The Witch of Portobello Book Review
The Witch of Portobello Book Review
This is a story about discovering your spiritually. Paulo Coelho does an amazing job taking a reader on a journey of self-reflection and revelation with his main character Athena (also known as Sherine Khalil and Hagia Sophia) in The Witch of Portobello.
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Summary
Athena was murdered.
Through a series of interviews, multiple characters explained their experience and connections to her. We uncover pieces of who she was through different perspectives. But did anyone really know her? All her life, she felt a constant void that continuously nagged at her soul. The biggest question she consistently pursued an answer to was this: who am I?
"You are what you believe yourself to be."
The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho
A Book Review
Fiction | Paulo Coelho
This book is a meditation on discovering your spirituality outside of learned dogmatic practices; to find revelation by gathering pieces of the Truth that make sense to your soul.
Our main character had aspirations for her life and thought she knew what would bring her happiness. Athena went off to college and found young love, then dropped out of college, got married, and had a baby— it was all part of her plan. But something was always missing. Athena was unsettled within her marriage and the restrictive rules of the church that inhibited her search for God and herself. While venturing to understand it all, she discovered spiritual guides that brought her closer to the answers she was looking for.
Athena's need to find a place in the world stems from her foundation— she was an orphan. Given the name Sherine Khalil by birth, the main character's intention to alter her name multiple times throughout the story derives from that lack of identity. Although she loved her foster parents, she needed to know where she came from. This aided her transformation.
Our protagonist searches for a path within people, dogmas, and motherhood. Athena finds a sensual spiritual compass by putting herself in her body, integrating a deeper state of presence. She becomes a guru, taking on the persona of Hagia Sophia. Then Athena grows a following that attracts both good and evil attention.
In some ways, the protagonist seemed selfish, but it derived from her longing for meaning — she had a destination; nothing would stop her from finding it.
"People learn twenty-five percent from their teacher, twenty-five percent from listening to themselves, twenty-five percent from their friends, and twenty-five percent from time."
The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho
Rating
★★★★★
Coelho brings me closer to my soul. He is a deeply spiritual human who studies the meaning of life through stories. This author can aid any reader towards enlightenment.
I recommend The Witch of Portobello to any reader who seeks in life. For people on a quest for themselves and their spirituality.
"Don't be like those people who believe in "positive thinking" and tell themselves that they're loved and strong and capable. You don't need to do that because you know it already. And when you doubt it — which happens, I think, quite often at this stage of evolution — do as I suggested. Instead of trying to prove that you're better than you think, just laugh. Laugh at your worries and insecurities. View your anxieties with humor. It will be difficult at first, but you'll gradually get used to it. Now go back and meet all those people who think you know everything. Convince yourself that they're right, because we all know everything, it's merely a question of believing."
The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho
