Well, it’s a warm and lazy Sunday afternoon. I’ve got pretty much nothing to do. There’s one thing though, that I wanted to do. A book review of “Brida”, written by Paulo Coelho. Why? Because, I want to learn the art of writing book reviews. (Means, you can expect more in the future; bear with me)

Brida was the third major novel of Paulo Coelho after “The Alchemist” (the global phenomenon) and “The Pilgrimage”(which I haven’t read yet). The book got published in the year 1990. Going by the cover picture of the book, Brida is the story of a beautiful Irish girl and her search for knowledge.

The paperback edition from Harper Collins Publishers cost Rs.295. This 266 page book is written in a typical Paulo Coelho language,  filled with a lot of emotions and mysticism.

SUMMARY

The story is set in Dublin during the period of 1983-84. The main characters in the story are Brida, Magus of Folk (teacher of the tradition of the sun and is also Brida’s soul mate), Wicca (her teacher in the tradition of the moon), Lorens (Brida’s boyfriend and soul mate (yea, two soul mates)). Brida has long been interested in various aspects of magic but is searching for something more. She was in constant search for the right kind of people who could teach her about the spiritual world. She approaches the magus who dwells in a forest and he teaches her, through the tradition of the sun about overcoming her fears and trusting in the goodness of the world. Later she meets Wicca, who, through the tradition of the moon, teaches her how to dance to the music of the world, and how to pray to the moon. As Brida seeks her destiny, she struggles to find a balance between her relationships and her desire to become a witch.

TAKE AWAY FROM THE BOOK

The story is about love, passion, mystery, spirituality with a pinch of mythology and history. The story is a bit lagging in the beginning, gets gripping as the reader moves deeper. What I personally felt after reading the book was that, when the story ends, the reader is left with a feeling of something left out or incomplete. Because the story lacks a proper ending; the story which starts being about Brida, who is in search for knowledge ends with her being initiated as a witch. According to the story-line  it makes sense, as it’s about magic and the hurdles Brida faces on her mission to learn more and more about magic. But still, the reader is left with that confusion whether that is a really good ending for the story.

Being said that, it doesn’t mean that the story is not good enough. The way Paulo Coelho tailors the events is mesmerising. There are many occasions where the reader is wonderstruck at the wisdom of the writer.

In terms of takeaways from the book, there are many sentences that make us spend some time thinking and those worlds leave their aura’s shining in our minds for a long time. It’s a good read.

RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

I’d recommend this book to those who are constantly wondering how magic and spirituality can be connected.  This book will take you through a world of fantasy and spiritual empowerment and can be equally liked by men and women.

So, ratings: The story didn’t rise up to my expectations to be frank. Still I’ll be just when giving it 7 out of 10.