The Witch Of Portobello - Paulo Coelho details from infibeam

Paulo Coelho, one of the world's best loved storytellers, is back with a riveting new novel set in London.This is the story of Athena, or Sherine, to give her the name she was baptised with. Her life is pieced together through a series of recorded interviews with those people who knew her well or hardly at all - parents, colleagues, teachers, friends, acquaintances, her ex-husband.The novel unravels Athena's mysterious beginnings, via an orphanage in Romania, to a childhood in Beirut. When war breaks out, her adoptive family move with her to London, where a dramatic turn of events occursAthena, who has been dubbed 'the Witch of Portobello' for her seeming powers of prophecy, disappears dramatically, leaving those who knew her to solve the mystery of her life and abrupt departure.Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy and sacrifice.Praise for Paulo Coelho:'An exceptional writer.' USA Today'His books have had a life-enhancing impact on millions of people.' Times'One of the few to deserve the term "Publishing Phenomenon".' Independent on Sunday'Coelho's writing is beautifully poetic but his message is what countshe gives me hope and puts a smile on my face.' Daily Express'"The Alchemist" is a beautiful book about magic, dreams and the treasures we seek elsewhere and then find on our doorstep.' Madonna'It's like music, really, the way he writes, it's so beautiful. It's a gift that I envy above all others.' Julia RobertsPaulo Coelho, the internationally famous author of “The Alchemist” has woven a unique and compelling tale in The Witch of Portobello. What draws you into the story is the unique writing and the characters. The book describes life of a murdered young woman and journey around the world and into an unseen spiritual world. Shreine Khalil, known as Athena was born in Romania and her parents, a successful industrialist family of Beirut adopted her, as their much loved, much-wanted daughter. She grew in wisdom and beauty. She had the secret desire to become a saint someday. She got married and divorced with a son in twenty. She did many jobs but could satisfy her restless soul. She went to find her birth mother. She kept constantly destroying and rebuilding herself. Everything in her life had followed the same pattern: from lost to found but there was only one thing which remained intact, that was her son. He was the only connecting thread. The book talks about free love, a river which overflows its banks. That’s the path the Witch of Portobello was following throughout her life, until she was brutally murdered. told from various perspectives of the title characters friends and families, it felt that the book is written by many authors with different language and different perspectives. A very sad ending. But I love Paulo Coelho's works. He is just a master author.