of eight million copies in 83 countries and 42 languages. It centers on the narrator’s search for his missing wife, Esther, a journalist who fled Iraq in the runup to the present war, only to disappear from Paris; the narrator, a writer, is freed from suspicion when his lover, Marie, comes forward with a (true) alibi. He seeks out Mikhail, the man who may be Esther’s most recent lover and with whom she was last seen, who has abandoned his native Kazakhstan for a kind of speaking tour on love. Mikhail introduces the narrator to a global underground “tribe” of spiritual seekers who resist, somewhat vaguely, conventional ways of living. Through the narrator’s journey from Paris to Kazakhstan, Coelho explores various meanings of love and life, but the impact of these lessons is diminished significantly as they are repeated in various forms by various characters. Then again, 65 million readers can’t be wrong; the spare, propulsive style that drove The Alchemist, Eleven Minutes and Coelho’s other books will easily carry fans through myriad iterations of the ways and means of amor. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From AudioFile Even before listening, an especially beautiful package in peaceful and harmonious shades of soft coral and delicate sand casts a spell on the listener. Then, Jamie Glover’s elegantly restrained and deeply felt narration achieves an understated and unforgettable listening experience. The plot is an intriguing puzzle: A man searches for a beloved wife who has mysteriously vanished with a mutual friend. The protagonist subsequently embarks on a journey to find her and, most importantly, to understand what made her leave him without notice and without apparent reason. Moving and meaningful as a story, this work, for some listeners, may also result in a significant search for their own selves, as well. L.C. 2006 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine– Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ My first Coelho book, and my last. I really didn’t like this book—it was just about a bunch of wishy-washy, basically uninteresting people, trying so hard (via the author) to be interesting. Sorry. I don’t know how this author has become so popular; well, I think it says a lot about our world and its state of mind & heart. So relative, so accommodating, so PC-all-inclusive, anything goes if you strongly believe it…and just bland writing that lopes along without saying much. Uttering platitudes that are so filled with air & nothingness. Someone who speaks much more meaningfully said in song once: “uttering idle (idol) words from a reprobate mind…” (thanks, Bob). Here’s the first verse/chorus:“Uttering idle words from a reprobate mind,Clinging to strange promises, dying on the vine, Never bein’ able to separate the good from the bad, Ooh, I can’t stand it, I can’t stand it,It’s makin’ me feel so sad.Dead man, dead man, When will you arise? Cobwebs in your mind, Dust upon your eyes.”

⭐ I am a huge fan of Coelho, but this novel is not one of my favorites. I guess I’m used to protagonists who are on a search for a reason to live. This protagonist seems to not be able to accept that his wife left him, mainly because he wasn’t true to himself. He wasn’t happy with his life as an author & his wife did not want to “settle down” into a life with him.She had more of the world to explore & seems to want some spiritual enlightenment. It seems he only wanted his wife when she no longer wanted him as he had an affair & kept seeing that woman after his wife left.The man seems shallow. His wife seems like someone who wants to spend her life learning about LIFE & LOVE!

⭐ This is the story of a self indulgent, self obsessed man, and the emotional, spiritual and philosophical journey generated for him by the loss of his wife. The author’s skill is in his ability to take us, his readers, on that journey, too. This is a story about the layers and forms and depths of love. It’s also about the ways we get trapped in the superficial; how we fail to bring our full attention and appreciation to the vast, complex expansiveness of every moment and every relationship. Even though the writing / storytelling style in parts of this book were tedious, I am glad I continued reading The Zahir because the last third or quarter of the book holds some true gems — unforgettable teaching stories. This was my first Paulo Coelho book. I am honestly not sure whether the boring, stilted dialogue in this book was intentional, a flaw of the translation, or simply writer’s error.

⭐ As with all of Paulo’s books, the Alchemist was a tough act to follow, but with that said I thought this was one of his better books. I find it wonderful the way he typically weaves his own life’s lessons into a “fictional” story line (Of course only he knows how much is fiction and how much was real). The underlying theme of this book is “Relationship rescue”, and I would recommend it to anyone who is experiencing relationship challenges. He places this story in the nightlife scene of present day Paris, and has woven in some very interesting characters from the former Soviet block countries. As always, his story captivated my interests – and once I get into it – it was hard to put down. An interesting coincidence is that I started reading his books (starting with The Pilgrimage) just prior to beginning my 500 mile hike on the El Camino de Santiago in Spain – and this one was the last one I read as I was completing that journey.

⭐ i really liked the book, even though i stopped and started many times. i felt like i was in all the places he mentioned in the book. though i was confused about the ending, wish it was clearer, but i guess he can make a continuation based on the ending he used.

⭐ I’m making a journey through the works of Paulo Coelho. It started with a review for a book I wrote saying my story defied Coelho’s Eleven Minutes. I’m reading his books in no particular order. He is feeding my soul and is a part of my journey, my return to love.

⭐ It is not often that I am left at a loss for what to say about a book. The Zahir has that quality that it impacts your soul without being able to describe the method. Coelho speaks of love, the freedom of love, commitment, relationships and obsession. In this way it is like many of his other works. Yet, the Zahir is different.Not all love stories are the same. Love and relationships are not like a railway track – a set of standardized sizes, headed in one direction, unchanging, without the possibility of turning. Love is everything and nothing. It is like the wind – powerful, everywhere and nowhere. Through his autobiographical novel, Coelho takes the reader to the depths of their soul to reveal the nature of love. It cannot be possessed, clung to or consigned to a personal history. It must be lived and experienced in the now. It must be freely given and received. If read with the heart opened, the book will touch you.Few books have the capacity to change a perception of such a fundamental element of life – and this one did it for me.

⭐ I’ve read about 15 of Paulo Coelho’s books. I love his work. This is by far my least favorite book. Long and drawn out. Based on his relationship problems. I didn’t imagine a character when I read the book, rather I saw him. It was hard for me to finish this one.

⭐ I will admit this author is one of my favorites and this is also my kind of book. But aside from that this is still a fantastic book and one that is with you the whole time you are reading it.

⭐ I’ve heard great things about this author, from people who I consider to have good taste in writing. I have a feeling I just picked the wrong book to start on from him. Looking at the other reviews I see the indication that this is not as good as his other work. So, I’ll try something else at some point.I had high expectations with this, but it was pretty disappointing. It moved slowly. I immediately, intensely disliked the main character. He was so incredibly self-absorbed, obsessed with his “freedom” which seemed to mean he drifted from one commitment to another, and cheated on everybody he was ever with, but then couldn’t get over the person he lost. There is a very shallow sort of spirituality in the main character and in many of the other characters. When Mikhail was introduced I hoped the book would become more interesting and maybe I might find a character to like, but he came across as equally self-absorbed, along with heaps of pretentious, pompous, shallow faux spirituality.I could not stand any of the characters. Not a single one of them. The author’s writing style is lovely, and maybe if he’s writing about people who aren’t completely insufferable I might enjoy something of his.

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