Customer Reviews

The Valkyries: An Encounter with Angels

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The Valkyries is a metaphysical tale, very much in the spirit of James Redfield, only this epic tale is authentic.

This is Paulo Coelho's astonishing true story of his encounter with darkness, his search for the light, and the seeking of his personal angel. He chronicles his journey from Brazil, with his wife Chris, and their 40-day sojourn in the Mojave Desert, seeking the Valkyries. The Valkyries were rumored to be able to speak and to see their angels. Having fought a battle with darkness, Paulo has redeemed his life and is a seeker of the light. Paulo was also told that "people wind up killing what they love most" as he seeks to rectify certain, if not all, areas of his life.

This book is journey of faith, of trust, of forgiveness, of love, of self-discovery, and of battling the darkness within ourselves, and wanting to change. As Paulo states, "Faith is a different conquest, and it requires daily combat in order to maintained." His faith is tested to the very end, as he seeks contact with his angels. His journey within transforms him as well as transforming his wife at the same time. Their two soul journeys will inspire you.

"We are responsible for everything that happens in this world. We are the warriors of the light. With the strength of our love and our will, we can change our destiny, as well as the destiny of many others." In this age of angel sightings, angel occurrences are happening with intense frequency. It is as if God is sending his messengers with a message and that message if one of love. The stories being written give hope to those in need of hope and bring home the message that there is another way - love.

"If on the other hand, we accept all that is wrong about us - and despite it, believe that we are desiring of a happy life - then we will have thrown open an immense window that will allow Love to enter. Little by little, our defects will disappear, because one who is happy can look at the world only with love - the force that regenerates everything that exists in the universe."

This is an amazing book, which will cause you to think and revaluate parts of your life. I read the book in one sitting and had to keep going with it till the very end. If you are on a spiritual journey or even on a transforming journey at this point in your life, this is one book that you will want to read. As Paulo says, "God is love, generosity and forgiveness; if we believe this, we will never allow our weakness to paralyze us." I highly recommend this book.

I have read other of Coehlo's books, ie the Alchemist, The Fifth Mountain and Brida, and I have foud the Valkyries, to be his best book! I couldn't put it down since I began reading it. It is so simple yet so deep! It is all so true, how Coehlo describes us destroying everything good that we have in our lives, because we are always too blind to see it. The most wonderful part is to realize that we must always choose love over anything else and that we must forgive others and ask for God's forgiveness. It is a book that helps you regain hope in life, love and God in this crazy world we are in now. With so much war, so much hatred, so much violence, so many killings, so much hunger! Well, we must believe in God's love and protection, believe in our guardian angel to guide us and to protect us always. And it is up to us to change this world!

This book really helped me to see how there are forces at work in our lives that we do not know about. Coelho has made me believe through this simple story that God is still present with us everyday, and active in our lives. He is not religiously pushy, however, like some writers in this genre. He leaves a lot of room for the reader to make his own interpretation of what is presented, broadening the prospective audience. This simple story of Coelho and his wife's quest renewed my faith in a lot of things. I had mixed thoughts about reading a religiously focused book when I picked up The Alchemist a few months ago, but the message therein really helped me put a lot of things into perspective, and Valkyries was no different.

There's a lot of wisdom and truth presented here in this book. The question is, will you or can you understand it? I admit that several places in the book, I would go back and have to reread something, and still not totally get it. But a little further and BAM! -This beautiful piece of writing would pop out and be clear as can be. I am thinking that what you get out of this book most likely depends on several things, like how open minded you are, where you are in your life and where you are spiritually. It's a metaphor people! (to those reviewers who didn't get it so they wrote negative things about it, which makes me think of how a lot of times we [some/most?] are quick to condemn that which we do not understand?) The things that you don't conciously understand, you most likely (hopefully anyway) sub-conciously get. Get it? - Course that may not be the case for all.

Book club choice? This book would make for interesting group discussion between the right people, -an open minded group who's not so quick to judge by skimming the surface. I think open discussions about this could bring a lot of hidden meanings out in the open because for example, one part that I didn't get could be clear as a bell to somebody else.

I loved this and am planning to read it again. And I feel sure that I'll probably read it several times throughout my life. That's the kind of book this is.

