Paulo Coelho

See books by this author on Amazon

BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR


Title: Life: Description:
A treasury of selected quotations from one of the world's best-loved spiritual writers. * Paulo Coelho is seen by millions as an alchemist of words. The ideas and philosophies in his internationally renowned books touch the aspirations of readers searching for their own path and for new ways of understanding the world. * This uplifting compilation of Paulo Coelho's most perceptive and enlightening quotations offers extracts from his bestselling titles, including The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage and Eleven Minutes, as well as insights from interviews and previously unpublished sayings. * Beautifully illustrated in colour throughout, with Life you can start each day with inspirational guidance from one of the most loved and influential authors of our time.

Title: Veronika Decides To Die: Description:
"On 11 November 1997, Veronika decided that the moment to kill herself had--at last!--arrived": so begins Paulo Coelho's extraordinary new novel, Veronika Decides to Die. Renowned for the international success of The Alchemist, Coelho has secured his reputation as an outstanding storyteller and a key figure in world literature (his work has been translated into over 40 languages). Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa, Veronika Decides to Die is a compelling story of a woman's struggle with and against life, told with Coelho's wit, subtlety and economy. On the track of whatever it is that makes life worth living, Coelho plots Veronika's fate with infinite care, weaving the mystery of her decision to take her own life into the themes of national identity--Veronika is a citizen of Slovenia, "that strange country that no one seemed quite able to place"--and madness.Veronika does not die; instead, she wakes up in Villette--the "famous and much-feared lunatic asylum"--only to be told that, having damaged her heart irreparably, she has just a few days to live. What she faces now is a waiting game and the strange world of Villette: the rules and regulations which govern the lives of its inmates and the doctors who treat them. Coelho's question may be a familiar one: crudely, who, or what, is mad? But his fiction is a remarkable, sometimes chilling, response to it. "Everyone has an unusual story to tell" is the starting-point of the new treatment initiated at Villette by the enigmatic Dr Igor; it's also the insight from which this book takes off to explore the impact of a "slow, irreparable death" on a young woman and the mad men and women around her. --Vicky Lebeau

Title: By The River Piedra, I Sat Down And Wept: Description:
What happens when shyness prevents an adolescent love affair from developing? And what happens when, 11 years later, destiny brings the lovers together again? Pilar is now an independent and strong young woman who has learnt to bury her feelings. She is studying at a small-town university when she receives an unexpected call from her old childhood sweetheart. He is now a handsome spiritual teacher - with a reputation for performing miracles - who has turned to religion as a refuge from his inner conflicts. Together they take a journey that is initially fraught with difficulty as blame and resentment resurface after years of being hidden. But by the River Piedra, in a small village in the French Pyrenees, they find a way to discuss many of life's big questions and re-evaluate their own special relationship.

Title: The Fifth Mountain: Description:
The Fifth Mountain, is set in the 9th century BC. Elijah is a young man struggling to maintain his sanity amidst a chaotic world of tyranny and war. Forced to flee his home, then choose between his newfound love and security and his overwhelming sense of duty, this is a moving and inspiring story about how we can transcend even the most terrible ordeals by keeping faith and love alive.

Title: The Devil And Miss Prym: Description:
A new novel from Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist. A stranger arrives in the small mountain village. He carries with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. Burying these in the vicinity, the stranger strikes up a curious friendship with a young woman from the village -- Miss Prym. His mission is to discover whether human beings are essentially good or evil. In this stunning new novel, Paulo Coelho's unusual protagonist sets the town a moral challenge from which they may never recover. A fascinating meditation on the human soul, The Devil and Miss Prym illuminates the reality of good and evil within us all, and our uniquely human capacity to choose between them. About the Author Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil and has become one of the most widely read authors in the world today. Renowned for his best-loved work The Alchemist, he has sold over 30 million books worldwide and has been translated into 42 languages. The recipient of numerous prestigious awards, he is a storyteller with the power to inspire nations and change people’s lives. Excerpted from The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho. Copyright © 2001. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. For almost fifteen years, old Berta had spent every day sitting out-side her front door. The people of Viscos knew that this was normal behaviour amongst old people: they sit dreaming of the past and of their youth; they look out at a world in which they no longer play a part and try to find something to talk to the neighbours about.Berta, however, had a reason for being there. And that morning her waiting came to an end when she saw the stranger climbing the steep hill up to the village, heading for its one hotel. He did not look as she had so often imagined he would: his clothes were shabby, he wore his hair unfashionably long, he was unshaven.And he was accompanied by the Devil.'My husband's right,' she said to herself. 'If I hadn't been here, no one would have noticed.'She was hopeless at telling people's ages and put the man's somewhere between forty and fifty. 'A youngster,' she thought, using a scale of values that only old people understand. She wondered how long he would be staying, but reached no conclusion; it might be only a short time, since all he had with him was a small rucksack. He would probably just stay one night before moving on to a fate about which she knew nothing and cared even less.Even so, all the years she had spent sitting by her front door waiting for his arrival had not been in vain, because they had taught her the beauty of the mountains, something she had never really noticed before, simply because she had been born in that place and had always tended to take the landscape for granted.As expected, the stranger went into the hotel. Berta wondered if she should go and warn the priest about this undesirable visitor, but she knew he wouldn't listen to her, dismissing the matter as the kind of thing old people like to worry about.So now she just had to wait and see what happened. It doesn't take a devil much time to bring about destruction; they are like storms, hurricanes or avalanches, which, in a few short hours, can destroy trees planted two hundred years before. Suddenly, Berta realised that the mere fact that Evil had just arrived in Viscos did not change anything: devils come and go all the time without necessarily affecting anything by their presence. They are constantly abroad in the world, some times simply to find out what's going on, at others to put some soul or other to the test. But they are fickle creatures, and there is no logic in their choice of target, being drawn merely by the pleasure of a battle worth fighting. Berta concluded that there was nothing sufficiently interesting or special about Viscos to attract the attention of anyone for more than a day, let alone someone as important and busy as a messenger from the dark.She tried to turn her mind to something else, but she couldn't get the image of the stranger out of her head. The sky, which had been clear and bright up until then, suddenly clouded over.'That's normal, it always happens at this time of year,' she thought. It was simply a coincidence and had nothing to do with the stranger's arrival.Then, in the distance, she heard a clap of thunder, followed by another three. On the one hand, this simply meant that rain was on the way; on the other, if the old superstitions of the village were to be believed, the sound could be interpreted as the voice of an angry God, protesting that mankind had grown indifferent to His presence.'Perhaps I should do something. After all, what I was waiting for has finally happened.'She sat for a few minutes, paying close attention to every-thing going on around her; the clouds had continued to gather above the village, but she heard no other sounds. As a good ex-Catholic, she put no store by traditions and superstitions, especially those of Viscos, which had their roots in the ancient Celtic civilisation that once existed in the place. 'A thunderclap is an entirely natural phenomenon. If God wanted to talk to man, he wouldn't use such roundabout methods.'She had just thought this when she again heard a peal of thunder accompanied by a flash of lightning - a lot closer this time. Berta got to her feet, picked up her chair and went into her house before the rain started; but this time she felt her heart contract with an indefinable fear.'What should I do?'Again she wished that the stranger would simply leave at once; she was too old to help herself or her village, far less assist Almighty God, who, if He needed any help, would surely have chosen someone younger. This was all just some insane dream; her husband clearly had nothing better to do than to invent ways of helping her pass the time.But of one thing she was sure, she had seen the Devil. In the flesh and dressed as a pilgrim. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Title: The Alchemist: Description:
This is the story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who dreams of travelling the world in search of a treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the exotic markets of Tangiers and then into the Egyptian desert, where a fateful encounter with the alchemist awaits him. The Alchemist is a transforming novel about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path and above all following our dreams. With over 20 million copies sold worldwide, The Alchemist has already achieved the status of a modern classic.

