Enter the extraordinary world of Paulo Coelho, much loved author of 'The Alchemist'. His new novel, 'The Zahir', 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. 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. In Arabic, zahir means 'visible, present and unable to go unnoticed'; it refers to something or someone that ends up being the only thing we can think about. This state of 'possession' can be understood as saintliness or insanity, with a fine line between the two.
The novel is also full of comments on what it is to be rich and famous, on the meaning of money, on what motivates a writer, and on the nature of marriage. A novel about fame, need and, ultimately, acceptance, 'The Zahir' will provoke us to ask questions about ourselves and our lives.
