The Witch of Portobello - by Paulo Coelho (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

New York Times Bestseller

"An incredibly beautiful read." - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

How do we find the courage to be true to ourselves--even if we are unsure of who we are? A novel of daring and unconventional living by the author of The Alchemist.

The Witch of Portobello tells the story of Athena -- born in Transylvania, adopted, raised across continents -- a woman whose fierce spiritual gifts and refusal to conform made her magnetic to some and deeply threatening to others. We meet her after her death, through the voices of those who knew her: her mother, her ex-husband, her lovers, her disciples, her enemies. Each account contradicts the others. None of them, alone, tells the whole truth.

What emerges is the portrait of a woman on an uncompromising quest to understand the divine feminine -- through dance, through ritual, through the ancient traditions she sought out and embodied -- and the world's complicated response to a woman who lived that openly and that freely.

The Witch of Portobello is a transporting read that will challenge you to find the courage it takes to be true to yourself, even when -- especially when -- you're not sure who that is yet.

From the Back Cover

How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves--even if we are unsure of who we are?

That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho's profound new work, The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well--or hardly at all. 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.

Review Quotes

"Another uncanny fusion of philosophy, religious miracle and moral parable." - Publishers Weekly

"The Brazilian-born author of "The Alchemist" returns with this masterly novel about Athena, the illegitimate daughter of a Transylvanian gypsy adopted by well-to-do Lebanese parents." - Seattle Times

"Spiritualists and wanderlusts will eagerly devour The Alchemist author's firey diatribes about love, fear and the search for all things meaningful." - Washington Post

"We fell in love with The Devil and Miss Prym and believe the author's use of different voices contributing to the story line in this new novel [The Witch of Portobello] even surpasses that beautiful read...It's a very fast read. I'm a slow reader, but I read this spellbinding masterpiece in two nights. I think the magical, lyrical and fascinating Athena will immediately become literature's first lady!" --Jake Reiss of Alabama Booksmith as quoted in Publishers Weekly - Publishers Weekly

"[Coelho's] special talent seems to be his ability to speak to everyone at once. The kind of spirituality he espouses is to all comers....In the memoirs, and in the introductions to his novels, he emphasizes his own flaws and failures, forgives himself for them, and, by extension, forgives his readers theirs. Coelho's plots tend to be allegorical, and his readers often say that they see their own lives in his own books....The writing is unadorned and pleasant to read..." - The New Yorker