Title: The Zahir: A Novel Of Obsession: Description:
"The Zahir", Paulo Coelho's new novel available in paperback for the first time, incorporates exclusive new content including an extra section containing interviews with Paulo and plenty of information for those for whom the book just wasn't enough. It begins with a glimpse or a passing thought. It ends in obsession. One day a renowned author discovers that his wife, a war correspondent, has disappeared leaving no trace. Though time brings more success and new love, he remains mystified - and increasingly fascinated - by her absence. Was she kidnapped, blackmailed, or simply bored with their marriage? The unrest she causes is as strong as the attraction she exerts. 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 his powerful and captivating storytelling. From the Author What is the central idea behind The Zahir?That the unexpected happens, and that we’re not always prepared for it. When everything in our life appears to be organised, that is the danger-point, because what we call "organisation" is really just a story we’ve been told, but it’s not a story that can be sustained. I try to explore the story we haven’t been told, taking as my main character a successful writer who, when his wife suddenly leaves him, is forced to reassess his life. However, instead of taking a step forward and discovering new opportunities, he becomes obsessed by the question: "Why did my wife leave me?" and that turns into his Zahir.What is a Zahir?According to the writer Jorge Luis Borges, the idea of the Zahir comes from the Islamic tradition and probably arose in the eighteenth century. 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.The Zahir can be a person, a job, an objective, but the attempt to possess or achieve it never brings us happiness, instead, it becomes an unhealthy obsession. Unfortunately, this is an experience everyone goes through.Can a person have more than one Zahir in their life?As frustrations accumulate, Zahirs appear. That way, we don’t think about how to solve the problem, instead we become fixated on its image.It’s one thing to follow our dreams and to believe in the signs that guide us on our way. Then we have a goal to aim at, but we also enjoy the journey. With a Zahir we don’t get that same feeling of joy with every step we take, only the stubborn desire to get what we believe to be necessary for us to live. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. About the Author Paulo Coelho's books have won numerous awards and are permanent fixtures on bestseller lists in Brazil and around the world. Other books by Paulo Coelho include The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage, The Valkyries, By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, The Fifth Mountain, Veronika Decides to Die and Eleven Minutes. He and his wife Christina live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and France. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Title: The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream: Description:
"The Alchemist" is a global phenomenon, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. This exciting new edition includes exclusive content, such as a new forward to the book by the author, an interview with Paulo Coelho, and much more, providing an in-depth look at this much-loved title. Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. This is such a book - a magical fable about learning to listen to your heart, read the omens strewn along life's path and, above, all follow your dreams. This is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who dreams of travelling the world in search of a worldly treasure as fabulous as any ever found. From his home in Spain, he journeys to the markets of Tangiers, and from there into the Egyptian desert, where a fateful encounter with the alchemist awaits him. With Paulo Coelho's visionary blend of spirituality, magical realism and folklore, "The Alchemist" is a story with the power to inspire nations and change people's lives. About the Author Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil and has become one of the most widely read authors in the world today. Renowned for his best-loved work The Alchemist, he has sold over 30 million books worldwide and has been translated into 42 languages. The recipient of numerous prestigious awards, he is a storyteller with the power to inspire nations and change people’s lives.

Title: Eleven Minutes: Description:
'Love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer...' So says Maria, a young Brazilian girl convinced from an early age that she will never find true love. A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, but the glittering life she hoped for was a fantasy. The reality - selling herself to survive - is a dehumanising grind that pushes her further away from real love, towards a fascination with pure physical pleasure. But when her emotional barriers are tested by a handsome young painter, she must choose between the dark path she is on and risking everything to find her 'inner light'. Can she move beyond the meeting of bodies to a meeting of minds or even souls - to a place where sex itself is sacred?

Title: The Devil And Miss Prym: Description:
A community devoured by greed, cowardice and fear. A man persecuted by the ghosts of his painful past. A young woman searching for happiness. In one eventful week, each of them will face questions of life, death and power, and each of them will have to choose their own path. will they choose good or evil? The remote village of Viscos is the setting for this exraordinary struggle. A stranger arrives, carrying with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. He comes searching for the answer to a question that torments him: are human beings, in essence, good or evil? In welcoming the mysterious foreigner, the whole village becomes an accomplice to his sophisticated plot, which will forever mark their lives.

Title: The Valkyries: An Encounter With Angels: Description:
This is a modern-day adventure story featuring Paulo's supernatural encounter with angels -- who appear as warrior women and travel through the Mojave desert on their motorbikes. Haunted by a devastating curse, Paulo is instructed by his mysterious spiritual master to embark upon a journey -- to find and speak to his guardian angel in an attempt to confront and overcome his dark past. The Valkyries is a compelling account of this forty day quest into the searing heat of the Mojave Desert, where Paulo and his wife, Chris, encounter the Valkyries -- warrior women who travel the desert on motorcycles, spreading the word of angels. This exotic spiritual odyssey is a rare combination of truth, myth, imagination and inspiration. Ultimately it is a story about being able to forgive our past and believe in our future.

Title: The Pilgrimage: Description:
On a legendary road across Spain, travelled by pilgrims of San Tiago, we find Paulo Coelho on a contemporary uest for ancient wisdom. This journey becomes a truly initiatory experience, and Paulo is transformed forever as he learns to understand the nature of truth throug the simplicity of life.

