The Witch of Portobello

infobox Book
name = The Witch of Portobello
title_orig =
translator = Margaret Jull Costa


image_caption = First US Edition Published in 2007
author = Paulo Coelho
illustrator =
cover_artist = Jennifer Ann Daddio
country = Brazil
language = Portuguese (translated to English by Margaret Jull Costa)
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Harper Collins Publishers, 1st US Edition (2007).
release_date = 2006.
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 268 p.
isbn = ISBN 978-0-06-133880-9
preceded_by = Like the Flowing River
followed_by =

The Witch of Portobello is a fiction work by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho published in 2007, about a woman born in Transylvania to a Romani mother, who is orphaned and later adopted by a wealthy Lebanese couple.

tyle

It starts with the death of the main character, Athena and is told from the point of view of the people who knew her – her adoptive mother, her ex husband, a journalist researching vampirism, a priest, her landlord, a teacher of calligraphy and an actress. They each provide a different view of her, describing not only what they saw and experienced but adding their own impressions, interpreting her through their own beliefs and fears.

Theme

In this book, Coelho works with the re-emergence of the goddess religion, the interpretation of love, and the feminine face of God within the theme of searching for one’s true self and opening to the energies of the world. [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10905963 NPR: Coelho Explores Goddesses in 'Witch of Portobello' ] ]

He also alludes via a series of covert motifs to current issues, such as crime, sects, debates against Christianity and Catholicism, and even dieting, where the original themes coalesce to form the story of a woman "of the twenty-second century living in the twenty-first".

The work also expounds a selection of philosophies, which bear a certain degree of similarity to Coelho's teachings from previous novels and carry the characteristic imprint of his own ideas, as well as a citation regarding the ephemeral nature of desires, which appears in another of Coelho's novels.

Throughout the book, Coelho demonstrates what may be a new angle to his esteem of the Catholic church, his belief in which has been a significant question throughout his lifetime. By way of the characters' behaviour and speech, the writer elucidates the opinion that the Church has deviated by its stringent rules to the point where it no longer serves the teachings of Jesus Christ, or as put in His words in one of the interviews from the book: "It's a very long time since they've allowed me in there [the Church] ".

Plot

As the book begins, Athena is dead. How she ended up that way creates the intrigue sustaining the book. [AAP May 2007] The child, Sherine Khalil renames herself Athena. As a child, she shows a strong religious vocation and reports seeing angels and saints, which both impresses and worries her parents.

She grows into a woman in search of answers to many questions that arise within a person. She has a contented life but her mind is not at ease. So she sets out to find answers to the classical question of "Who am I?" through many experiences. In her quest, she opens her heart to intoxicating powers and becomes a controversial spiritual leader in London.

The Witch of Portobello knows all. But the best way of knowing the meaning of life is by learning from one's student. A teacher can only make us aware of our capabilities but finding the right path is up to the student. There are many ways to achieve happiness by being close to the Mother.

The Blog

The experience of making available 1/3 of the book in a "blog" [en icon cite web
title=Readers’ Corner for The Witch of Portobello
work=The Witch of Portobello
url=http://en.paulocoelhoblog.com/witch-of-portobello/
date=2007-09-02
accessdate=2007-09-02] , in the words of Paulo Coelho, enabled his readers to judge by themselves the value of the book. This direct contact is, in his view, the best bet for literature.

See also

*Fictional representations of Roma

References

* [http://en.paulocoelhoblog.com/witch-of-portobello/, Readers’ Corner for The Witch of Portobello]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10905963, Interview with Paulo Coelho]
*AAP May 2007

Further reading

* [http://en.paulocoelhoblog.com/witch-of-portobello/21.02.2007/first-chapter/ First Chapter of The Witch of Portobello]