can you handle the Aleph?

Title : Aleph (English translated version from the original Portuguese)

Author : Paulo Coelho

Publisher : Harper Collins, 2011

Pages : 300 pages

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How did I start to read Aleph? First, I wanted to try to read a different type of material than the ones I usually read. Then, I asked a friend, what kind of book does he read, and he is not actually a voracious reader, but he said he had read some Paulo Coelho's book and liked it. I haven't heard of Mr. Coelho's name before, and I've never read his books so far, so why not give it a try?

 

I picked up this title because it is about a person's journey of self-discovery and I always like to read about this kind of things, always intrigued about one's personal journey. This novel is an autobiographical of the author's journey to 'find back his kingdom'. For that reason he travelled all the way starting from Africa, and through Europe and Asia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Just before he started his journey, he met a Turkish young woman named Hilal, a violin prodigy with a troubled past, who seems to be in a journey to find herself back again too, and in order to do that, she must follow the author. Together they travel, with the whole entourage, and during the long ride and the many stops, the author, Hilal and Yao, the author's interpreter with his own story, experienced many encounters that I can't find any simple word to summarize it here. But the main subject of their exploration is the Aleph. What is the Aleph? I don't have any idea what is the Aleph that the author is writing about (but of course he explains it in the novel, and from that explanation, the Aleph is somewhat related to a place where a person can go back to the past and see his past life). In this novel, the author relates how he and Hilal, during the journey, 'find' their past and seek to revitalise their present lives through each other.  

 

Honestly, I am not sure how to review this book, since it is autobiographical, but the concept of the main subject i.e. the Aleph (or the incarnation) is somewhat diverged from my belief and faith. I am not a learned scholar in this matter, suffice to say that I have read some Quran verses regarding it. And so I just leave it to the author and the readers who believe it. However, the things that I enjoy and able to take out from this novel are some of the wise and beautiful words of thoughts that are inspiring, for example, some of my favourites as follows;

 

"Don't be intimidated by other people's opinions. Only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risks and do what you really want to do."

"A life without a cause is a life without effect."

"If you want to see a rainbow, you have to learn to see the rain."

 ...and some others. Regardless of the difficulty of the topic, when reading with an open mind while keeping my faith intact, I always like the idea of making a journey for life's lessons. Go to new places, refresh our mind and see things in different perspectives. Life is a series of many journeys.