The Zahir

By Paulo Coelho

It begins with a glimpse or a passing thought. It ends in obsession.

One day a renowned author discovers that his wife, a war correspondent, has disappeared leaving no trace. Though time brings more success and new love, he remains mystified – and increasingly fascinated – by her absence. Was she kidnapped, blackmailed, or simply bored with their marriage? The unrest she causes is as strong as the attraction she exerts.

His search for her – and for the truth of his own life – takes him from France to Spain, Croatia and, eventually, the bleakly beautiful landscape of Central Asia. More than that, it takes him from the safety of his world to a totally unknown path, searching for a new understanding of the nature of love and the power of destiny.

With ‘The Zahir’, Paulo Coelho demonstrates his powerful and captivating storytelling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Apr 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9780007379941

Paulo Coelho

One of the most influential writers of our time, Paulo Coelho is the author of thirty international bestsellers, including The Alchemist, Warrior of the Light, Brida, Veronika Decides to Die, and Eleven Minutes. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Paulo is the recipient of 115 international prizes and awards, among them, the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor). Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1947, he soon discovered his vocation for writing. He worked as a director, theater actor, songwriter, and journalist. In 1986, a special meeting led him to make the pilgrimage to Saint James Compostela (in Spain). The Road to Santiago was not only a common pilgrimage but a turning point in his existence. A year later, he wrote The Pilgrimage, an autobiographical novel that is considered the beginning of his literary career. He lives in Geneva, Switzerland.

Reviews for The Zahir

[V Sridhar Subramaniam · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a tale of recognising oneself by way of questioning assumptions and opening up your mind for new ideas. How you choose to forget false values and constraints in your life. Makes for interesting reading.

[csobolak-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Man dies and goes to heaven.

[athy127 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Slow to get through at first but at halfway through you really can start to connect to the main character and understand his obsession. The ending is absolutely fantastic.

[vpfluke · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is Coelho's best novel since the [Alchemist]. I found that I wanted to stay with the story even when its profundity wasn't there. The story is narrated by a person who may be a mirror of the author, I don't know. His wife has left hime for mysterious reasons, much of which deals with the peculiarites of love and relationships. A Kazakh immigrant provdies an alternate spiritual path which attracts a number of young people, and has entwined relationship with the narrator's wife. Much of the story is laid in Paris and provides some look into an aspect of the homeless world.

[allzz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

a book about a husband who is searching for his wife and also wants to know why she left him...a good read but depressing at times...

[veranaz22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A novel following a journey of a novelist in search of his wife, or rather of obsessing over why his wife left. But instead of finding her, he finds out things about himself.This novel had a wonderfully strong start, but started to get very disconnected in the middle. Overall, it was such a joy and such an experience to read. After reading "The Alchemist," I had no interest in reading anymore of Coelho's work, but this novel inspires me to give his work another chance. Looking forward to more Coelho!Three and a half out of five.

[bookwoman247 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When Esther, the wife of a famed author becomes a war correspondent, and disappears, along with her assistant, Mikhael, the author can only assume that the two are having an affair.As hard as he tries to let her go, she has become his zahir, a thing that cannot be forgotten. The desire to find her intensifies, burning ever stronger, the harder he tries to forget her.When Mikhael appears, bearing the news that Esther is in Kazakhistan, the author sets off on a quest, both spiritual and literal, to find her.This book is very typical Coelho. It is obvious that he writes from deep within his soul, with great passion. Although I do find his brand of spirituality interesting, it is not for me. I prefer to read his work as more of a simple, basic quest. I can only take his work in small doses, but find him enjoyable enough to read if I'm in the mood.

[stephenbarkley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm afraid my journey with Coelho is over. I was intrigued by The Alchemist, even though it smacked of neo-gnosticism. Veronica Decides to Die had such a twisted premise, I could overlook the philosophy. The Devil and Miss Prym, again, was such an interesting take on a folksy tale, I half-enjoyed it. In The Zahir, Coelho's mushy spiritualism collided so violently with my worldview it was a chore to read.I did enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the book—the cultures of Brazil, France and Kazakhstan combine to make interesting reading. Coelho's prose is beautiful to read, as well. He moves effortlessly between dialogue and thought.In the end, though, I'm tired of people thinking that leaving their old life behind will allow them to "find themselves". That mid-life-crisis myth has spoiled too many relationships for me to take it seriously.

