The Witch of Portobello (P.S.)

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Athena’s business/career side as a successful real estate agent in Dubai is only lightly referenced, mainly to explain how she financially supports herself in her multi-year-long journeys to different parts of the world in search of who she is through dance, calligraphy and ceremonies. From one of the world's best loved storytellers, Paulo Coelho, comes a riveting novel tracing the mysterious life and disappearance of Athena dubbed ‘the Witch of Portobello’.

The rest of the novel is set as transcripts of interviews with different people in her life leading to her death in an effort to reveal who she really was. This is performed artfully by Paulo Coelho who strings a cohesive, intriguing story of the development of the protagonist and simultaneously presents the complex and differing views of who Athena is through the eyes of all the characters. Throughout the novel, Coelho’s words verifies the phrase: “How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves—even if we are unsure of whom we are?”A tale spun in a way that gets you thinking and then rejoicing. A necessary "hearing" quite revealing, amazing, thrilling and well done! Paulo writes with a passion to transform. This tale uncovers the feminine side of God. A MYTH = A dance with a thought that never was. THE WITCH OF PORTOBELO = An allegory, or Cohelo's tremendous interpretation of a meaning other than a literal definition.

Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Old_pallet IA15425 Openlibrary_edition

Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2019-11-20 05:05:37 Associated-names Costa, Margaret Jull Boxid IA1699720 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier Never once did I sympathize or care what happened to Athena or Sherine or Hagia Sofia (all one person), and that is the worst flaw a book can contain. Insult was added to injury when all the other characters weren't any more significant to my senses. We women, when we’re searching for a meaning to our lives or for the path of knowledge, always identify with one of four classic archetypes.

Coelho uses a number of narrators to flesh out Athena's story, and these differing perspectives add a real depth to the story line. As a reader, you like some narrators and dislike others, which gives you the ability to take what you like from each and leave the rest, creating your own picture of Athena as you go. Normally a woman has to choose from one of these traditional feminine archetypes, but Athena was all four at once.” — Deidre O’Neill (pp. 12) The main character, Athena, discovers that there could be more to life after going to her neighbour's flat to complain about the loud music. What she sees when she arrives is a group of people dancing around to music - eyes closed, unaware of anything around them. She questions this with her neighbour who advises that he'd found some writing from his father, that spoke about dancing being a way to connect the participants to their inner self, and in turn to the light and The Mother. Athena then embarks on her own spiritual journey. This book is more of a spiritual life lesson than a real novel. There is no real plotline - Athena travels around and learns lessons, but thats the extent of the storyline. This doesn't matter though, as it's the meaning behind the plot that makes this book so wonderful.But all I know is this...the protagonist of the book, Athena, follows a winding path to enlightenment in the form of a female deity. And along the way she struggles to transcend society's expectations of her. The book is about the power that everyone has to find their own spirituality and fight against the norm. And in spite of myself, the novel made me feel able to make my own decisions, both practical and spiritual.

Would Athena's life have been more meaningful, more useful, if she had, as Andrea McCain suggests, joined a convent and devoted herself to a life of service to the poor?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.