The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

Plot: After his wife leaves him unexpectedly, an unnamed man goes in search of her and in the process finds himself.

Comments: I didn't really like this book.

First, it was a sexist book. Women were not treated as equals to men in this story and neither did they expect or strive for equality. The messages I received from this book were about the inferiority of women to men. This is somewhat of a sore spot for me, but I don't think sexism in any book is a good thing.

Another problem was that the main character narrations could go off on long, philosophical tangents at any moment. Vaguely throwing out words and ideas and hoping it sounded deep and thoughtful was my impression of what Coelho was doing - or rather, what he had the main character doing. I skipped many a page that was filled with ramblings about love and life.

The next issue I had with this book is the unannounced, anachronistic flashbacks completely made up of dialogue by unknown persons. I never knew who was talking to whom or when this conversation was occuring. This discussions were also very vague and philosophical.

I did not enjoy reading The Zahir for several reasons, the best of which is that the book just didn't interest me at all.

Rating: I rate The Zahir a five out of ten.