Aleph [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Paulo Coelho (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 27, 2011

Transform your life. Rewrite your destiny.

In his most personal novel to date, internationally best-selling author Paulo Coelho returns with a remarkable journey of self-discovery. Like the main character in his much-beloved The Alchemist, Paulo is facing a grave crisis of faith. As he seeks a path of spiritual renewal and growth, he decides to begin again: to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and the landscapes around him.

Setting off to Africa, and then to Europe and Asia via the Trans-Siberian Railway, he initiates a journey to revitalize his energy and passion. Even so, he never expects to meet Hilal. A gifted young violinist, she is the woman Paulo loved five hundred years before—and the woman he betrayed in an act of cowardice so far-reaching that it prevents him from finding real happiness in this life. Together they will initiate a mystical voyage through time and space, traveling a path that teaches love, forgiveness, and the courage to overcome life’s inevitable challenges. Beautiful and inspiring, Aleph invites us to consider the meaning of our own personal journeys: Are we where we want to be, doing what we want to do?

Some books are read. Aleph is lived.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A new tale of magical longing. . . . Masterful.” —San Francisco Chronicle
 
 “Coelho is a novelist who writes in a universal language.” —The New York Times

“It’s time for American readers to set out on a journey of discovery that will lead them to the works of this exceptional writer.” —USA Today
 
“[Coelho’s] books have had a life-enhancing effect on millions of people.” —The Times (London)
 
“Spiritualists and wanderlusts will eagerly devour The Alchemist author’s fiery diatribes about love, fear, and the search for all things meaningful.” —The Washington Post 
  
“Aleph is a book written by the soul, and for the soul. At once tender and fiercely courageous, it challenges you with an embrace while seducing you with a discerning blade that points directly at the heart of what matters most in life and death. And when you have finished the last word on the last page, even if your logical mind doesn’t completely understand all that you’ve read, your eternal spirit will be dancing with joy.” —Cecilia Samartin, author of Broken Paradise
 
“Vivid, captivating. . . . So engaging that readers will not want to put it down for even a fraction of a second. As the author sets out on his journey, the reader gets the sense that, he too, is embarking on the same voyage.” —The International Herald Tribune
 
“[A] chimerical tale. . . . There’s no better author to serve such a work than Coelho.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“Enigmatic. . . . An illuminating book.” —The National
 
“Borges set the standard that Coelho capably upholds. . . . Coelho the writer is both discerning and revealing of Coelho the protagonist, whose enthusiasms we share.” —The Washington Independent Review

About the Author

Paulo Coelho is the author of many international best sellers, including The Alchemist, Eleven Minutes, and The Pilgrimage. His books have sold more than 130 million copies in 160 countries and have been translated into 72 languages. In 2007, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. He lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; First American Edition edition (September 27, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307700186
• ISBN-13: 978-0307700186
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Metaphysical

More About the Author

The Brazilian author PAULO COELHO was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist.

In 1986, PAULO COELHO did the pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage.

In the following year, COELHO published The Alchemist. Slow initial sales convinced his first publisher to drop the novel, but it went on to become one of the best selling Brazilian books of all time.

Other titles include Brida (1990), The Valkyries (1992), By the river Piedra I sat Down and Wept (1994), the collection of his best columns published in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S'o Paulo entitle Maktub (1994), the compilation of texts Phrases (1995), The Fifth Mountain (1996), Manual of a Warrior of Light (1997), Veronika decides to die (1998), The Devil and Miss Prym (2000), the compilation of traditional tales in Stories for parents, children and grandchildren (2001), Eleven Minutes (2003), The Zahir (2005)

During the months of March, April, May and June 2006, Paulo Coelho traveled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella in 1986. He also held surprise book signings - announced one day in advance - in some cities along the way, to have a chance to meet his readers. In ninety days of pilgrimage the author traveled around the globe and took the famous Transiberrian train that took him to Vladivostok. During this experience Paulo Coelho launched his blog Walking the Path - The Pilgrimage in order to share with his readers his impressions.

Since this first blog Paulo Coelho has expanded his presence in the internet with his daily blogs in Wordpress (http://paulocoelhoblog.com), Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/paulocoelho) & Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paulo-Coelho/11777366210). He is equally present in media sharing sites such as Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=paulabraconnot) and Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulo_coelho/sets) , offering on a regular basis not only texts but also videos and pictures to his readers.

From this intensive interest and use of the Internet sprang his bold new project: The Experimental Witch http://paulocoelhoblog.com/experimental-witch where he invites his readers to adapt to the screen his book The Witch of Portobello. You can still subscribe in this experiment!

Indeed Paulo Coelho is a firm believer of Internet as a new media and is the first Best-selling author to actively support online free distribution http://piratecoelho.wordpress.com of his work.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#13 in Books > Self-Help

#22 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#22 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#27 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#45 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction

#13 in Books > Self-Help

#22 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#22 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#27 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#45 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 126 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of all time September 27, 2011

By Brendon Burchard

Format:Hardcover

Reading Paulo's book is such a magical experience. This book will truly open doors to self-discovery that you didn't know existed. Many people around the world can relate with how Paulo felt at the beginning of this book: successful but unhappy, trapped in routine and the vice of solitude, disconnected from inspiration and the Divine.

From this starting point, Paulo takes a life-changing journey across the trans-Siberian railway and discovers a magic that can only be described the moment you finish reading this wonderful book. The "aleph" is a moment in which all time and space is condensed into singularity, what some would call presence, and everyone must learn to find this magical space - ALEPH holds the key to that doorway.

ALEPH is one of my favorite books of all time. Some quotes:

"Go and reconquer your kingdom, which has grown corrupted by routine."

"To live is to experience things, not sit around pondering the meaning of life."

"Travel is never a matter of money but of courage."

"I remember the many occasions on which help has come from precisely those people whom I though had nothing to add to my life."

"When faced by any loss, there's no point in trying to recover what has been; it's best to take advantage of the large space that opens up before us and fill it with something new."

"Hell is when we look back during that fraction of a second [at the end of life] and know that we wasted an opportunity to dignify the miracle of life. Paradise is being able to say at that moment: I made some mistakes but I wasn't a coward. I lived my life and did what I had to do."

"That is what marks out the warrior: the knowledge that willpower and courage are not the same things. Courage can attract fear and adulation, but willpower requires patience and commitment."

"When a sense of dissatisfaction persists, that means it was placed there by God for one reason only: you need to change everything and move forward."

"No life is complete without a touch of madness..."

One of Paulo's other books, The Alchemist (which has sold over 65 million copies worldwide), changed my life. With ALEPH, he has done it again.

ALEPH is already #1 around the world and deservedly so. Paulo writes with honesty, insight, and that which matters most: love.

-- Review by Brendon Burchard, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, "The Millionaire Messenger" and "Life's Golden Ticket."

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe I'm Not Enlightened Enough October 24, 2011

By Sharon Michaels VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I loved the Alchemist and recommend it to everyone who is interested in spiritual and personal development. But I have to confess, I finished reading Aleph shaking my head in confusion. Maybe, I'm just not enlightened enough to be reading this book.

I believe our past influences our future. I believe in "signs" and fate. I believe in self-discovery. This book though was way beyond my grasp - way over my head.

On the positive side: Paulo Coelho is an excellent writer and knows how to weave a beautiful story. His writing allows us to picture exactly what he is describing it - the buildings, the cold wind, the swaying train.

The bottom line for me: I just couldn't get into this book.

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Aleph September 27, 2011

By Sally Walker

Format:Hardcover

During this incredible journey, Coelho, like in The Alchemist,
discovers that it sometimes is necessary to travel far in order
to understand what is near. Friendship, love, faith and loss
are never far away.
Coelho reminds us that we all travel in our dreams.
I truly recomend reading Aleph to everyone!