Paulo Coelho

[Olga4real]

I was looking for this author but have not found any discussions. Would like to read some ideas about his books.

[Helga]

I have read most of his books and really enjoyed them, I have wondered about this too sometimes, there is no discussion about him. He has had an interesting life, mainly his early years and his books are very popular and I have liked most of them, my favourite is 'Veronica decides to die' and 'the Zahir' was really good too. Oh and 'Eleven minuets' and 'the witch from Portobello' OK I liked most of them.

[King Mob]

I haven't read Coelho, but he is widely considered by many respected authors and academics to be really and extremely bad. Just look a bit on the internet, but keep in mind that all of the negative comments i've heard are from spanish speaking people. Maybe Coelho hasn't been analysed yet in other countries.

[islandclimber]

I haven't read Coelho, but he is widely considered by many respected authors and academics to be really and extremely bad. Just look a bit on the internet, but keep in mind that all of the negative comments i've heard are from spanish speaking people. Maybe Coelho hasn't been analysed yet in other countries.

he's widely considered to be quite bad by many people on this site as well, hence the lack of discussion... you won't find many discussions on the mass market stuff here... well, not for the most part anyways.. but if you want to discuss him, start a thread on his books or whatever about him, and I am sure there are people who will be interested in discussing his work... :)

[mmmmmm]

but keep in mind that all of the negative comments i've heard are from spanish speaking people.

Coelho is a Brazilian, and thus speaks Portuguese, if I'm not mistaken.

I have only read The highly publicized "The Alchemist", and was not thoroughly disappointed by it. I felt it was a flawed piece of work, much like an adult's Little Prince that didn't quite turn out perfectly. It's worth a read but you won't find any groundbreaking literature.

[JBI]

There was a long one a while back - a very long one, but I'm going to agree and say yes, he is very bad, though I hear he is even worse in Portuguese.

[King Mob]

Coelho is a Brazilian, and thus speaks Portuguese, if I'm not mistaken.

Yes i know. It's me the spanish speaking one, thus i've read or heard spanish speaking reviews. The one i most remember is from argentinian writer Juan Jose Saer, when he said that "to admire a writer you have to deserve it, you can't say you admire Shakespeare and then write like Paulo Coelho".

[Olga4real]

I really enjoyed reading The Alchemist, I liked Veronika and after it I just lost interest in his books, however I don't think that Coelcho is that bad

[Veva]

I have read many of his books and I think that he is rated badly by the detractors mainly becuase he doesn't convey his messages in a refined way. Everything in his books is written so simply, yet for many of his readers it means much. And I believe that it is his main aim. Don't forget that simplicity is sometimes more. ;)

[Pecksie]

He is awful, IMHO. Overhyped drivel --- the kind of book read by people who don't read, if you get my meaning.

If you're looking for good Brazilian authors, try Jorge Amado and Machado de Assis. There's Chico Buarque, a songwriter-turned-author whose novel 'Budapest' I, for one, found interesting. There's also Clarice Lispector --- I haven't especially enjoyed what I read by her, but she seems to be a respected author as well. Don't waste your time on Coelho.