The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession (Hardcover)

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Product Description
The Zahir, Paulo Coelho's new novel, is a perfect follow-on to The Alchemist. Paulo picks up the theme of the pilgrimage to Santiago but tells a very different, gripping story of love, loss and passionate obsession. The protagonist of this new novel is a renowned author who writes about spirituality and once went on pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. On a return visit, he is suddenly abandoned by his wife, who leaves no trace of herself behind. As the story unfolds the author becomes obsessed with understanding the reason for her desertion. The title comes from a tale by Jorge Luis Borges, published in his book The Aleph. In Arabic Zahir means 'visible, present and unable to go unnoticed.' It refers to something or someone that ends up being the only thing we can think of. This state of 'possession' can be understood as saintliness or insanity, with a fine line between the two. The novel is also full of comments on what it is to be rich and famous, on the meaning of money, on what motivates a writer and on the nature of marriage. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author
What is the central idea behind The Zahir?
That the unexpected happens, and that we’re not always prepared for it. When everything in our life appears to be organised, that is the danger-point, because what we call "organisation" is really just a story we’ve been told, but it’s not a story that can be sustained. I try to explore the story we haven’t been told, taking as my main character a successful writer who, when his wife suddenly leaves him, is forced to reassess his life. However, instead of taking a step forward and discovering new opportunities, he becomes obsessed by the question: "Why did my wife leave me?" and that turns into his Zahir.
What is a Zahir?
According to the writer Jorge Luis Borges, the idea of the Zahir comes from the Islamic tradition and probably arose in the eighteenth century. In Arabic "zahir" means "visible", "present", "incapable of going unnoticed". It can refer to an object or a person, and that object or person gradually takes over our every thought, until we are unable to think of anything else. This could be considered a state of holiness or a state of madness.
The Zahir can be a person, a job, an objective, but the attempt to possess or achieve it never brings us happiness, instead, it becomes an unhealthy obsession. Unfortunately, this is an experience everyone goes through.
Can a person have more than one Zahir in their life?
As frustrations accumulate, Zahirs appear. That way, we don’t think about how to solve the problem, instead we become fixated on its image.
It’s one thing to follow our dreams and to believe in the signs that guide us on our way. Then we have a goal to aim at, but we also enjoy the journey. With a Zahir we don’t get that same feeling of joy with every step we take, only the stubborn desire to get what we believe to be necessary for us to live. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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44 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (11) 3 star:  (9) 2 star:  (6) 1 star:  (11)           Average Customer Review 2.9 out of 5 stars (44 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   21 of 23 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Confused but yet content., 14 Jun 2005 By  "rubilou" - See all my reviews This review is from: The Zahir: A Novel of Love, Longing and Obsession (Hardcover) I am a huge fan of Coelho's work and wait with baited breath for the for his latest book to be published. I don't mind admiting that I have even asked friends of mine, fluent in Coelho's native tongue, to read me the books that have not yet been published in English. However, the Zahir has left me feeling troubled, and not because I did not enjoy his work, but because yet again Coelho has made me reach into my soul and take a deeper look at my life. I was 19 when i first read the Alchemist, and now seven years on I feel that that same sense of confusion that I did in my teenage years. Yet finally i feel content because The Zahir, explains so clearly that to feel this way is the best way to live life. Paulo manages to explain through his own personal loss and gain what Gilbran tried to explain in his love letters. I truely believe that only by trying to make sense of all of the bad times can you truely apreciate the great. This book had touched my heart and further opened my eyes to the world around me. Paulo Coelho I thank you from the depths of my soul for helping my on the journey to get rid myself of the pain of the past. if like me you ever become feel just that little lost, I suggest that you take time to read The Zahir Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   12 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars It actually made me angry..., 21 Feb 2007 By  J. Gibson "janeyg -" (edinburgh) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession (Paperback) I have really liked Coelho's book but this was a real let-down. The incessant spirituality, the pretentious idea of 'love' and energy began to infuriate me. It's a real shame because the first few chapters of the book I felt a real empathy with the character and was gripped by it but then I became less absorbed and more annoyed and frustrated by the ideas of how we understand love. For me, it felt like the definition of love given within this book was exclusive, limited and elitist. To only be able to understand love by meeting a set of criteria and another person's ideals infuriates me and the latter tone of the book I found pretentious and actually felt more and more alienated from what he was trying to achieve. Added to this unlikeable and weak characters - it did nothing for me. This could have been much, much more... Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   18 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars 3 and a half stars really. ., 12 Jun 2005 By  Brida "izumi" (Worcs) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)       This review is from: The Zahir: A Novel of Love, Longing and Obsession (Hardcover) I have been a fan of Paulo Coelho for ages and was really looking forward to the release of this novel. I have always loved his books and what they uncover, however, now that I have read it, I am not sure whether I enjoyed it or not. The story is about a successful author discovering that his wife, who works as a war journalist, has disappeared without trace. Has something terrible happened to her, or has she simply walked out of his life without first giving him a reason? He seems to be unable (or unwilling) to believe the latter, as it was this very woman who encouraged him to write in the first place. However, there is a particular man who seems to know more about his wife than he does, and it is through the help of this man that the author goes on a journey of his own to find his wife again. . The title of the book itself, The Zahir, comes from a short story by Jorge Luis Borges. It is meant to come from Islamic tradition and it means visible, present and incapable of going unnoticed. Anything can become the zahir, and once a person comes into contact with it, it is all they can think about. In Coelho's novel, the wife of the author becomes his zahir, and she is all he can think about since she went. Coelho examines the very meaning of what it is to be human in this novel, especially in regards to a human in love. Love and obsession are often quite similar, and both can be just as destructive as the other. This, I think, is the essence of what Coelho is trying to put across to his readers in his latest offering. The fact that the main protagonist doesn't have a name applied to him makes you wonder whether this novel is coming from a very personal space of Coelho's soul. It made me wonder as I was reading, is he trying to say that although he has been regarded as a popular and very successful writer on spirituality for years, he is just human underneath it all, and like anyone, he is just as likely to unconciously neglect a person he loves as he develops his own life/career? It has been a few days now since I finished the book, and although I have thought about it, I am not completely sure why I didn't enjoy this offering as much as his previous books. Maybe my expectation was so great I was bound to be disappointed. Maybe a second reading would make me see things a different way, and I could appreciate it more. Die hard fans of Coelho will probably enjoy it, but I suggest if you are new to his work begin with THE ALCHEMIST, VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE, or BY THE RIVER PIEDRA I SAT DOWN AND WEPT. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 44 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars Why? To me, this book feels more like a reflection of the author's perception of himself. A charactor states part way in a book, that any novel is always in some part... Read more Published 3 days ago by Anonymous 4.0 out of 5 stars A novel of obsession I hadn't read a Paulo Coelho book for a while and this book has reminded me what I love about his writing. I am definitely intending to read more of his work. Read more Published 1 month ago by Maria Savva 5.0 out of 5 stars My favourite This is the first Paulo Coelho book I read and since then he has become one of my favourite authors. Read more Published 5 months ago by Dhawal Mohan 1.0 out of 5 stars Self-indulgent disappointment This was my first dip into Coelho; I bought it as it appeared to be one of the few books by a decent author at Manchester airport. Read more Published 7 months ago by S. Wood 2.0 out of 5 stars not one of his best Obviously everybody who reads this book will probably have a different opinion about it, but after reading several of his books I was a bit disappointed with this one. Read more Published 10 months ago by dee 3.0 out of 5 stars What really matters? This is not the best I have read from Paulo Coelho, but as always I know I'm going to remember some of the profound messages it portrays. Read more Published 11 months ago by OEJ 5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of love, longing and obsesssion Without a doubt this book is a truly great piece of work. Not the simplistic and beautiful message we can easily absorb and receive in the Alchemist... Read more Published 13 months ago by Claire Finnerty 4.0 out of 5 stars Finding yourself in searching for another I've returned once again to one of my favorite authors to review his latest work. Paulo Coelho of international fame for The Alchemist, 11 Minutes and The Devil and Miss Prym, has... Read more Published 13 months ago by Steven R. McEvoy 4.0 out of 5 stars Finding yourself in searching for another I've returned once again to one of my favorite authors to review his latest work. Paulo Coelho of international fame for The Alchemist, 11 Minutes and The Devil and Miss Prym, has... Read more Published 13 months ago by Steven R. McEvoy 5.0 out of 5 stars Searching I've returned once again to one of my favorite authors to review his latest work. Paulo Coelho of international fame for The Alchemist, 11 Minutes and The Devil and Miss Prym, has... Read more Published 15 months ago by Steven R. 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