The Valkyries

I'm a sucker for spiritual adventure lit. I use the term lit loosely, though I do like his masculine style of serving up a scene with no garnishments. Sucked it down in one evening over Dell Customer Support. Enjoy the term "second voice" for the ongoing conversations we have in our head when we're not even aware of it.

I do usually enjoy Coelho's books and often take something inspiring away from them however, with The Valkyries I am not too sure. Coelho tells the story of his spiritual journey and experiences gained travelling through the desert. Throughout the journey we witness Coelho fighting his inner demons and working towards spiritual enlightenment and self development. We are also introduced to his wife Chris who accompanies Coelho and, in her own way, faces her own inner struggles and spiritual enlightenment.

Throughout the book I found myself sympathising with Chris, becoming annoyed at her husband and following her journey more closely. On some occasions I become frustrated with Coehlo, his sense of importance and, more often, self show more indulgence. But, having said this, I believe this is what Coehlo wanted to portray and what was involved in his journey of battling against the ego and inner demons.

Coehlo's books often bring spiritual messages that can be inspiring and insightful. However, I feel The Valkyries has nothing further to add except maybe the possiblity of seeing Coehlo stripped bare and laying out his vulnerabilities for all to see which is quite a difficult and admirable thing to do. show less

Why is it that we destroy the things we love most? This is the question Paulo Coelho faces in this story of his confrontation with his past. 'The Valkyries' is a compelling account of his journey, as Paulo and his wife embark on a forty day quest into the searing heat of the Mojave Desert, where they encounter 'The Valkyries', strange warrior women who travel the desert on motorcycles.

This is not only a modern day adventure, it is also an exploration of one man's battle with self doubt and fear, as well as a true story of two people striving to understand one another through adversity. Ultimately, 'The Valkyries' delivers a powerful message about forgiving our past and believing in our future.

This was the first of Paulo Coelho's books I have read and perhaps that was a mistake. I found the first half of his journey intriging and compelling but when the Valyries appeared it all seemed to be a bit too much. It went from simple explanations eg the 'second mind' to 'hard to digest' rituals and characters. I found myself asking 'is this book factual?'. Perhaps if I had read his other works first I would have had more of an understanding of his beliefs and practices.

Mostly true tale of his search for his angel in the US desert, while also saving his marriage. Full of magic & god & angels, fantasy, reality. Mostly enjoyable, but sometmes this magical realism thing is taken too far!

The only thing that saves this book from a 1 star rating is the accessability of the ideas to the reader, It is a bit immature and at times a bit flat. I think this for the less philosophically inclined this may seem a bit more mystical then it really is, I think it'd be a great segway book to get one interested in the genre to read much more. There is not the great insight into the writers life and torment as you may see in the writing of Thomas Aquinas for example. It may not be fair to compare a great with an inspiring contempory. I do see it as a great introductory book to mysticism the connections one may feel with god. If you examine it a bit more closely you can see how thin the veil really is. Enjoyable yes, enlightening no. I show more expected much more. show less

This follows a journey in search of the Valkyries. I would compare it to some sort of "vision quest" of the main character. The story feels weak compared to the author's other works, but the concept makes the read worth while. I found myself confused at times in the first half, as I didn't know who he's referring to. The plot gets better in the climax, but gets much weaker toward the end.
This is definitely not a title to read when first reading this author's works.
Two and a half out of five.