So, the back of the book says fiction. The blurb says it is Coelho's most "personal novel to date." Given that it is written like a travel memoir (of sorts), we are left wondering just how "personal" it is. The main character *is* Paulo, the author, and after receiving his "call to adventure" (monomyth), he embarks on a journey that is not nearly as mystical as it is annoying and disturbing. The character of Hilal, a violinist, injects herself into Paulo's travel coterie, and is so inconsistently written that we don't feel as sorry for her as we should. She is exploited by Paulo, with whom she shares a past mystical connection. The relationship is textbook dysfunctional -- there is some sort of weird paternalistic vibe, she's starstruck, but then she's throwing things at him and he's getting naked. I'm well aware that there's a whole "let's get naked and spiritual together" crowd, so maybe this book is for them.

There are the typical Coelho takeaways (occasionally): "Although sometimes...we need to be strangers to ourselves. Then the hidden light in our souls will illuminate what we need to see." (40) See also insights such as: "I know a lot of people who feel they have an identity only when they're talking about their problems. That way, they exist, because their problems are linked to what they judge to be "their history." (116). While I agree, there is just a dust of pretension covering most of the book. The hero is perhaps redeemed, perhaps not--by the end of the book I just wanted it to end. As someone who has enjoyed many of Coelho's books, this one left me uncomfortable and not interested in any other volumes like this. ( )

En Aleph, el lector acompañará a Paulo Coelho en un revelador viaje de casi diez mil kilómetros dentro del tren Transiberiano. Un entorno duro y claustrofóbico que pondrá a prueba las reacciones del protagonista y le abrirá a una forma renovada de relacionarse con las personas que le rodena. Entre el resto de compañeros de viaje están también Yao, un intérprete muy peculiar y sabio, y Hilal, una extraña joven violinista que dice tener una conexión especial con el autor. Junto a ella, Paulo experimentará la vivencia del Aleph, el punto en el que se concentra toda la energía del Universo, recordará vidas pasadas y descubrirá una nueva forma de amor. Al fin y al cabo, es el amor el lugar donde todo cobra sentido.

Të vendosësh. Të ndryshosh. Të gjendesh. Të jesh. Të rishpikësh. Të ecësh. Të bësh. Të ngrihesh. Të provosh. Të arrish. Të sfidosh. Të ëndërrosh. Të mundësh. Të zbulosh. Të kërkosh. Të ndërmarrësh. Të mendosh. Të besosh. Të fuqizosh. Të pyesësh. Të rritesh. Të bëhesh pjesë. Të zgjohesh. Alef, vepra e Paulo Coelho-s, na fton të hidhemi në veprim. Sepse vjen një çast kur ndiejmë nevojën për të pyetur veten si e jetojmë jetën, a jemi atje ku duam të jemi dhe a bëjmë atë që duam të bëjmë.
Nuk ka vlerësime

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Paulo Coelho's enchanting lyricism combined with his esoteric spiritual beliefs made this autobiographical work quite extraordinary. Having read some of his other books, I would say that this one is a perfect summary of the themes that pervade all of his work. In "Aleph", he takes us on his journey through Russia but more importantly, the reader gets to see everything that occurs through the wisdom of Coelho's perspective. We get to experience Coelho's raw emotions and reactions to the things that go on in his life, and as he reveals more and more the story becomes too delicious to set down. This book touches upon the slightly taboo but very important themes of reincarnation, past life connections, and the rise of the divine feminine. ( )

> Pas mal
Par Nicolas (Le blog de Menon), le 17 juin 2019 (Sur Amazon.fr) 3/5 … ; (en ligne),
URL : https://www.amazon.fr/gp/customer-reviews/R89BE216N3JPL?ref=pf_vv_at_pdctrvw_srp
Surfant sur le thème de l’auto-fiction (on ne me fera pas croire que les évènements rapportés dans ce roman se sont déroulés tels quels), Paolo se met en scène bien décidé à entamer un long voyage dans la transsibérien après que son maître lui ait intimé l’ordre de voyager. Sur le chemin, il fait la connaissance d’Hilal, une jeune violoniste réputée et douée et, accessoirement, franchement pot-de-colle ; elle a le sentiment que l’écrivain et elle partagent quelque-chose de commun. S’accrochant à lui, et entamant le voyage avec son staff guère heureux de sa présence, elle va découvrir que, dans une vie antérieure, Paolo et elle-même s’aimaient et connurent une fin tragique.
Aleph n’est certainement pas le meilleur des Coelho. Si on retrouve quelques thématiques intéressantes de développement spirituel personnel, notamment à travers le personnage de Yao, force est de reconnaître que l’écrivain se perd ; la faute à Hilal, tête à claque. Quant au voyage dans la vie antérieure, la thématique avait déjà été abordée dans Brida. Bref, un coup pour rien ? Pas exactement, car le livre reste plaisant à suivre, mais à réserver aux fans de l’écrivain brésilien.