Paulo Coelho

Art: Brazilian author Paulo Coelho
A journey through the Middle East(Interview-by Manal Alafrangi, Gulf News, 06april2007)

Coelho, the best know for 'The Alchemist' is all set to introduce his newest creation. 'The witch of Portobello', to an eager Arabic audience...The gripping new tale has spirituaity philosophy, relationships and destiniy among its themes... Athena, the central character of the novel...as any other woman or mana, cumulats many persoalities: she is a daughter, mother, a lover,a witch... Nabeel Al Ehi - the wise man who teaches Athena various things...

Excertps from the interview:

" for me, literature and spiritualitya re the same.... in my first book, 'the pilgrimage', I wrote about my real journey, my own true story... I realised that you don't have to jump through a series of complicated hoops to achieve a goal. You can just look a mountain and gain a connection with God: you don't have to understand th mountain to feel that... Later i my life, the work of Khalil Gibran also left a strong impact. I even made an adaptation of one his books, 'Love letters from a Prophet' and still to this day consder Gibran's 'the Prophet' to have been one of the decisive books in my life and work.

Arabic themes have always impregnated my work. egs. 'The Alchemist' Santiago descovers northern Sahara and the Bedouin culture...not stirring my imagination.

"Dubai is one of the most futuristic cities I have even been to. Surrounded by the desert and the sea, Dubai defies the visitor. It appears like an improbable miracle that is impossible to grasp"
Writer Paulo Coelho to a deep admiration for Arab mysticism. Its stories and fables, and how he infused his work with themes from this region
Some of his books include:
The pilgrimage
The Alchemist
Brida
The fifth Moutain
Veronica decides to die
Eleven Minutes
The Zahir
Like the flowing river
He also adapted The Gift (Henry Drummond) and Love Letters of a Prophet (Khalil Gibran).