Zahir is a story about love and loss, and deals with the obsession of the main characters.
Summary of the Book
Many us have experienced being obsessed with something or someone. It may be a passing thought at first, but in the end, it is all we ever think about. In this story, the protagonist is on a pilgrimage to Santiago with his wife. He is a renowned author and writes about spirituality. Along the way, he is left stranded by his wife who offers no explanation for why she is leaving him. The author starts to obsess over the reason and is determined to understand why she left him. The title of the story, Zahir, means that which is visible and cannot go unnoticed. The novel discusses many things like the feeling of being rich and famous, and the meaning of money. It also speaks about marriages and the various things that influence a writer.
About Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1947. He had previously worked as a composer, journalist and as an author and director for the theatre, all of which happened before he dedicated his life to writing books. His works have been published in over 168 countries and have been translated into more than 80 other languages. Coelho’s major success, The Alchemist, remains to be the highest selling book ever written by a Brazilian. Paulo was chosen to the Brazilian Academy of Letters in the year 2002. In the year 2007, he was named as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Some his other notable works are Eleven Minutes, Veronika Decides to Die, Like the Flowing River, Manuscript Found in Accra, and Brida.