Aleph (Vintage International)

I guess you can at least say it unashamedly reveals where he is at : At the end of great career as a writer and running out of gas. I am very glad this man wrote the Alchemist and I am sure he has many more very good reads. There are glimpses of greatness here & there in this one but overall it feels forced.

I choose a four star rating because I enjoyed reading it. In the end, I felt myself become a little closer to God or what the book repeatedly phrases "universal soul".

Here are the positive notes:
- Mr.Coelho really had a knack for describing the atmosphere of each social setting, emotion, and people in it. It must be hard to conjure up words to talk about the aleph.
- I could really felt the disgust the others had for Hilal. I could imagine Yao eyeing down that dangerous threatening down that stranger.
- You don't necessarily have to be spiritual/enlightened to get it, if the reader kept a suspension of disbelief, it was easy to get immersed into Coelho's world.
-There weren't too many loose ends left untied.

Why I didn't give it five stars...
- I didn't understand if this was based of actual experience, and I kind of what a deeper explanation because this whole visiting past lives thing is just an interesting topic.
- It does somewhat involve old man having sexual feelings...for a twenty year old girl. On top of the fact that Hilal sounded pushy as hell annoyed me.
- I wanted a epilogue just explaining how the author was going to tell his wife about this twenty year old annoying trick. ☺☻
- Of course, some people may get lost in the transitions to the aleph to past lives to reality. I understand how other readers can get lost.

I want to tell other readers to not take this book too seriously as to get stuck in its details.
I recommend you read it.....just for the experience of it.
I think people should observe the childlike curiosity, innocence, and faithfulness acquired only through age that the author had to his friends, family, and his coworkers. He let spirituality mold him to that being. I think we should be open to that process.

No doubt intriguing, but a self-absorbed book. The author views himself as a most important and interesting topic. Involved with "past lives" and such, it was a bit weird. I preferred The Alchemist.Aleph

book is exactly as described - arrived on time and in great condition. I bought it to read on vacation next week and can't wait!

I didn't realize it was shipping from the UK, but it still arrived in great time.

All Paulo Coelho fans will appreciate the insight and anecdotes this book has to offer, another gem by this beloved author. Saw the book in store, bought it on the store that night, recieved the next day. I dont know what to say, I love the store..along with Paulo Coelho :)

Everything this man writes is really wonderful, I sense in his writing a real connectedness with God. The primary storyline is not one that I loved, but it's matter of taste. There are great I sights here. Much highlighting for me, and I will refer back to it often.

Excellent book!

Just read and sink into the world he was... So amaze how it leads my mind to see how I am walking through my path.
Should be read for everybody who's asking about what he's or she's doing in this journey. Love it!

A great peace for the open mind thinker. Religion can be so self-centred and this will just take the blinkers from your eyes to change your focus. Your inner-self will be the judge of this - enjoy a peace of this truth from Paulo Coelho hand.

A friend recommended this book to read. Pretty amazing. Life is taking place right now. Not yesterday, not tomorrow. To live is to experience things. The author wrote " Expand your energies and you will remain young." Absolutely true. I have seen people of all ages experiencing new things and they do remain young.

I almost never write reviews but felt compelled to do so this time. Coelho seems to be a perfect example of a onetime wonder: his book The Alchemist wasn't exactly "HIS" book but he simply was the right channel at the time to relate a particular message needed for human development.

With Aleph, well, I feel I wasted 2 evenings of my life and might as well had been watching some mindless TV - it would probably be even better.

Self-indulgent, self-centered, reminiscent of anyone aging and afraid of death, and just simply... mediocre. I patiently waited till the end to find even a glimpse at anything beyond his own persona - a glimpse into some Truth - but found nothing. Perhaps this was a very personal and important journey to him but it seems to have left him or us with nothing of substance.

I understand and relate to the message of forgiveness but he still seems to be confused about it. In fact, as some other reviews mentioned, the book is full of turmoil and confusion which remain unresolved. And the importance of resolving lifetimes, well... A very pedestrian approach, might I say....

I had high expectations for this book based on previous Coelho books. It was such a disappointment. The story line was bizarre including a middle aged man who seduced a 20 year old whom he had known 500 years ago. The whole plot was disjointed.

Coelho continues to be a splendidly remarkable author who narrates life in a way that no others can.

This may be due to his life experiences form childhood onward.

I adore his work and wish I could find myself in the Aleph, more often.

Not everyone will get this book.

if the previous books were interesting and really deep since 4 or 5 books ago i started to find coelho's books really boring and started to read them on the diagonal. this is the last book i'll read written by him.

Coelho beautifully describes the experiences he had traveling by train with his publishers and a girl named Hilal, which is not her real name, who insists on joining them.
Magic!
This book is made of magic, of hands that know to write the tale of a heart that is on a journey to find itself.
Of a heart that knows how to lead the feet to where it once walked and where it must go.
I must say that having read so many of his other books, Aleph exposed me to something I was so afraid of admitting.

That in a life of a spititual seeker, the trials and tribulations faced by their spouses are monumental and unavoidable.
I want to thank Paulo for Aleph. I want him to know that I'm starting to consider more about finding my own kingdom.

ALEPH is Coelho's best book ever. ... the book exudes purity, simplicity and sincerity

I slogged through about half of this book. I put it down. I picked it back up and read some more. Then I decided that life was too short to force myself to read a book that totally bored me. Perhaps I am just not mature enough, smart enough or something to read this book. I rated it as a "snoozer" because everytime I tried to read it, it put me to sleep.

ok, i loved the alchemist, but this book does not rival the story or the message. the character is tired, i get it that he was stuck, but so is the story - figuring out his past obstacle was a bore, [juvenile almost] and i didnt notice any difference after his 'insight' - the only emotion i felt was happy that i didnt pay full price for a paper copy.