Books by Paolo Koelho

[lithuanian]

What's your opinion about Paolo Koehlo's books? I know lots of people who like it, however, others think it's a very clever brainwash.

[RLM89]

Which one of his books are we referring to? Or just in a general scan because I have read "The Alchemist" which I admit was good and very readable just not my kind of book personally......He does have a good insight into the world though. I would say a modern day Aesop

[China Doll]

I've read The Alchemist. It's interesting but I certainly didn't find it mind blowing/change your life good like some of my more over enthusiastic friends.

The message in it was I thought simple and beautiful but again, something I've heard before.

Now Sophies World.... that book I found much more fasinating but then I also think that it's not that comaparable to The Alchemist anyway.

[bigmalc]

I am in complete agreement RE Sophie's World. A great story and a magnificent achievement to condense all of that complex thought into such a short and readable space. The Alchemist didn't really do it for me either. It is beautifully written and hard to put down but I felt a bit let down by it, especially as so many people had recommended it to me and gone over the rop about it. Seems to me that they are the sheep.

[cascarelli]

Hmm, ive started two of his books (the zahir and eleven minutes) but never finished either of them. Just found them a bit boring I'm afraid

[Ray The Grey]

Hello,
I certainly did not think it was very clever brainwash and I did not like it. The Alchemist was simplistic, with excruciating allegories, preaching constantly, with a patchy story full of inconsistencies that only inspired me not to read other of his books. The symbolism felt like it had been put together by a 3 year old - it was painfully intrusive and mostly nonsensical. The people who have been inspired by it must have little in their lives already or perhaps we all missed something. We read it at our book club and at best it felt like an overdone fairy tale/pseudo-biblical parable, no-one had a good word to say about it.