Genre: love, spiritual
Date Published: 2005
Themes: love, loss and
obsession
Summary
According to Coelho, “Zahir,
in Arabic, means visible, present, incapable of going unnoticed. It is someone
or something which, once we have come into contact with them or it, gradually
occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else. This can be
considered either a state of holiness or of madness.” The book is a pilgrimage
of love and loss—a journey which yields self-discovery and spiritual growth.(
http://www.supersummary.com/the-zahir-a-novel-of-obsession/summary/)
The narrator is a renowned
spiritual author who is seeking for Esther, his wife, a war correspondent. Through the
narration, we could imagine how free they were in their relationship. Both can
travel anytime and anywhere, and do his and her own things including sleeping
with others. It was modern and too free but they preferred it this way and
neither of them asked about each others’ extra
marital affairs. When Esther left him, he became obsessed about it. Later on,
he was able to write a love story titled A Time to Sow and A Time to Reap which
is about his journey in love with Esther. It was actually a novel dedicated to
Esther.
He met Mikhail, a young
epileptic guy from Kazakhstan whom he believed was Esther’s boyfriend. Mikhail’s life purpose is to tell the world about love
and Esther was the one who gave him this chance when she helped him move to Paris.
Mikhail believes that he has visions and he hears the voice. HE performs in a
bar together with his team wherein they tell a story, ask audience to share their
own stories then sumps up with a dance.
With his wife’s absence, he began an affair with Maria, a beautiful
and intellectual actress. As the narrator departs to find Esther the next
morning, he gets into an accident, which he takes as an affirmation of
Mikhail’s warning. Later on, he thought that he was ready to look for Esther. HE
went with Mikhail to Kazakhstan, Eventually, he soon discovered that Esther was
teaching French and weaving carpets. The two met. Esther revealed that she is
pregnant with Dos’ baby – Dos is the grandson of her mentor who also lives in
Kazakhstan. The narrator wanted her to stay there to be safe but Esther wanted
to get another horse as she was pumped up for a new correspondent.
Reflection:
Coelho ‘s words are always profound. You cannot just read it
quickly because the messages are to be digested overtime. I liked all his works
especially Veronika Decides to Die. Coelho’s reflections are truly something else
and will make you also see the world in a different perspective.
What I like about this book are the complexities of the two
characters. Both are passionate about their works except with their commitment with
each other. Esther was into finding what love and happiness is, going to wars
to look for the answers while the narrator was into writing novels.
The conversations of the characters were also tightbound. Setting
was new and fitting- the contrast between Paris and Kazakhstan. IT also shows
the beggars’ condition but in here they believed they were not poor. Actually,
this book is really about changing perspective.
In general, this book does not match up with his other novels. It gives lessons but it is
quite boring.
