A clever, fascinating novel ( )

The Witch of Portobello started off strong. I enjoyed the exploration of the feminine side of God and religion and the thought that we all know the answers to our questions deep inside ourselves if we only listen. I like how the main character was described only through the voices of others and their direct quotations of her. Skillfully done. Unfortunately, I found the ending a let down, not from a religious point of view but from a plot fizzle point of view. Still, a good book, but no Aha moments like I had with Coelho's other book, The Alchemist. Three stars. ( )

Cliche-ridden new ageism. ( )

The Witch of Portobello is a biography of a woman in search of her identity and destiny... a woman constantly in a state of flux and motion, a whirling dervish on a path of enlightenment/self-destruction. This biography, however, is written as an interview with a number of people who came into contact with her during her journey. The story itself was interesting but the dialogue between Athena and her teachers became rather tedious with all of the new age/godess droning. As the story starts with a discussion about Athena's death, the story picks up momentum as the ending draws near, as the reader is left wondering whether the religious ferver she spawned would ultimately lead to her murder. ( )

Hmm...tough one to review. This was my second novel of Paulo Coelho's (the first being The Alchemist), and they were very dissimilar from one another. In general, some of the descriptive words that I've seen to describe this book are accurate: pagan, new-age, mystic. It's a different kind of read for me, but it does make the reader examine his/her own personal beliefs & almost forces one to make somewhat of a judgment as to the plausibility of such things.

Overall, not particularly my style of read as a stand-alone book. However. This will make a good book for a group discussion, I think, and I am looking forward to such a discussion at my upcoming book group meeting.

The reader of the audio version of this (Rita Wolf) does an excellent job, by the way, with capturing the various characterizations and dialects. ( )

Yet another Coelho book to enjoy. It's the first book in a long time I didn't put down until I was finished reading it. ( )

Oh dear. Have you ever been in a bookshop with a three-for-two deal, found two books you wanted to read then struggled to find a third? The Witch of Portobello was very much my 'third' book. I'd heard the name Paulo Coelho but not really taken much notice and thought this would be a good introduction. The back cover 'blurb' certainly sounded promising. In the event I came away from reading this book with the impression that I hadn't so much read a novel as been preached to about spirituality. Not recommended. ( )

A good and average read. I am not really into Paganism but I still found the book quite interesting to read. Athena is a fascinating character to get to know.

I like Paulo Coelhos style and I am eager to read "Veronica decides to die" soon. ( )

One of my Coehlo favorites. Here is the full review: http://laurareviews.blogspot.com/2009... ( )

Poorly translated, sickeningly effusive cliché-ridden nonsense. ( )

I don't think I understood the point of this book, although there is a lot of information in the back of it explaining where the idea came from and why.

Sherine Kahlil, or Athena as she prefers to be known, is a Romanian orphan adopted by a Lebanese couple who are forced to flee to England when war breaks out, mainly because of the teenage Sherine's vision of the future.

Sherine has visions, trances etc quite frequently and leans the art of the Dance of the Vertex, which leaves her energised and open to even more visions. She uses this to increase her productivity and that of her colleagues, to the point that he manager tries to convince the banks shareholders to teach everyone at the other branches to dance too. Pretty much every man she meets falls for her instantly and every woman either recognises the Mother Godess in her or mistrusts but wishes to be just like her. The ending was predictable but confusingly weird.

As I said, I don't think I understood the point of it, I was just looking for a good story and I think I had preconceived ideas of this book (but not the ones the author thought I would have, judging from his comments at the back).

I had credibility issues too, with the bank manager taking the trance dance so seriously that he would present it to his bosses as a good idea to the ease with with Sherine found her birth mother and the way everyone loved her, even the ones who hated her. It got annoying.

