Paulo Coelho's novel
The Zahir is about a renowned author who writes about spirituality and once went on a pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. On a return visit, he is suddenly abandoned by his wife, who leaves no trace of herself behind. As the story unfolds the author
becomes obsessed with understanding the reason for her desertion. Was she kidnapped, blackmailed, or simply bored with their marriage? His search for her - and for the truth of his own life - takes him from South America to Spain, France, Croatia and, eventually, the bleakly
beautiful landscape of Central Asia. More than that, it leads him into a new understanding of the nature of love, the power of destiny and what it really means to follow your heart.
Just look to an excerpt from this book………
A woman is concerned that her lover is going back to his wife. He explains: 'Marie, let's suppose that two firemen go into a forest to put out a small fire. Afterwards, when they emerge and go over to a stream, the face of one is all smeared with black, while the other man's face is completely clean. My question is this: Which of the two will wash his face?'
'That's a silly question. The one with the dirty face of course.' 'No. The one with the dirty face will look at the other man and assume that he looks like him. And, vice versa, the man with the clean face will see his colleague's grime and say to himself: I must be dirty, too. I'd better have a wash.'
'What are you trying to say?' 'I'm saying that, during the time I spent in hospital, I came to realise that I was always looking for myself in the women I loved. I looked at their lovely, clean faces and saw myself reflected in them. They, on the other hand, looked at me and saw the
dirt on my face and, however intelligent or self-confident they were, they ended up seeing themselves reflected in me and thinking that they were worse than they were. Please, don't let that happen to you.'
Do read this novel and let me know your comments
The Zahir is about a renowned author who writes about spirituality and once went on a pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. On a return visit, he is suddenly abandoned by his wife, who leaves no trace of herself behind. As the story unfolds the author
becomes obsessed with understanding the reason for her desertion. Was she kidnapped, blackmailed, or simply bored with their marriage? His search for her - and for the truth of his own life - takes him from South America to Spain, France, Croatia and, eventually, the bleakly
beautiful landscape of Central Asia. More than that, it leads him into a new understanding of the nature of love, the power of destiny and what it really means to follow your heart.
Just look to an excerpt from this book………
A woman is concerned that her lover is going back to his wife. He explains: 'Marie, let's suppose that two firemen go into a forest to put out a small fire. Afterwards, when they emerge and go over to a stream, the face of one is all smeared with black, while the other man's face is completely clean. My question is this: Which of the two will wash his face?'
'That's a silly question. The one with the dirty face of course.' 'No. The one with the dirty face will look at the other man and assume that he looks like him. And, vice versa, the man with the clean face will see his colleague's grime and say to himself: I must be dirty, too. I'd better have a wash.'
'What are you trying to say?' 'I'm saying that, during the time I spent in hospital, I came to realise that I was always looking for myself in the women I loved. I looked at their lovely, clean faces and saw myself reflected in them. They, on the other hand, looked at me and saw the
dirt on my face and, however intelligent or self-confident they were, they ended up seeing themselves reflected in me and thinking that they were worse than they were. Please, don't let that happen to you.'
Do read this novel and let me know your comments
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