Paulo Coelho: Difference between revisions
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Some even call his novels "commercial" and market-oriented. His election to the [[Academia Brasileira de Letras|Brazilian Academy of Letters]] is a very controversial subject in Brazil. |
Some even call his novels "commercial" and market-oriented. His election to the [[Academia Brasileira de Letras|Brazilian Academy of Letters]] is a very controversial subject in Brazil. |
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Despite being Christian Catholic, his books seem to roughly express some |
Despite being Christian Catholic, his books seem to roughly express some sort of [[Esoteric Christianity]] (although Coelho is not known to belong to this 'movement') since they combine religion, mysticism, spiritual exercises, meditation and supernatural experiences, mainly drawn from his past occult activities. These elements are sometimes incompatible with mainstream Catholicism. In any case, his themes don't express any specific religion, apart from the Catholic elements, which are used in some plots. |
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==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
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Revision as of 20:22, 13 June 2006
Paulo Coelho (born August 24, 1947) is a famous Brazilian lyricist and novelist.
Bio
He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and attended law school there, but abandoned his studies in 1970 to travel throughout Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, as well as Europe and North Africa.
Two years later he returned to Brazil and began composing popular music lyrics, working with such popular musicians as Raul Seixas. As he confesses in an interview to Juan Arias, during that time he was introduced to the work of controversial English mystic Aleister Crowley, which influenced their collaboration. The influence extended not only to music, but also to plans for the creation of the "Alternative Society," which was to be an anarchist community in the state of Minas Gerais based on Crowley's premise: "'Do what thou wilt' shall be the whole of the Law." The project was considered subversive by members of the Brazilian military, which imprisoned all prospective members of the group. Seixas and Coelho are reported to have been tortured during their imprisonment.
After a supernatural experience, described in The Valkyries, Coelho left the society.
Later in Holland he met a person (whom he would refer to as "J" throughout The Valkyries, The Pilgrimage and his website "Warriors of Light online") who changed his life and Coelho was driven towards Christianity. He became a member of a Catholic group known as RAM (Regnus Agnus Mundi) with "J" as his "Master". In 1986 he walked along the Road of Santiago, an ancient Spanish pilgrimage and his book The Pilgrimage describes his final initiation. Paulo Coelho is the first non-Moslem occidental writer who has traveled to Iran since the islamic revolution 1979.
He and his wife Christina live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and in Tarbes, France.
His works
He has sold over 86 million books in over 150 countries worldwide and his works have been translated into 56 languages. He has received numerous literary awards from a variety of countries, including La Legion d'Honneur (France), Grinzane Cavour (Italy), His other novels include The Alchemist, based on Borges' Tale of two dreamers, which sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been translated into some 41 languages; it is also a movie in progress produced by Laurence Fishburne, who is a fan of Coelho. In addition he has written The Pilgrimage (which was the basis for a computer game, developed by the Arxel Tribe), By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, and The Valkyries. His 2005 novel The Zahir was banned in Iran with 1,000 copies confiscated [1] and after again permitted to publish.
His books have appeared on bestseller lists in countries not only in Brazil, but in the UK, the USA, France, Germany, Iran,Canada, Italy, Israel, Finland, Greece, Romania and Lithuania. He is the all time best-selling Portuguese language author.
Critical acclaims
Paulo Coelho has achieved the greatest imaginable success a Brazilian writer could ever expect to have. However, his achievements are far from being unanimously appreciated in Brazil itself.
Despite all this public success, he is seen by most literary critics in Brazil as a lesser author, whose work is too simple and similar to self-help books. Criticism of his work arises mostly from his plain, direct style and the constant borrowing of ideas from other authors.
Some even call his novels "commercial" and market-oriented. His election to the Brazilian Academy of Letters is a very controversial subject in Brazil.
Despite being Christian Catholic, his books seem to roughly express some sort of Esoteric Christianity (although Coelho is not known to belong to this 'movement') since they combine religion, mysticism, spiritual exercises, meditation and supernatural experiences, mainly drawn from his past occult activities. These elements are sometimes incompatible with mainstream Catholicism. In any case, his themes don't express any specific religion, apart from the Catholic elements, which are used in some plots.
Bibliography
- The Alchemist
- Brida
- The Manual of the Warrior of Light
- By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
- The Pilgrimage
- Veronika Decides to Die
- The Valkyries
- Eleven Minutes
- The Fifth Mountain
- The Zahir
- The Devil and Miss Prym
- Maktub