Wow! I was blown away by this book. I absolutely loved it. I agree with Sarah's comment, that in some ways it was refreshing for an author to be so blatant about its "message" as opposed to couching it in hidden sometimes hard to decipher allegory and metaphor. I will throw in, the obvious caveats that A. as Eden has documented the writing is not harmonious to the English reader and B. I have some obvious qualms about some of the religious views that were encouraged by the book.
However, the only strong objection I have is the preponderance of omens and signs. In some way, there is truth to the thought that God does speak to us in many ways through many things, natural and supernatural, however the point that is lacking is a certain amount of discernment. Those looking for signs will find them in many ways and places. Without discernment and grounding in the Truth, there would be great opportunity for misunderstanding and outright self-delusion. Other than that, I think there are a lot of truths that even though they are not clearly Christian, are things that really resonated with me. I really should make notes as I read, so I could reference how many times I said..."Yeah, that's right" and "That is so insightful". One of the ones that really stuck out to me though, was the comment by the alchemist, "The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth will do that. You don't even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a single grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation."
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I probably should post this with Eden's post since she commented more on the writing, but in regards to A. I really didn't think the writing was so terrible; I thought it fit the genre/tone of the narrative.
And as far as it being a translation, I find it hard to believe that in this day and age, between two fairly common languages that the translation wouldn't be pretty decent.
It's not just the translation possibility that makes it bad writing. It just could be.
ARG! I can't seem to explain it well. I'm trying, I swear. I like books that are stripped of lots of description and unnecessary stuff. That's how I write, personally. Something about the choices that Coehlo has. What he chooses to show and explain and what he doesn't.
I hadn't thought that it might be the cultural difference. Good point, Chris. My other than English literature knowledge is on the less side, truly.
I guess I'm alone in my views. *sniffles* all alone in the world. that's for you, sarahbear.
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