I am momentarily wordless.. But I will eventually have to say something, if not lots of things, on the exceptional Coelho’s novel The Zahir. I may begin by saying that this novel was like a textbook on real life and true love for me. It introduced me to many new concepts, such as personal history, as well as to many interesting anecdotes that I would pay anything to my memory so it always remembers them. I don’t think that I ever liked as many statements, at some points whole pages, in one book. Coelho’s style, the emotions and sincerity he put in his writing mesmerized me from the first page till the last word in the book; and at last I refuse to let go of them although I am done with the novel. The story is unique and rich in its own way. It represents an extraordinary romance which evolves throughout the story despite the total separation between its holders. If life is a learning field then true love will be the hardest and toughest lesson to excel and protect.

Engy Moussa
7/6/2011 at 22:47

زهیر همان تصور بی شکل و نامفهوم ما از جهان پیرامون است، تصوری که صرفا اندیشه ها و تمایلات ما را در برنمی گیرد، بلکه قوانین، سنت ها، الگوها و روش های جاری جامعه کنونی ست.
ما انقدر به زندگی در کنار غول نامرئی ترس زندگی کر ده ایم که حتی بوی خوش آزادی را، که ماندگارترینِ آثار است ، از یاد برده ایم. ما در پیچ و خم پراضطراب کنونی دست و پا میزنیم و به خیال خود مسیر موفقیت می پیماییم. ما خود، خود را گول میزنیم، به خود آسیب میرسانیم، همدیگر را به نابودی می کشانیم اما حتی ذره ای آگاه نیستیم که تمامیشان از خود ما برمی خیزد.چشم ها و گوش ها را نه در درون خود میچرخانیم نه در پیرامونمان. به کجا چنین بی حس و حال درحال حرکتیم؟ آدمی که در گرداب مرگ میچرخد چنین حالی دارد.
زهیر هم همین را به ما یادآور میشود، که نقابهاو لباسهای بیشماری را که بر تن خود و دیگران،حتی نزدیکترانمان کرده ایم، و خود را به وسیله آنان میشناسانیم و به عرش پوچ و خیالی میکشانیم به دور بریزیم و آن ساده وسیع و نورانی بی غل و غش که نه میخواهد کسی باشد نه چیزی بخواهد به منصه ظهور برسانیم، تا عشقی را که در سراسر گیتی پراکنده شده دریابم.

I was diasspointed with this and I would consider myself a fan of Paolo Coelho. I just don't think this lived up to his usual work. The plot was weak and there was a lot of annoying, sentimental stream-of-consciousness drivel about the meaning of love and the meaning of life. It's true that these are Coelho's usual themes but I think he's gotten a bit carried away with all the sentiment in this novel and forgotten the story in the process. The only thing that kept me reading until the end was my enduring hate of the main character....he's one of those 'love to hate him' characters.

I liked The Alchemist... And I liked a few other Coelho novels- especially if I happened to be reading them at just the right time in my life. I stopped reading The Zahir at pg. 200 because I couldn't take any more of the mystical, inner voice, follow-the-signs, journey-seeking cheeseball shit that seems to be this author's bread and butter. I admit, I've enjoyed Coelho at certain times and when in the right mood. But this time it came across to me as an author's regurgitation of the same theme, repackaged so many times that the "wisdom" of his message is diluted down to bullshit or cliche adages. For two hundred pages I convinced myself to read more thinking it was bound to get better, somewhat original, and that the story might move a bit faster. I rarely quit reading a novel after making it more than half way through, but I'm putting this one to rest with no regret; no inner conflict; no mystical voice telling me to change my life's path. I have. But it makes me wonder how many times Coelho has, or if he's transformed himself so many times, that he's made a complete 360 many times over.

مغامرة ورحلة اخرى مليئة ب التشويق الاثارة من قبل الكاتب الرائع باولو كويلو, في هذه الرواية لم يبتعد باولو كويلو عن اسلوبه في التعمق والتدخل في العمق الانساني والرحلات لأكتشاف الذات والايمان ب داخلنا, هذه الرحلة تدخلك الى عالم مختلف بعض الشيء عن بقية الرحلات في دخول الى عمقك وبلأخص الصوت الداخلي او الشيء الذي يقدوك من اعماقك بشكل يمكن ان تكون صائبة بشكل أكبر وهي طريق حدسك والامل الموجود في داخلك الذي يأتي منه بكل هذه الاشياء.
ما ذكره باولو كويلو في هذه الرواية بشكل متعمق اكثر وغير ظاهر في الكثير من اجزاء الرواية والتي حسب رأي الشخصي هي من اكبر اساسيات هذه الرواية هي (الأنانية) الذي قادنا لأكتشاف هذه المغامرة واكيد سوف تكتشف فيه اكثر عندما تتعمق اكثر في الرواية.
لقرأتي للكثير من روايات باولو كويلو هذه الرواية الاولى عندي الذي شرح فيه الكاتب اسم الكتاب من المقدمة وليس كباقي الروايات الذي كنت تكتشفه داخل رواية بنفسك وبشكل غموضي اكثر ما تكون واضح او سهل.
من الاشياء الجميلة و المشوقة هو دخول الكاتب الى وسط قارة اسيا والتكلم عنه بصورة جميلة, وهي كيف هذه الدول هي مهمشة دولية على رغم وجود الكمية الكبيرة من الثقافات الغنية فيه, وهذه طبعا بسبب الحروب والمشاكل التي عصفت في ذالك المكان.
هذه الرواية جميلة ولكن مدققة ب التفاصيل الحوارات العميقة ويجب ان تقراءه بشكل دقيق وتركيز.