Title: Manual Of The Warrior Of Light: Description:
A collection of insightful philosophical thoughts and stories, in which Paulo Coehlo offers inspiring answers to profound questions to delight spiritual seekers everywhere. This book is for all of us who look for meaning in our daily lives as we struggle along the spiritual path. Within each of us is a warrior of the light. Each of us is capable of listening to the silence of the heart, of accepting failure without letting it get us down and of holding onto hope even in the face of weariness and depression. Values like love for all things, discipline, friendship and learning to listen to our own hearts are the arms with which this warrior confronts the battles we face in the name of personal growth and in the defence of the light. On every page there is an inspirational thought, which can be read as part of Paulo Coelho's whole philosophy or used form the basis of a daily meditation. The "Manual of the Warrior of the Light" is a handbook that shows human beings how to live as spiritual beings in the material world. Excerpted from Manual of the Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. A Warrior of Light always has a second chance in life. Like all men and woaman, he was not born knowing how to use a sword; he made many mistakes before he discovered his Personal Legend.No warrior can sit down by the fire and tell the others; "I always did the right thing". Anyone who says this is lying and has not yet learned to know himself. The true warrior of light has committed injustices in the past. But as he proceeds on his journey, he realises that the people to whom he did not behave correctly always cross his path again. It is his chance to right the wrong he did to them, and he always, unhesitatingly seizes that chance.

Title: The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest For Ancient Wisdom: Description:
An extraordinary mixture of adventure story and guide to self-knowledge, this book recounts the spectacular trials of Paulo and his mentor, Petrus, as they journey across Spain in search of a miraculous sword. A compelling tale that delivers a powerful brew of magic and insight, The Pilgrimage recounts the amazing trials of Paulo Coelho and his mysterious mentor, Petrus, as they journey across Spain in search of a miraculous sword -- on a legendary road travelled by pilgrims of San Tiago since the Middle Ages. Paulo's visionary blend of mysticism, magical realism and folklore makes this an adventure story with a difference.

Title: Eleven Minutes: Description:
The new bestselling novel, now in paperback, from international literary phenomenon Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist. A chance meeting in Rio takes Maria to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune, yet ends up working the streets as a prostitute. In Geneva, Maria drifts further and further away from love while at the same time developing a fascination with sex. Eventually, 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 has to 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 sacred sex, sex in the context of love. A daring modern fable about the nature of love and sex. From the Publisher Paulo Coelho is one of the most beloved storytellers of our times. His books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 42 languages. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. About the Author Paulo Coelho’s books have won numerous awards and are permanent fixtures on bestseller lists in Brazil and around the world. Other books by Paulo Coelho include The Pilgrimage, The Valkyries, By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, The Fifth Mountain and Veronika Decides to Die. He and his wife Christina live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Title: The Valkyries: An Encounter With Angels: Description:
"Why is it that we destroy the things we love the most? - This is the question Paulo Coelho faces in this story of his confrontation with his past.

Title: Manual Of The Warrior Of Light: Description:
"Manual of the warrior of light is an invitation to each of us to live our dream, to embrace the uncertainty of life and to rise to meet our own unique destiny. " "HIS BOOKS HAVE HAD A LIFE -ENHANCING IMPACT ON MILLIONS OF PEOPLE - The Times"