I can't see that I will want to read this one again, Sherine was unlikable, so were many other characters that commented on her. I felt sorry for her adoptive parents and found her silent son to be just too perfect a child to be believable. And Sherine was able to uproot or abandon him on whim yet later stated she would kill anyone who tried to take him from her. The name Athena got on my nerves, which was odd because I like it usually, but it was all this "I am Sherine/Athena/Hagia Sophia" business that provoked me to dislike it here.

I found that I read this book very quickly just to get it over with and so am unable to recommend it. ( )

This was my first book by Paulo Coelho and I got to say the book was such a dissapointment!! I was constantly waiting for the wow factor as well as something larger than life to happen. Propably the worst book I´ve ever read. Hopefully the Alchemist will be better:) ( )

This was by far the best book I've read this year! Very inspirational. I love Paulo Coelho's writing and found this gem to be exceptional! I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking spiritual enlightenment -- it was truly eye-opening. ( )

I normally really enjoy Paulo Coehlo books, but this one I just couldn't get into. ( )

This is another airport bookshop read. The blend of philosophy and story was interesting, though I wish there had been more story. Is it possible to write a good moral parable that's also a good story? This wasn't it. ( )

Bare ikke mig...
For spirituel. ( )

I think it's easy to dismiss Paulo Coelho's books as too didactic. But he addresses subjects that are essential spiritual housekeeping -- the doubts and misgivings you wrestle with day to day -- and he gives them importance and meaning. Makes them numinous. His writing is stripped down to its bare requirements. No pretention in description. His stories feel carried through the oral tradition and have that same sort of impact.

This is my favorite of Coelho's novels. ( )

love the first 1/2, towards the end, it got a little too weird for me, however the final scene saved it for me. ( )

Beautifull written. But I didn't fall in love with the character the way I had hoped to. ( )

As someone who has an interest in the philosophy of religion, spirituality, and the persecution of those within our society who dare to break the mold, I was captivated by the premise of this book.

As I began to read, I was immediately immersed in the story of Athena, a mysterious woman who embarked on a journey to find the missing pieces within her life.

Unfortunately, as I delved deeper and deeper into the book, I found that I was often bored. Athena's story was told through interviews of those who had known her. Coelho almost pulled this off, but in the end he fell short. Most of the interviews were interesting enough, but there were a (significant) few that seemed to drag on forever. Furthermore, I didn't feel much of a connection with any of the characters. I'm not sure that I really understand who Athena is, even now.

In short, this was a good book, but not one that I will remember years from now. ( )

i picked this up in an airport over the holidays - and it was the perfect book at the perfect time. at first i kept almost quitting the book - i was a little unsure - but i kept on reading till i got quite hooked in - it's the first book that i've read that i wanted to re-read even befor i finished it the first time-
i lent it to my brother-in-law and will have to get it back from him soon.
seems kinda corny and yet not at all ( )

(Pseudo-spoiler: information revealed in first few pages)
What makes Coelho's writing so engaging is his construction of simple truths into poetry. This latest effort blends the folksy witness of The Alchemist (Plus) and The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation, but with the novelistic ambition of The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession (P.S.). In The Witch of Portobello, Coelho molds his protagonist through the eyes of those who knew her. But rather than a distant retrospective, Athena's life is vividly and honestly portrayed in such a way that we forget her actual absence from the book.

This particular novel has a layer of complexity that I did not find in The Zahir, for example. While Coelho does unapologetically preach the gospel of a neo-pagan open spirituality, he does not martyr his main character. Instead, we learn that every passion must be tempered in order to reveal itself as love. ( )

The story of Athena, as told through the eyes of those who met her and befriended her throughout her life, tells a story of a woman born of independence who spent her life defending her ability to be her pure self in every circumstance. ( )

I really liked the book up to the point, where supernatural things started to happen. I think the book would have worked fine without this sort of thing.

Still, the philosophy about dancing, calligraphy and other disciplines is great. Same goes for the master - apprentice relationships.
I also liked Athenas independence, which was so agreeable emphasized by the twist with her boyfriend. ( )