Adventure and another journey full of suspense and excitement by the wonderful writer Paolo Coelho, in this novel Paolo Coelho did not go away from his style of depth and intervention in the depth of humanity and trips to discover self and faith within us, this trip you enter the world a bit different from the rest of the flights in the entry to Your depth and especially the inner voice or the thing that brings you from your depths in a way that could be more correct is the way of your intuition and hope that is inside you, which comes from all these things.
What Paolo Coelho said in this novel is more profound and unseen in many parts of the novel which, according to my personal opinion, is one of the most fundamental tenets of this novel (selfishness) that led us to discover this adventure and certainly will discover more when it goes deeper into the novel.
To read many of Paulo Coelho's novels, this is my first novel, in which the author explained the name of the book from the introduction, and not like any other novels that you have discovered in a novel yourself, in a way that is more obvious or easier.
One of the most beautiful and fascinating things is the author's entry into the middle of Asia and how to speak of it beautifully, how these countries are marginalized internationally despite the large amount of rich cultures in it, and this is of course because of the wars and problems that have afflicted the place.
This novel is beautiful but closely scrutinized by the deep dialogues and you should read it accurately and focus.

2.6 stars
Okay, dear dear Paulo Coelho. Where do I start?


This is how this book briefly was written.



Careful, this review contains spoilers!


Just so you guys and girls know, this is the seventh book I read by the dude in here, so I am talking based on previous experience, not prejudgment, ok?

Paulo in this extravagant novel is searching for his wife who decided to leave no trace of her whereabouts to him because she felt unhappy. Unhappy because he doesn't understand her, because he is always too busy because bla bla bla bla bla.

I think in his mind, Coelho created the impossible kind of woman. I would never suspect that a woman would be ok with her husband having affairs all the time and when he says that he doesn't want her anymore, she puts her foot down and says NO, you do want me.
blakh.

Annd then when he finds out that she left him, and that now, in the end of the book, she's pregnant, he's cool with it. He's very cool. no. There's NO guy out there like that no matter how good he is.

okay, now I want to talk about the dudes EXCELLENT (not) philosophy.
After 7 books, I finally would express my dismay!!! WOHOU. The picture below will explain what I am feeling right now.



His philosophy is very shallow and cheesy.
I am not going to start lecturing people on MY philosophy. No. I am not here to do that. But I want to say that sometimes some things are more important than personal happiness and that NO ONE is happy except the ignorant. So I am happy with my unhappiness, thank you very much, Coelho.

I hate his philosophy and his style of writing (ok, I know. I am reading the translation BUT) is very annoying, disturbing, and it feels like he took extra doses of drugs while writing all of his books. It is sooo calm, and it is SOOO ANNOYING. Argh. okay.
This is me only.

oh, and, the whole talk about God and the bible scriptures... it is just bleurgh. Dude... no, just no. i respect your religious beliefs BUT NO. He puts his religiousness in a very cheesy concept.
And he goes on and on talking about the energy of love and how it would save our lives. Dude, I know that shit, I really do. but your cheesy kind of writing style is making me hate the hell out of love and promote violence. Your books are dull, very dull, and boring. I know I know I shouldn't read them if I don't like them but curiosity gets the best of me. I try to read any book I set my eyes upon no matter how good and bad it is.
besides, I think esther is a bitch.
oh
and I hate how he promotes for his other books IN HIS BOOKS. DONE IT THOUSANDS OF TIMES. DUDE, HOW MUCH REALLY DO YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR BOOKS? GREEDY LITTLE BASTARD.
The only thing I liked about this book is his obsession with his wife. Nice idea. LOVED IT. It is very new, especially since people rarely admit about their obsessions.

I believe the quotation below will be sufficient to show how brilliant Coelho is:

‘Marie, let’s suppose that two firemen go into a forest to put out a small fire. Afterwards, when they emerge and go over to a stream, the face of one is all smeared with black, while the other man’s face is completely clean. My question is this: which of the two will wash his face?

