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Title details for The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho - Available

The Witch of Portobello

by Paulo Coelho
Rita Wolf
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available

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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 27, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780061450068
      • File size: 235172 KB
      • Duration: 08:09:56

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Paulo Coelho does not disappoint in this story of the mysterious Athena and her quest for truth, love, and spirituality. Told through a series of interviews with at least a dozen characters, Coelho's tale is perfect for the audiobook format. This plot technique would challenge any narrator, but Rita Wolf is equal to the task. She moves seamlessly and convincingly between a British banker, a Romanian gypsy, and a holy man in the deserts of Dubai, to cite only a few of the characters. Portrayals of both genders and characters of varying ages are accomplished just as credibly. Wolf's performance and Coelho's writing combine to give the listener that rare experience in which message and medium are ideally matched. M.O.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 19, 2007
      Multimillion-seller Coelho (The Devil and Miss Prym
      , etc.) returns with another uncanny fusion of philosophy, religious miracle and moral parable. The Portobello of the title is London's Portobello Road, where Sherine Khalil, aka Athena, finds the worship meeting she's leading—where she becomes an omniscient goddess named Hagia Sophia—disrupted by a Protestant protest. Framed as a set of interviews conducted with those who knew Athena, who is dead as the book opens, the story recounts her birth in Transylvania to a Gypsy mother, her adoption by wealthy Lebanese Christians; her short, early marriage to a man she meets at a London college (one of the interviewees); her son Viorel's birth; and her stint selling real estate in Dubai. Back in London in the book's second half, Athena learns to harness the powers that have been present but inchoate within her, and the story picks up as she acquires a "teacher" (Deidre O'Neill, aka Edda, another interviewee), then disciples (also interviewed), and speeds toward a spectacular end. Coelho veers between his signature criticism of modern life and the hydra-headed alternative that Athena taps into. Athena's earliest years don't end up having much plot, but the second half's intrigue sustains the book.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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