So, if you read it and don't understand, maybe it's not the right time for you? So many times, I have been drawn to exactly the books I needed for what I was going thru at that time. This proved that to me, once again.

In this story, which is purported to be "true", the author and his wife journey to the California dessert so that he can see his guardian angel. Toward this end they journey from town to town with a horde of biker chicks, perform various meditations and pagan rituals, and generally work through their own issues.

The story itself is interesting, but as a Christian I found the religious content disturbing. The author seems wrapped up in an occult-like and mystical form of Christianity that ironically seems to have left Christ out of the equation. Whereas Jesus advocated the banishment of the ego to bring our spirits into agreement with God's will, the type of Christianity we see here is all about self - pagan rituals, creating a feeling, and traveling to another continent to "see" an angel. I'm pretty liberal in my Christian theology, but at it's core Christ's message was one of loving God and loving each other. The Bible tells us that the signs of a Christ-based life are "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control". But despite the fact that these characters are supposedly highly "spiritual", their lives, at least as they appear in this story, are instead characterized by anxiety, detachment, and underlying hostility amongst themselves.

Furthermore, the author at one point deigns to cast aspersions about the spiritual slumber that the average person is in. I'm the first to admit that modern-day Christianity needs a good kick in the arse, - but (to use one of the lead characters, Valhalla as an example) I don't think leaving our spouses and children, becoming prostitutes, joining a biker gang, and performing odd pagan rituals is an improvement over the status quo.

At the end of the book, the author tacks on a 2 or 3 page dissertation about Jesus and Love that seems strangely incongruent with the story that was just told.

If you haven't read The Alchemist, read that instead of this book. If you have already read The Alchemist read it again instead of this book.

This is my first Coelho book that I have read recommended to me by a friend. It is a simple book to read, so you'll get done with it fast. Although it is not the best book I have read, it is without a doubt, the most inspiring book.
This book is about Paulo trying to converse with his angel. He brings his wife, Chris, along so that he's not alone basically. But soon Chris starts getting more interested and wants to become more interactive, especially when Paulo discovers the Valkyries--women who ride on motorcycles and preach about angels. The Valkyries is just what Paulo needs because they are the ones that can help him see his angel.
This is a book where you need an open mind. It is a book that a fifth grader can read, but perhaps not understand as well as a high schooler might. Either way, this book is good and I would recommend it to those with open minds and who are in need of something settling to read. A simple book, but not bad at all.

The Valkyries is a personal account of Mr. and Mrs. Coelho's journey across the Mojave desert in California. Coelho is determined to seek the angels that are known to visit there, since he's already been advised by his teacher to do so. The only link that he depends upon is the Valkyries: a group of women that roam the desert on motorcycles and who may just have the answer to what Paulo is after. There are many surprises to unravel in the novel, and some passages will keep you thinking for a long time. The novel also expresses inner feelings and thoughts of the author and his central characters, including his wife. The personal accounts are strong and there are times when the suspense is hard to stand on!

This was my first book by Coelho and it was terrific! I've since read the Alchemist (his first) and The Pilgrimage. The Valkyries remain my favorite in what I found were interesting twists to the 'story'. I found it to be a metaphysical detective-like mystery novel. A little bit of cleverly outrageous in myth coming to reality in more than one situation. Note: If I read a news filler item correctly Shirley MacLean embarked on the same journey as 'journaled' in Coelho's The Pilgrimage. tvb... massachuetts

Paulo had done it again with his unique and subtle approach of bringing religion into lives of the readers. A story of an encounter with the guardian angels surely rings resemblance of Jesus¡¦ story in the desert. Very touching, very real and very good depiction of what good & evils have on stage for you when you are right at the center of the crossroad. A good book for young adults, I would not recommend this for early-age-readers before proper history of God has been taught to them.

A magical adventure based in the present, this story of acceptance of true love and of following your goals to ultimate happiness is an intricate and powerful read. The poetic and passionate style is intense reading but worth it. There's almost a crescendo of activity in the middle of the book that leaves you compelled to read on. I think viewing the text "holistically" helps, and thinking about the metaphors will let you extract more from the book. It's not my favourite Coelho book but still, I have to admit it is beautifully written and full of hysterical passion. I would recommend it to a friend.