Author: Fernando Morais
Year Published: 2008
Publisher: Editora Planeta Do Brazil Ltda (Brazil)
HarperCollinsPublishers (UK)
My Tidbits
Yeap, surprised to see another post coming up from this blog? When even myself thought that I'd never touch it anymore? It has resurrected now for sure, thanks to someone =) and I will try my best to keep it 'alive and kicking'! ;)
I didn't even know that Coelho actually published a biography, until I saw this book in a bookstore in Dubai Airport. I have only read two works by him so far (I'm reading the third), but like the rest of the readers, I have no doubt that I have fallen for this magician of words =) My first book of him was Brida, and I didn't think it was a good start as I wasn't able to comprehend fully the deep theme of spirituality shown in the book. It was only after I read The Alchemist, I was captured by the journey of the shepherd boy Santiago in search of the meaning of life. It will definitely raise a lot of question marks if it is not a bestseller! =D
Coelho, as described in the book, is not just a 'mere mortal' ~ a description which is not an exaggeration, in my opinion =) Born in 1947 in Rio De Janeiro, he was notorious for his out-of-the-box way of thinking since his early days on Earth. Coelho wasn't a bright student in his schooldays, but he was certainly bright on something he knew he was destined to do: joining the literary society. Despite his parents' wish for him to be a bright student and followed Coelho, Sr. to become an engineer (he indeed showed a brief interest in this field, but it was too brief compared to his lifelong fascination with writing), he showed no interest in school life, and barely made his way to a prestigious school in Rio.
Rebellion was a noun that filled young Paulo Coelho's days. Frankly speaking, the paths he chose to live in his 20s were jaw-dropping for some goody two-shoes like me, as Coelho was close to drugs (he was constantly smoking cannabis and tried various drugs), a Don Juan, and even made a pact with the devil as he was also into vampirism and magic world. The hippie lifestyle that Coelho led has brought him to the walls behind the bars as well. Although it was not a serious crime that he committed, it was a tough era for Brazilian activists and a series of interrogation that Coelho went through left him in temporary paranoia.
Paulo Coelho is widely known as a bestselling author, but probably only a few of people knew that he was a famous lyricist in Brazil during 1970s! His duet with musician Raul Seixas was a hit in Brazilian music industry. However, the constant flow of money to his bank account and his popularity in music industry couldn’t fill his yearn to write a book. He fell into depression when his effort to become an author in London failed and he had to fly back to his hometown.
It was not until he met his spiritual master, often referred as Jean or J, and renewed his faith during his ‘Road to Santiago’ trip, that Coelho wrote his first bestseller book The Pilgrimage. By the end of 1987, 12,000 copies of the book have been sold in Brazil.
A Warrior’s Life was written with extensive details from Paulo Coelho’s diaries and interviews with closest individuals in 64 years of his life. It took me 2 months with sporadic reading time to finish the book, but it was too intriguing for me to give up finishing the 597-pages book =p. The exquisitely arranged facts – both important and trivial ones – are more than enough to give us an insightful glance to the world that Coelho has been living in. It is more than enough for me to look at the hailed author in different light =)
It will sound rather disparaging to say that this biography is just like another profile of famous persons. In my opinion, A Warrior’s Life is the encyclopedia of Paulo Coelho – you can find almost anything you want to know about this ‘immortal’ by simply turn the pages =)
I am definitely a fan of Fernando Morais too, now! ;)
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