’Brida’ starts off with a hint of mystery and mirth of search of Soulmate.. but page after page, it turns into a confused affair. Clarity of thoughts is missing and it is replete with repeated rituals related to spiritual search.
The novel talks a lot about witches, tradition of sun, tradition of moon, out of body experiences, time travel with the help of 4 main characterswhich are also not completely sketched..
At times, Magus is shown as a character of strong will.. someone who is enlightened.. but the next moment you will find him as a vulnerable person.. who still has a very much human heart... who is still lonely and in search of his Soulmate.
Brida is in conquest of truth.. the knowledge... and she is full of confusion. Her character has not been developed fully as in we as readers are not able to fathom her true desires.. sometimes she desire for Soulmate and sometimes for spiritual awakening.. Neither does the author knows what her true desires were.. and with his confused state of mind he pushes us into sea of confusion..
Wicca’s character is very stable but like a steep.. There are no waves in this character. The character seems to be very much artificial and made-up... We don’t relate with her as a teacher.. there are not much profound explanations about her attitude.. She is Brida’s teacher in the novel.
Lorens is the only character which is not making a fool of the readers. Sadly, this is little less important character.. But his scenes in the novel surely interest readers.
Concept of Soulmates
It talks about the concept of Soulmates. As per this theory, there are several incarnations of a soul on this earth in the form of human being. Before each incarnation, the soul splits itself into two and take birth in the form of two human beings - male and female. This process repeats in several further incarnations. So, these splitted souls are in reality the soulmates. Each human being has its own counterpart soul residing in the body of a person of opposite sex.
Now.. this is kind of a different outlook and bit eerie.. But further, the writer intermingles this concept with that of spirituality.. and that’s exactly where the novel starts losing it’s charm.
Concept of Spirituality
The author says that, we have a duty to search our Soulmate not only tofind true love but also to find enlightenment, spiritual awakening.Because in it only lies the completion of our spiritual journey..
Somehow the concept did not come out as an interesting one because it failed to fascinate the readers. Rendition of the rituals is far from interesting and are infact quite humdrum.
The Prologue talks about a beautiful theory - *Builders and Planters.However, in the story there is no reference to this beautiful theory.All ittalks about is search of magic (which is symbol of spiritualawakening)and how this search is interlinked with the search of love..
Follow this link for the ’Builders and Planters’ theory:
(https://mouthshut.com/diary/ccgcnltlm/Growing)
Paulo Coelho **is adept in giving out his own philosophies which touches our heart and start living with us.. like in ’Alchemist’ and ’Elevin Minutes’.
But here.. we feel like we have lost that miraculous writer somewhere..
In total Brida is really a big disappointment..
Few quotes which I liked:
You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointments, defeat and despair are the tools Godd uses to show us the way..
Every moment in life is an act of faith..
Love is the force that brings us back together, in order to condense the experience dispersed in many lives and many parts of the world...
Everything in the Universe has life, and you must always try to stay in contact with that life. It understands your language. And the world will begin to take on a different meaning for you. Wisdom means both to know and to transform. The more you understand yourself, the more you will understand the world. Emotions were like wild horses and reason could never entirely master them. God placed his pharmacy in the woods and fields so that everyone could enjoy good health...
Play your part and don’t worry about what others do. Believe that God also speaks to them, and that they are as engaged as you are in discovering the meaning of life.