So, the back of the book says fiction. The blurb says it is Coelho's most "personal novel to date." Given that it is written like a travel memoir (of sorts), we are left wondering just how "personal" it is. The main character *is* Paulo, the author, and after receiving his "call to adventure" (monomyth), he embarks on a journey that is not nearly as mystical as it is annoying and disturbing. The character of Hilal, a violinist, injects herself into Paulo's travel coterie, and is so inconsistently written that we don't feel as sorry for her as we should. She is exploited by Paulo, with whom she shares a past mystical connection. The relationship is textbook dysfunctional -- there is some sort of weird paternalistic vibe, she's starstruck, but then she's throwing things at him and he's getting naked. I'm well aware that there's a whole "let's get naked and spiritual together" crowd, so maybe this book is for them.

There are the typical Coelho takeaways (occasionally): "Although sometimes...we need to be strangers to ourselves. Then the hidden light in our souls will illuminate what we need to see." (40) See also insights such as: "I know a lot of people who feel they have an identity only when they're talking about their problems. That way, they exist, because their problems are linked to what they judge to be "their history." (116). While I agree, there is just a dust of pretension covering most of the book. The hero is perhaps redeemed, perhaps not--by the end of the book I just wanted it to end. As someone who has enjoyed many of Coelho's books, this one left me uncomfortable and not interested in any other volumes like this. ( )

Të vendosësh. Të ndryshosh. Të gjendesh. Të jesh. Të rishpikësh. Të ecësh. Të bësh. Të ngrihesh. Të provosh. Të arrish. Të sfidosh. Të ëndërrosh. Të mundësh. Të zbulosh. Të kërkosh. Të ndërmarrësh. Të mendosh. Të besosh. Të fuqizosh. Të pyesësh. Të rritesh. Të bëhesh pjesë. Të zgjohesh. Alef, vepra e Paulo Coelho-s, na fton të hidhemi në veprim. Sepse vjen një çast kur ndiejmë nevojën për të pyetur veten si e jetojmë jetën, a jemi atje ku duam të jemi dhe a bëjmë atë që duam të bëjmë.
Nuk ka vlerësime

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Paulo Coelho's enchanting lyricism combined with his esoteric spiritual beliefs made this autobiographical work quite extraordinary. Having read some of his other books, I would say that this one is a perfect summary of the themes that pervade all of his work. In "Aleph", he takes us on his journey through Russia but more importantly, the reader gets to see everything that occurs through the wisdom of Coelho's perspective. We get to experience Coelho's raw emotions and reactions to the things that go on in his life, and as he reveals more and more the story becomes too delicious to set down. This book touches upon the slightly taboo but very important themes of reincarnation, past life connections, and the rise of the divine feminine. ( )

"You are an egotistical man who thinks the world owes him something" says the character Hilal to the "character" Paulo. Truer words never spoken. I almost bailed on this book, but didn't have anything else to listen to. I liked the Alchemist, but this was a sore disappointment. The narrator (author?) cannot sustain happiness in his life and is seeking for some understanding of this predicament. He embarks on various trips with his wife, but only when he leaves her behind, rides the Trans-Siberian railroad for 9000 kilometers and travels back into a past life with Hilal, (the Turkish violinist who randomly shows up at his first appearance in Russia and insists on joining him), is he able to get a grip. This is a completely self-absorbed, selfish, self-important undertaking and the way he uses Hilal is so irritating. He had wronged her egregiously in a past life (which did not ring historically true -- Spanish Inquisition) and only with her help can he enter the Aleph, a type of portal which allows him to see and re-live part of that life to understand that he must ask forgiveness. It felt like a bunch of spiritual mumbo jumbo from start to finish. Only interesting parts were the idea of Aleph (first letter in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic alphabets) representing the oneness of God and the concept of time like a train -- all connected and sequential but each train car represents a different era or life that we can fluidly move between. We don't change, but the surroundings do. That was 5 minutes. The other 5 hours were wasted. ( )

ع رأي وفاء ها ، ثم ؟
كانت معقولة بس أخدت وقت جبااار جدًا في قرايتها مكانتش محمسة ،، محستهاش اوي ( )