[mrs2starbucks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Completely unexpected...it's one of those novels that says so much you have to read it 50 times to understand even a paragraph the way it deserves to be understood.One of the things I love most about Coelho is the...almost Pagan...approach to things. If you have very traditional concepts of love, marriage, religion, nature and miracles, I don't think you'd get very much out of this. For me, Coelho's works are explorations of things I already feel and believe without giving in to confirmation bias. I thought this story would be dark, a sort of descent into madness. It turned out to be anything but that. It's rather a story of redemption from obsession, and not just any obsession, but the obsession with the way things are supposed to be. That is the ultimate Zahir, and a Zahir that belongs to all of us at one time or another.

[mariasavva_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I hadn't read a Paulo Coelho book for a while and this book has reminded me what I love about his writing. I am definitely intending to read more of his work. I love the way the prose pulls you in and keeps you interested. There are many inspirational and spiritual passages in the novel which seem to be written with the intention of giving hope and direction to the reader.The book is about an internationally acclaimed author whose wife has disappeared. She is a War correspondent and, therefore, the husband does not know whether she left him, or whether she was kidnapped or something far worse. One day a man appears at one of the author's book signings with a message from the wife to say that she is okay. The husband then becomes increasingly obsessed with idea of finding her. She becomes his 'Zahir' which is defined as something which, once seen or touched, can not be forgotten. We follow the husband in his journey to find his wife, and also in his own personal spiritual journey along the way.It is described as a novel of 'obsession' and, in my view, Paulo has done a great job in writing the book in such a way that the reader has almost a compulsion to read on to find out what happens - almost as if the book becomes an obsession.The book isn't perfect, so I can't give it five stars. I did find it a bit confusing in places, as there are often long conversations in the book between characters (sometimes multiple characters) without reference as to who is the speaker. Also, the lack of quotation marks at the beginning of new paragraphs when a character was making a speech or talking over a few paragraphs, was a bit annoying and also confusing.Finally, I was quite disappointed with the ending; for me it was too predictable and a bit contrived.But on the whole I enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it.

[kipp15 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A long obsessive quest to reunite with the beloved.

[denina_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Pretentious and pseudo-philosophical/intellectual.

[karima29 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

According to the writer Jorge Luis Borges, the idea of the Zahir comes from Islamic tradition and is thought to have arisen at some point in the eighteenth century. Zahir, in arabic, means visible, present, incapable of going unnoticed. It is someone or something which, once we have come into contact with them or it, gradually occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else. This can be considered either a state of holiness or of madness.Faubourg Saint-PeresEncyclopedia of the Fantastic (1953)This book, was another journey with Coelho into his world of the spirit, and this time the real essence of love. What it means to love someone, and yourself... And again, the main character appears to be him, with the same background and his life experiences, although I'm not sure that this particular thing ever happened to him. The narrator/protagonist in the story is never named. The book also addresses happiness and wealth. He talks about what it's like to be a celebrity, more importantly, what it's like to be a human being while being a celebrity.

[rayski_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Zahir is the obsession of a person. The narrator’s obsession is a lost love, a woman. The narrator is part Coelho. The overall story is not great, but as typical with Coelho the beauty of the book is in individual passages, especially those dealing with letting your past go so you can have a future.

[ficusfan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A strangely written post-modern story of love, the meaning of life, spirituality, and the battle against conformity.The narrator seems to speak directly to the reader for most of the book. He tells the story of his life, and his marriage. His journey to find love, his place in life, and how he lost his wife. His wife becomes his obsession, his Zahir. As he works through the process of trying to figure out how he lost her, where she is, if he wants her back, and how to go about it, he realizes that the Zahir is a symptom of the problem. The narrator explains his philosophy on love and life, and what he has learned, the mistakes he has made, and the spiritual growth he has achieved. At first it was not enjoyable because of the odd method of telling the story, then the narrator seemed unlikeable. But around page 25, it because interesting, and I was hooked. I don't know if I would read more of this type of fiction, but it was a change for me and it sucked me in. The narrator also seemed to be exploring lots of uncomfortable truths about life and living. If the reader has not already done some thinking along these lines, s/he might become uncomfortable and unable to enjoy the flow of his journey. There was a bit of magical realism mixed in with a character who has visions. The story takes place mostly in Paris, and then ends on the Asian steppes of Kazakhstan. All in all very interesting.

[kristicw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent story about one man's search for his life's love and finding himself along the way.