The Witch of Portobello Hardcover – May 15, 2007

This is my second time reading a Coehlo novel. I loved it. I didn’t love the ending but I won’t give anything away. Paulo Coehlo always takes me on a journey as if I’m sitting right there amongst the characters.

First and foremost, widely anticipated The Witch of Portobello doesn't disappoint in its overall presence. It retains Paulo's grand theme of spirituality as depicted by a leading character that goes through the journey to be able to live each own legend and fulfill each true destiny, which every now and then inspires seekers like myself. I find in Paulo's work books (this one included) that I will keep in my bookshelf to reread whenever I need a boost in my journey.What's new in The Witch of Portobello is that rather than using the normal sort of chronological narrative, Paulo succeeds to beautifully craft many first accounts of people who have crossed Sherine Khalil's (or Athena's or Hagia Sofia's) path. Through these accounts, Sherine Khalil came to life even with the absence of Sherine's own account.The story also has a little unexpected twist in the end too. No, I don't want to ruin it for you by telling you what the twist is. Just read the book yourself. Unlike a number of readers, I don't think that the author ends the book rather hastily by sprinting throughout the last couple of pages. And I don't question the validity of the featured ancient spiritual practices and beliefs either. To me, it doesn't matter if a fiction is supported by accurate factual information or not. It's a fiction anyway. The most important thing in Paulo's work is that the stories he presents never fail to inspire readers to wake up to the Reality.I find in the book similarities to The Fifth Mountain in terms of extreme reservation towards newly emerging spiritual beliefs by incumbent religious supporters. To me, The Witch of Portobello is like a modern version of The Fifth Mountain. Both also transmit hopeful message that implies the win of the emerging (which can be a revival of ancient practices) over the old in reforming the world. In terms of how the ending goes, the book also reminds me of the movie The Illutionist, which I love.

This book is amazing. Pablo Coelho is a wonderful author. He does an amazing job setting the stage with a fun and interesting plot, while also emulating the human experience.

The Witch in question is the protagonist of the piece, but we never meet her first hand. In the beginning we are told that she was murdered. We don't know why or by whom. Each chapter is a narrative told by her friends, family, and acquaintances. They describe their relationships with her and how they were impacted by having known her. Born in Transylvania to a Romany gypsy mother and a "foreign" father after a brief affair, our heroine is given up for adoption immediately after birth. She is adopted by a Lebanese couple, the Kahlils, and they bring her to their home when Beirut had a reputation for being a glittering, vibrant city.They name her Shirine and raise her in their Roman Catholic faith. When war breaks out in Beirut they immigrate to London and become well established. Shirine grows up and marries and has a son. The marriage ends in divorce. When she is denied communion she leaves the Catholic Church, and this is the beginning of her journey to becoming Athena, the Witch of Portobello.Through various relationships she develops her own philosophy and belief system which is a mix of gypsy superstition, mid-eastern dervish, and wiccan beliefs. She becomes well known for her teachings and develops a cult following which leads to her downfall.The story does reach a surprising and satisfying conclusion.If your tastes tend toward the esoteric and arcane then by all means help yourself.For my taste it is less of a straight forward story and more of a philosophical treatise.

I'm very fond of this author so I typically always enjoy whatever he has to write. You are fond of this author you will also like this book.

I'm torn between I like it and I love it. I'd give it a 4.5 star rating if I could. Lots of concepts that have helped me to think about experiences in my life and lots of experiences that mirror my life; so of course, I'm thrilled someone has the ability and gift to figure a way to piece together a story that describes real life phenomena that is not often experienced or understood in the western world. The experiences of the main character, however, are a bit too over the top for me. Maybe bc I've not witnessed or experienced this kind of thing before (easy wealth, easy child rearing, easy fame, easy ability to access mana; all too easy)? Idk, I didn't totally buy it and was frustrated. Something didn't sit right with me. I guess I feel mysticism is mystical enough not to have to be overly mystified w exaggeration. Another way to say it: I wanted more demystification of the world of mysticism. I think it's time.

I started out reading P.C. with the "Alchemist", which a friend of mine recommended. P.C seems to be much more well known in Europe and South America than here in the US as I was not aquainted with the author before reading "Alchemist". Even though this type of novel is not my normal reading genre, the book reads rather quickly and the subject matter is intriguing. Although the message is not new---namely, that the church is hypocritical and society consiously and unconsiously enforces conformity at the expense of individuality,some people might be uncomfortable with the way Sherina (Athena) goes about finding that individuality. I thought it was compelling in the way that the book was setup...a narrative journal...of the life and times of the Witch of Portobello. I probably was drawn to the book because I saw some parallels in my own life---and found Paul's unique way of describing them quite insightful. This was one of the few books I have recomended to others...so read it with an open mind..you just may learn something about yourself....

First off I did not think that I would enjoy this book when I realised that it was flipping from one person's account to another. However, after a very short time I became hooked and fascinated. It is a fascinating journey of Athena's life which applies to each and every one of us. I can relate to much of this book through my own journey and it can teach us a much more deeper meaning to life. You need to be open to learn and listen within as you read and not just read it as a story. A great book, very inspiring and I highly recommend it, especially for those who are currently searching for something deeper 8n life.

Book is nice, though it left me that feeling of having only scraped the surface. I been having this feeling for a while when reading Coelho books. It is like the explanations, if given are very superficial, he introduces big arguments which are not explained in the text, or are explained in a rather simplicistic way. I felt the same when I read the Aleph, actually that was much worse. Also I did not particularly apreciate Paulo way of dealing with the girls (can not remember her name), I noted a certain amount of arrogance in his characters and the way he related to other people. A kind of " I know the truth, I am illuminated and wise and so superior to everyone else" attitude that I am not enjoying at all.

I found this really hard work and threw the towel in half way, which I NEVER do! Perhaps I didn’t grasp the message of the tale, however found the whole thing annoying and pointless. Sorry!

Great read, Paulo never fails to grip the reader! ****

This is my favourite author and this is another great read. I would recommend this book to a friend.