The Zahir, Paulo Coelho's new novel, is a perfect follow-on to The Alchemist. Paulo picks up the theme of the pilgrimage to Santiago but tells a very different, gripping story of love, loss and passionate obsession.

The protagonist of this new novel is a renowned author who writes about spirituality and once went on pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. On a return visit, he is suddenly abandoned by his wife, who leaves no trace of herself behind.

As the story unfolds the author becomes obsessed with understanding the reason for her desertion.The title comes from a tale by Jorge Luis Borges, published in his book The Aleph.

In Arabic Zahir means 'visible, present and unable to go unnoticed.' (less)

This exotic spiritual odyssey is a rare combination of truth, myth, imagination and inspiration. Ultimately it is a story about being able to forgive our past and believe in our future (less)

Coelho's anthology, therefore, is not only a collection of texts or poems, but a gift, something arranged according to his sensitivities, to give to othe The selection of books presented in this volume have been chosen as if from a vast field of flowers, stretching infinitely into time's horizon. Coelho's selection is ordered in to the four elements, symbolizing both our world on all its directions, and the way we dwell in it, the way we say it.

In 'Earth' we find writers as diverse as Oscar Wilde and D H Lawrence; in 'Air' Nelson Mandela and Gabriel Garcia Marques; in 'Fire' Rumi and Mary Shelley; and, in 'Water' Hans Christian Anderson and Machiavelli (less)

Believing that his life with Ewa was divinely ordained, Igor once told her that he would destroy whole worlds to get her back. The conflict between an individual evil force and society emerges, and as the novel unfolds, morality is derailed (less)

Yet she is not happy; something is lacking in her life, and one morning she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in the local hospital.

There she is told that her heart is damaged and she has only a few days to live.The story follows Veronika through these intense days as to her surprise she finds herself experiencing feelings she has never really felt before.

Against all odds she finds herself falling in love and even wanting to live again; (less)

The highlight of this collection is The Alchemist, which broke records by selling more than 65 million copies and made Coelho the world's most translated author (living). Paulo Coelho, the famous Brazilian author and lyricist, was born on the 24th of August, 1947, in Rio de Janeiro.

His writing career started in 1982, when he published his first book, Hell Archives. He became a household name following the success of The Alchemist.

Coelho was honored by the UN as a 'Messenger of Peace' in the year 2007, and he also serves as a member of the Shimon Peres Center for Peace. His other (less)

As he leads her on a magical journey through the Fench Pyrenees, Pilar begins to realize that this chance encounter is going to transform her life forever. With Paulo's trademark blend of mysticism, magical realism and folklore, Pilar's story is a poignant and deeply inspiring tale.

A magical blend of compelling action, exotic locations and intriguing characters, told with Paulo's characteristic power and insight (less)

Her life is pieced together through a series of recorded interviews with those people who knew her well or hardly at all - parents, colleagues, teachers, friends, acquaintances, her ex-husband.The novel unravels Athena's mysterious beginnings, via an orphanage in Romania, to a childhood in Beirut.

When war breaks out, her adoptive family move with her to London, where a dramatic turn of events occurs..

.Athena, who has been dubbed 'the Witch of Portobello' for her seeming powers of prophecy, disappears dramatically, leaving those who knew her to solve the mystery of her life and abrupt departure.

Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy and sacrifice (less)

Eventually, Maria's despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness, `sexual pleasure for its own sake', or risking everything to find her own `inner light' and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.

A daring modern fable about the nature of love and sex (less)

She has long been interested in various aspects of magic, but is searching for something more. Her search leads her to people of great wisdom, who begin to teach her about the world.

Her teachers sense that Brida has a gift, but cannot tell what that is. Meanwhile, Brida pursues her course ever deeper into the mysteries of life, seeking to answer questions about who she is.

She meets a wise man who dwells in a forest, and teaches her about overcoming her fears and trusting in the goodness of the world, and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the music of the world, and how to pray to the moon. She seeks her destiny, as she struggles to find a balance between her relationships and her desire to become a witch.

This enthralling novel incorporates themes fans of Paulo will (less)

Facing a grave crisis of faith, and seeking a path of spiritual renewal and growth, Paulo decides to start over: to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and the world. On this journey through Europe, Africa, and Asia, he will again meet Hilal;the woman he loved 500 years before;an encounter that will initiate a mystical voyage through time and space, through past and present, in search of himself.

Aleph is an encounter with our fears and our sins; a search for love and forgiveness, and the courage to confront the inevitable challenges of life (less)

This exotic spiritual odyssey is a rare combination of truth, myth, imagination and inspiration. Ultimately it is a story about being able to forgive our past and believe in our future (less)

Sometimes humorous, sometimes serious, but always profound, this book, like all of Coelho's work, explores what it means to be truly alive (less)