This is the story of Athena, or Sherine, to give her the name she was baptised with. Her life is pieced together through a series of recorded interviews with those people who knew her well or hardly at all -- parents, colleagues, teachers, friends, acquaintances, her ex-husband. The novel unravels Athena's mysterious beginnings, via an orphanage in Romania, to a childhood in Beirut. When war breaks out, her adoptive family move with her to London, where a dramatic turn of events occurs! Athena, who has been dubbed 'the Witch of Portobello' for her seeming powers of prophecy, disappears dramatically, leaving those who knew her to solve the mystery of her life and abrupt departure. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy and sacrifice.
Paulo Coelho is an amazing writer. On reading the back of the book I immediately had an idea of what shape I thought the book would take, and as usual with his novels, is the exact opposite of how it really turned out.
This book tells the story of Athena through the point of view of her friends and family, and Coelho is so good at what he does that you never realise you don’t hear from Athena herself, even though by the end of the book you feel like you know her really well.
This book does not follow the usual path you would expect from a story of modern day witch craft, and it has subtle twists and turns that still keep you guess right until the very last page, without being over dramatic about it.
Loved this book and Paulo Coelho is fastly moving up the list of my favourite authors.
Paulo Coelho is an amazing writer. On reading the back of the book I immediately had an idea of what shape I thought the book would take, and as usual with his novels, is the exact opposite of how it really turned out.
This book tells the story of Athena through the point of view of her friends and family, and Coelho is so good at what he does that you never realise you don’t hear from Athena herself, even though by the end of the book you feel like you know her really well.
This book does not follow the usual path you would expect from a story of modern day witch craft, and it has subtle twists and turns that still keep you guess right until the very last page, without being over dramatic about it.
Loved this book and Paulo Coelho is fastly moving up the list of my favourite authors.
