Brida.
Reviewed by Carolyn Kost, Stevenson Sch. Lib., Pebble Beach, CA -- Críticas, 5/15/2008
Coelho, Paulo.
U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins & Planeta. 2008. 247p. ISBN 978-0-06-162637-1. $24.95. FICTION
Coelho’s (The Alchemist, 1988; The Witch of Portobello, 2007) ability to draw from Catholic and esoteric spiritual teachings and couch the syncretic result in fictional terms has made his works beloved spiritual staples for decades. Originally published in 1990, this novel purports to be the true story of 21-year-old Brida’s spiritual quest. Her questions about life and the occult lead her to two teachers: a magician and a witch. They instruct her to keep the bridge open between the visible and the invisible, to identify her spiritual Gift, and to reunite with her Other Part (a by-product of the soul division that occurs during reincarnation). Alas, two teachers make for an excessively didactic novel and a rather dry story. Coelho includes a few appealing rituals (which he sternly warns the reader against using without appropriate guidance), some compelling precepts, a brief discussion of the spiritual dimension of sex (a special orgasm is required for Brida’s spiritual initiation), and a regrettable abundance of underdeveloped and contradictory elements. This is one of Coelho’s less inspired and more forgettable works, but his fans will likely request it. An optional purchase for bookstores and public libraries where spiritual themes are popular.
View All Blogs
