Zahir by Paulo Coelho is my first book by this author. I had gone to buy ’ the alchemist ’ , which is already famous, from a local bookstore but that book was not available so I thought of giving Zahir a try. I am not a avid reader, but like reading books spec. when I want to take a break from my hectic Engineering schedule. I have been a fan of Dan Brown’s books. Zahir has been a very different genre than those books. And probably thats why I liked it coz of the change in writing styles.
I will try not to give too much of the plot details
- The word Zahir means Obsession, a thing, which completely fills ur mind, and u cant think of anything but that thing .
The book is quite matured and philosophical , and as most of Paulo Coelho’s books, deals with Love, objectivism , and energy of love. It is about this writer whose wife ( war correspondent ) leaves him without any letter or notice . The writer then tries to search for his wife so that he can free his mind from Zahir ie his wife . Obviously, most of the book deals with the Husband-wife relationship.
The book is interesting , though I couldnt relate to many parts of the book, like some rituals and talks between ppl about thier married life . What hooked me to this book from start to end is the various philosophical thots, inside going -ons in this society and the idea of true love depicted in the book. The book talks about managing one’s personal life, doing introspection , living life and loving it without any boundaries etc.
The author has talked about some real social issues, and has some in-your -face facts about people’s living style. The writer travels from Paris to Kazakstan ( Central asia ) , and delves into various cultures and rituals. The author has used simple words in the book , which I dint expect considering the theme of the book.
But the book was overall disappointing. With only 3 central characters, the book lacks pace, and some parts of the book dont seem ssensible in today’s world. Some things like hearing voices , and hearing the voice of Lady dint appeal to me. The mid-part of the book is somewhat boring.And the end could have been made better .
I am going to start reading The Alchemist. I am sure Alchemist will be much better than this book .