Title: The Witch Of Portobello: Description:
From one of the world's best loved storytellers, Paulo Coelho, comes a riveting novel tracing the mysterious life and disappearance of Athena dubbed 'the Witch of Portobello', which was a top ten Sunday Times bestseller in hardback. This is the story of Athena, or Sherine, to give her the name she was baptised with. Her life is pieced together through a series of recorded interviews with those people who knew her well or hardly at all -- parents, colleagues, teachers, friends, acquaintances, her ex-husband. The novel unravels Athena's mysterious beginnings, via an orphanage in Romania, to a childhood in Beirut. When war breaks out, her adoptive family move with her to London, where a dramatic turn of events occurs! Athena, who has been dubbed 'the Witch of Portobello' for her seeming powers of prophecy, disappears dramatically, leaving those who knew her to solve the mystery of her life and abrupt departure. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy and sacrifice. From the Author Paulo Coelho answers questions on The Witch of Portobello How would you sum up the central theme of your latest novel The Witch of Portobello? It's difficult to sum up a book, but I would say that it revolves around the awakening of the female energy in both men and women. Which is the difference between feminine energy and masculine energy? Both energies are necessary; we need to be compassionate and implacable. Christ consecrated these two: the energy of bread, that is solid, and the energy of wine, that adapts itself. Sometimes is it not the sword that brakes the stone but the patience of water. Is there something new in this novel that you haven't done before? The style is different: it is made of testimonies from people that got to know the main character, Athena. Also, it's the first time that a main character of mine has a child. This is the first novel where children appear. Did the idea of the novel spring from real life?Yes, in October 2005, I met in Transylvania a roman stewardess that inspired me the story of Athena. She told me how she had been adopted by an Austrian family and about her gypsy roots. Of course, she was the starting point of the novel; many aspects came from a myriad of situations and people I met along the way. I'm also portrayed in this character. You deal with very delicate issues in this book, such as prejudice, religious intolerance and dogma. Aren't you afraid of being excommunicated from the Catholic Church with this novel? After all you defend the idea that God is the Great Mother.I'm not afraid of that. I go every year to a Benedictine retreat in Austria, called Melk. There I spoke to abbot Buckhard about catholic tradition and, during our talks, the issue of women's exclusion came up. He told me that the Benedictine have prayers dedicated to the Goddess-Mother. In 200 years I believe that feminine divinity will no longer be a taboo. One of the questionings that keep on recurring in this book is Athena's need to live with her "empty spaces". Do you have "empty spaces"? Of course I do. Who doesn't? The whole problem is not about having empty spaces, but about admitting that they exist. Today's society is so preoccupied about coherence that many get trapped in the misconception that all is explainable. Society tries to convince us that we have to be completely transparent, not only to world but to ourselves. There is where the danger lies. It's necessary to admit that some things can't be grasped, that our empty spaces exist and that we have to respect and honour the mystery. I would say that Athena is my feminine side. Do you believe in witches? Of course I do. Unfortunately the word "witch" has still many prejudices. To me, a witch is a woman that is capable of letting her intuition take hold of her actions, that communes with her environment, that isn't afraid of facing challenges. In my latest novel, I precisely talk about the prejudice that modern witches face in modern society. What about the fear of being different? In all my books I approach this issue. In all my writings I talk about the importance of accepting one's differences. Since my childhood, I've been drawn to it. It was very important to me to accept my differences. Isn't harder to accept other people's differences? Indeed, it is more difficult to accept other people's differences, but it's also very complicated to accept one's own. The reason for this is that there are always prejudices; there are always misunderstandings. There's a whole system consolidated that doesn't want to change, that doesn't want people to change. Now, we are seeing that this system is starting to evolve thanks to people like Athena. She's the prototype, a sort of icon of these courageous people that face society and question it's values. Why do you think people are so afraid of change? If you don't change, the world will change you. Only vampires don't change. To change is necessary, but if you don't allow it, you will nevertheless succumb to it... Tragedies, hardships will always present themselves and you will be forced to adapt yourself. One of the themes of your book is dissatisfaction...The world revolves because of this. See the example of children, which are closer to the essence of life. Are they satisfied? Never. I believe that we all preserve in our core this child that is always curious about the outer world. Do you know what the book is about before writing it?I never take notes and never know where the book will lead me. It would be extremely uninteresting if I had the whole plot in my head. Actually in the Witch of Portobello, the conclusion came to me during the night. I woke up with the idea in my head, immediately wrote it in my pc and worked on it for the next days. Your book ends on February 25th 2006, exactly at 19:47. British punctuality? When I finished the book, I looked at the clock in my computer and saw the time 19:47. I was mesmerised by this since I was born in 1947. That's why I wrote it down in my manuscript. You see I let myself be guided by signs. Signs are the language of God and they will take you where you have to be taken. It's a personal language that you develop throughout life. You dedicate your book to Saint Francis Xavier. A man that left everything to go after his dream. Like you. Well, I took much longer to follow my dream. I was nearly 40 when I decided to be guided by my dream. I had the courage once I made the pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. About the Author Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil and has become one of the most widely read and loved authors in the world. Especially renowned for The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes, he has sold more than 85 million books worldwide and has been translated into 63 languages. The recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum and France's Legion d'Honneur, Paulo Coelho was inducted into the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 2002. He writes a weekly column syndicated throughout the world. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Title: Manual Of The Warrior Of Light: Description:
Within each of us is a warrior of light. Each of us is capable of listening to the silence of the heart, of accepting failure without letting it get us down and of holding onto hope even in the face of weariness and depression. Values like love for all things, discipline, friendship and learning to listen to our own hearts are the arms with which this warrior confronts the battles we face in the name of personal growth and in the defence of the light. On every page there is an inspirational thought, which can be read as part of Paulo Coelho's whole philosophy or used form the basis of a daily meditation. This text is a guide to the process. Excerpted from Manual of the Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. A Warrior of Light always has a second chance in life. Like all men and woaman, he was not born knowing how to use a sword; he made many mistakes before he discovered his Personal Legend.No warrior can sit down by the fire and tell the others; "I always did the right thing". Anyone who says this is lying and has not yet learned to know himself. The true warrior of light has committed injustices in the past. But as he proceeds on his journey, he realises that the people to whom he did not behave correctly always cross his path again. It is his chance to right the wrong he did to them, and he always, unhesitatingly seizes that chance. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.