‘That’s a silly question. The one with the dirty face of course.’

‘No, the one with the dirty face will look at the other man and assume that he looks like him. And, vice versa, the man with the clean face will see his colleague covered in grime and say to himself: I must be dirty too. I’d better have a wash.’

‘What are you trying to say?’

‘I’m saying that, during the time I spent in the hospital, I came to realize that I was always looking for myself in the women I loved. I looked at their lovely, clean faces and saw myself reflected in them. They, on the other hand, looked at me and saw the dirt on my face and, however intelligent or self-confident they were, they ended up seeing themselves reflected in me thinking that they were worse than they were. Please, don’t let that happen to you.’

Combine autobiographical details of Coelho's life (his mindset before following his dream, his life and mental state before and after writing The Alchemist) with a Romantic's version of the movie, "The Vanishing" (the original French version, not the terrible U.S. remake) and you have 'The Zahir.' Coelho does a great job of writing to a spiritual mystery and providing the type of life-learning story readers of the author have grown to enjoy. It says a lot about how much I love 'The Alchemist' that I give this book 5 stars and yet acknowledge it is no where as good as his best-seller, which I would rank as one of my favorite books of all time.

O Zahir = The Zahir, Paulo Coelho

The Zahir is a 2005 novel by the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho.

Just as in an earlier book, The Alchemist, The Zahir is about a pilgrimage. The book touches on themes of love, loss and obsession. The Zahir was written in Coelho's native language, Portuguese, and it has been translated into 44 languages. The Zahir means 'the obvious' or 'conspicuous' in Arabic.

The story revolves around the life of the narrator, a novelist, and in particular his search for his missing wife, Esther. He enjoys all the privileges that money and celebrity bring. He is suspected of foul play by both the police and the press, who suspect that he may have had a role in the inexplicable disappearance of his wife from their Paris home.

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «زهیر»، «ظاهر»؛ نویسنده: پائولو کوئیلو؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز نخست ماه مارس سال2004میلادی

عنوان: زهیر؛ نویسنده: پائولو کوئیلو؛ مترجم: آرش حجازی؛ تهران، کاروان، چاپ دوم سال1384، در436ص؛ شابک9648497303؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان برزیل - سده ی 20م

عنوان: ظاهر، مترجم: سوسن اردکانی؛ تهران، نگارستان کتاب، سال1385، شابک9648155402؛ در420ص؛

عنوان: زهیر، مترجم: دل آرا قهرمان؛ تهران، نشر فرزان روز، سال1394؛ در329ص؛ شابک9789643214319؛

عنوان: زهیر، مترجم: زهره معصومی؛ مشهد، آوای رعنا، سال1396؛ در350ص؛ شابک 9786007725009؛

زَهیر (به پرتغالی: او زهیر) عنوان رمانی از «پائولو کوئلیو» است؛ نامی که خود «کوئلیو» از واژه ی عربی «الظاهر» اقتباس کرده؛ اما از آنجا که بار معنایی «ظاهر» فارسی با همتای عربی‌ خویش یکی نبود، در نهایت با مشورت با نویسنده، نام کنونی «زهیر» بر نسخه ی فارسی کتاب نهاده شد؛ عنوان «زهیر» از داستان «خورخه لوئیس بورخس» اقتباس شده «بورخس» مفهوم «زهیر» را وامدار به سنت اسلامی میداند، و میاننگارند، در آغاز سده ی هجدهم میلادی، مطرح شده باشد؛ «زهیر یا الظاهر» در عربی، یعنی «بیش از حد تابناک»، «مرئی»، «حاضر»، چیزی که نمیتوان نادیده اش گرفت؛ چیزی یا کسی که، وقتی برای نخستین بار، با آن ارتباط پیدا میکنیم، اندیشه ی ما را از آن خود میکند، تا جاییکه نمیتوانیم به چیزهای دیگر بیندیشیم؛

نقل از کتاب: (دو آتش نشان وارد جنگلی میشوند، تا آتش کوچکی را خاموش کنند؛ آخر کار وقتی از جنگل بیرون میآیند و میروند کنار رودخانه، صورت یکیشان کثیف، و پر از خاکستر، و صورت آن یکی به شکل معصومانه ای تمیز است؛ پرسش: کدامشان صورتش را میشوید؟ اشتباه کردید، آن که صورتش کثیف است، به آن یکی نگاه میکند، و فکر میکند صورت خودش هم همانطور است؛ اما آن که صورتش تمیز است میبیند که سرتاپای رفیقش را غبار گرفته است، و به خودش میگوید: حتما من هم کثیفم، باید خودم را تمیز کنم؛
*
برایم دنیایی خلق کن که وقتی احتیاج دارم بتوانم به آن پناه ببرم، دنیایی که آنقدر دور نباشد، که به نظر برسد مستقل از تو زندگی میکنم و آنقدر نزدیک نباشد که به نظر برسد میخواهم به دنیای تو تجاوز کنم)؛ پایان نقل

در این رمان، «پائولو» ضمن اشارات فراوان، به زندگی شخصی خویش، داستانی بسیار شجاعانه، ارائه داده، آکنده از عناصری که هر خوانشگری را، به بازاندیشی، در کنش و باورهای خود، وامی‌دارد؛ راوی (نویسنده) همسرش «استر» را دوست دارد؛ همسر او، ناپدید میشود، و ردی از او نمیماند...؛ از او فقط «زهیر» میماند؛ «زهیر» با یک نظر ساده و همان اندیشه ی گذرا، آغاز میشود، اما ذهن و روح انسان را، تسخیر میکند؛ نویسنده ای مشهور ‍پی میبرد، که همسرش که خبرنگار جنگ است، ناپدید شده، و اثری از او نیست؛ هرچند، گذر زمان برای این نویسنده، موفقیت بیشتر، و عشقی تازه به همراه میآورد، اما غیبت همسرش، او را سرگشته نگاه میدارد؛ چه بر سر همسرش آمده؟ او را دزدیده اند، کشته اند، یا فقط از زندگی زناشویی اش خسته شده و رفته؟

جستجوی نویسنده، به دنبال همسرش؛ و حقیقت زندگی خودش؛ او را از «فرانسه» به «اس‍پانیا»، «کرواسی»، و سرانجام به دشتهای غم انگیز و زیبای «آسیای میانه» میکشاند، و فراتر از اینها، ایشان را از محیط امن دنیای خودش، به جاده ای کاملا ناشناخته میبرد، به دنبال ادراکی تازه از معنای عشق و قدرت سرنوشت؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 07/10/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 03/10/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

ا
کتاب ، هدیه دوستی ، بیست سال درکتابخانه منتظربودبرای خوانده شدن . تنها کتابی که قبلا "از کوئیلو خوانده بودم ، کیمیاگر درهمان زمان انتشارش بود. با بقیه رمانهای موجود فرق داشت . وجه ماورایی اش مثل سّدی دربرابرباور " لا ادری " من می ایستاد ولی لذت می بردم و میگفتم : کاش این دروغها راست بود !:). این کتاب برایم همانطوراست . داستان مردنویسنده ای که همسرش گم می شود وماجراهای بعدی آن .تکه های خیلی خوبی دارد . هشتادصفحه اول به خوبی موقعیت واحساس قهرمان مرد را تشریح میکند که برای من بسیارملموس بود. بعد پا به نوعی روایات شبه عرفانی وماورایی میگذارد که دربسیاری جاها زیبا ست ولی هنوزبرای من قابل پذیرش نیست. وبازهم هنگام خواندن به خودمیگفتم : کاش این دروغهاراست بود. پاراگرافی از بورخس در مطلع کتاب هست که برایم محسوس ودلنشین بود:
زهیر به عربی یعنی بیش ازحدتابناک .چیزی که نمی توان نادیده اش گرفت .که وقتی برای اولین بارباآن ارتباط پیدامی کنیم ، کم کم فکرمارااشغال می کند تاجایی که نمی توانیم به چیزدیگری فکرکنیم .این حال رامی توان سلامت دانست یاجنون.

اگردرجوانی خوانده بودمش چهارامتیازمی دادم.

The Zahir is the sixth stand-alone book by Brazil-born author, Paulo Coelho. It is translated from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa. Esther, a journalist and the wife of a best-selling author disappears from their home in Paris. Once the police release him from custody, dismissing the idea that he may have been responsible, he begins to wonder what has happened. He is soon convinced that she left him voluntarily, despite her occasionally dangerous job as a war correspondent. For two years, he remains obsessed about learning the reason she left him.

The first thing the narrator does is find himself a girlfriend. Then, suitably catered for sexually, he laments his inability to understand why his wife left him. As the narrator (eventually, after more than two years) sets about looking for her, the tale is filled with waffle about finding oneself, pure divine energy, spiritual journey, and energy of love flowing around the world. Much of it seems to be a vehicle for expressing the author’s opinion about topics like wealth, sex and fidelity, marriage, and power.

From the narrator’s history it would seem that this story is largely autobiographical. The author must have quite some charisma in person, because on paper his attitude and arrogance are unappealing. The dialogue is wooden (although perhaps this is a function of the translation); the prose is dull; much of the story feels contrived. This book might appeal to men of a Latin background who fancy themselves on a spiritual journey. 2 stars.

Uno de mis libros favoritos de todos los tiempos.

Te deja con grandes decisiones a tomar en tu vida.

Excelente.